Hyatt Regency Toronto

Wednesday, April 1st &
Thursday, April 2nd, 2020

Agenda

March 31, 2020
  • 8:00 AM
    Registration
  • Workshop A
    • 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
      Transform Your Food Safety Culture to Become Audit Ready Everyday
      Dr. Brita Ball
      Principal Consultant, Brita Ball & Associates
      Culture has become the newest food safety focus because management systems and technology are only as good as their implementation. A strong, positive food safety culture ensures compliance, reduces food safety risk and maintains a proactive workforce. Take away specific solutions to:
      • Make food safety training stick
      • Improve food safety communication throughout your organization
      • Identify areas to focus efforts for culture improvement
      Walk away with an action plan to advance your food safety culture.
    Workshop B
    • 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
      Master Food Labeling to Stay on Top of Changing Standards
      Miriam Maxwell
      Senior Regulatory Scientist, Ocean Spray
      Sources the insights you need as labeling requirements change and consumers demand to see more of what they are eating. Explore methods of staying current with regulations and regulators. Analyze how advertising will be affected by claims and claims substantiation.  and recall preparedness. Attend this workshop to address your labeling concerns with industry experts. Take away key strategies for:
      • Front of the package labeling
      • Nutritional information
      • Additional labeling rules and consumer expectations
      Ensure your compliance with labeling regulations and meet consumer expectations.
March 31, 2020
April 1, 2020
  • 7:30 AM
    Registration and Breakfast
  • 8:15 AM
    Opening Remarks from the Chair
    Cameron Prince
    VP, Regulatory Affairs, The Acheson Group
    Former Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Canadian Food Inspection Agency
  • 8:30 AM
    Keynote: CFIA
    Keeping the Regulatory System Current in Changing times
    Nicole Bouchard-Steeves
    Associate Vice President, Operations, Canadian Food Inspection Agency

    Stay up to date on the latest regulatory changes. Take action to ensure food safety. Gain insight on how to:

    • Exceed standards and go beyond food safety expectations
    • Reduce the risk of non-compliance food safety procedures
    • Evaluate the impacts of a dynamic food safety landscape

    Gain awareness on how the regulatory changes are impacting your company.

  • 9:15 AM
    Panel Discussion: Culture
    Build a Culture of Food Safety in Your Company to Minimize Risks
    Ali Mohseni
    Executive VP & Chief food Safety Officer, American Foods Group
    Angela Bernoski
    Director Quality Assurance and Food Safety, Piller's Fine Foods
    Aarthy Aguanno
    Vice President and QA Manager, 2 Leos Food
    Loveline Tikum
    Food Safety/Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs Manager, Chudleigh's Ltd.
    Robert De Valk
    Director, Further Poultry Processors Association of Canada
    Catherine Bédard
    Sr. Manager, Customer Experience, Pizza Hut Canada
    Cameron Prince
    VP, Regulatory Affairs, The Acheson Group
    Former Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Canadian Food Inspection Agency

    Food manufacturers face the same economic pressures as those in other sectors. They also have unique issues that defy a strict adherence to the bottom line, which require a different mentality to tackle successfully. Set your company on the path to establishing a culture of food safety. Create a step-by-step plan to:

    • Understand the different mentality that the most successful companies have adopted as the foundation of their food safety culture
    • Recognize the signs and symptoms of a failed Food Safety Management System (FSMS)
    • Learn from real examples of success and failure based on the presence or absence of a food safely culture

    Master the success factors of the most successful companies and establish a culture of food safety.

  • 9:45 AM
    Industry Expert: Orkin
    Understanding the Health Risks Associated With Pests and How to Prevent Them
    Sean Rollo
    Director of Business Development - Technical Director, Orkin Canada
    Discover why you should not be complacent with pests in, or around, your facility.  Often overlooked, pests can be the cause of food recalls, employee health issues, and even fires.  Discover:
    - Threats pest pose
    - Protocols to mitigate pests
    - How to identify early warning signs
    - Emerging technologies to assist with early detection
     Take away the knowledge you need to boost your food safety program.
  • 10:15 AM
    Morning Break
  • Track A - Regulatory and Compliance
    • 10:45 AM
      Case Study: Certification
      Protect Your Brand’s Integrity with Humane Certification
      Heather Pechtl
      Scientific Officer & Program Support, Certified Humane

      Certified Humane labels are an attractive opportunity to make customers aware of your company’s commitment to safe and ethical practice. Ensure your brand resonates with ethically-minded consumers. Adopt an action plan to:

      • Improve your company’s approach to humane  practice
      • Ensure genuinely impactful and socially responsible compliance
      • Navigate unclear definitions of “humane”

      Comply with rigorous humane certification guidelines and promote socially responsible corporate policy.

    • 11:30 AM
      Industry Expert: EuroFins
      Environmental Monitoring Best Practices for Pathogen Control
      Douglas Marshall
      Chief Scientific Officer, Eurofins
      Source best practices for environmental pathogen control. This presentation will provide insights on:

      • Regulatory and customer expectations for why environmental monitoring may be an important
      • Food safety task for those in the food manufacturing industry.
      • Key system details on proper identification of manufacturing and environmental controls, appropriate testing targets, and appropriate validation and verification monitoring activities.
      Leave equipped with useful strategies for implementing, improving, and fortifying your EMP plans.
    Track B - Technology and Innovation
    • 10:45 AM
      Case Study
      A Technology Approach to Supply Chain Risk Reduction
      Darrell Portz
      Global Vice President, Food Safety & Quality, Griffith Foods
      The supply chain presents many risks to food companies. Explore how technology can minimize the risks for your company. Gain insights on:
      • Employ technological innovations to reduce risks
      • Managing required supplier and raw material documentation
      • Better manage compliance issues
      Leverage technology to reduce your risks in the supply chain.
    • 11:30 AM
      Industry Expert: Ashton Potter
      Using Technology Across Different Functions of a Food Organization
      Nigel Taylor
      Director of Sales, Ashton Potter
      Technology can benefit a variety of functions including supply chain, factory systems, and track and trace solutions. Explore how these technologies can benefit your business.  Gain insights into:
      • How organizations typically purchase software solutions in silos, this leads to complex processes, to get answers for the simplest of questions.
      • See how if organizations make smart technology choices they can not only report measure etc. but take actions that improve quality, compliance, margins, customer satisfaction etc.
      • Select a solution that receives data from all the other siloed applications in the organization.
      Apply technology solutions to improve practices across your business.
  • 12:00 PM
    Networking Lunch
  • Track A Regulatory and Compliance (PM)
    • 1:15 PM
      Industry Expert: HACCP
      Establishing the Right Food Safety Protocol for your Business: HACCP under SFCR

      Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) is a standardized and systematized approach to assessing food safety. This science-based approach helps prevent food contamination. Ensure the safety of your food by learning the latest in HACCP procedures. Walk away with a blue print to:

      • Best practices in storing and transportation of products
      • Dealing with the personnel involved in handling products
      • The proper process of handling recalls

      Establish an officially recognized food safety protocol for your business and be HACCP compliant.

    • 1:45 PM
      Panel Discussion: Education
      Improve Education and Training to Stay on Top of Changing Food Regulations
      Felix Amiri
      Chair, Global Coalition for Sustained Excellence in Food & Health Protection
      Dr. Lawrence Goodridge
      Associate Professor, Department of Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry, McGill University
      Cameron Prince
      VP, Regulatory Affairs, The Acheson Group
      Former Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Canadian Food Inspection Agency

      With constant regulatory updates being the norm in the food industry, it’s essential to have training programs that are up to date. Perfect the training for your workforce with new resources. Source practical insights on:

      • Addressing the current challenges surrounding the availability of food safety courses
      • Mastering the difference between food safety knowledge vs. food regulatory knowledge
      • The overlap of in-house training by government and industry and the lack of accessibility to courses

      Create training programs that keep your employees on top of new regulatory changes to ensure compliance.

    Track B Technology and Innovation (PM)
    • 1:15 PM
      INDUSTRY EXPERT: Siemens
      Trace, Track and Comply for Competitive Advantage
      Michael Schroder
      Portfolio Development Executive for CPG, SHF, Siemens PLM Software, Siemens
      Food Safety challenges are inherent as collaboration between disciplines is often described as ineffective. Small errors lead to big risks and hesitation, yet with consumers - 63% want new products faster and 61% pay more for higher quality. Source insights on:

      • Managing your business for safe, Quality Food.
      • How modern technology his helping business to safely scale with speed and adaptability.
      • How to track, trace, and comply for competitive advantage.
    • 1:45 PM
      Panel Discussion
      Food Fraud Combat Food Fraud to Ensure the Integrity of Your Food and Your Brand
      Riikka Aberg
      Director, Food Safety, City of Helsinki, Finland
      Anal Dave
      Director of Quality Assurance, The Original Cakerie

      Fraud is a major concern for consumers and food companies alike. Protect your consumers and your reputation by identifying and preventing food fraud in the supply chain. Gain expert insights on:

      • Developing an auditing system to preserve the integrity of your food
      • Tracking the origin of food in the supply chain to improve transparency
      • Selecting the right suppliers, domestically and internationally, to ensure you are purchasing legitimate products

      Improve your ability to detect and prevent food fraud to ensure the integrity of the food supply chain

  • 2:30 PM
    Afternoon Break
  • 3:00 PM
    Spotlight: 3M
    Stay ahead of the curve with a preventative focus on food safety
    Christian Blyth
    Food Safety Technical and Regulatory Specialist, 3M
    Although we enjoy one of the safest food supplies in the world, foodborne illness remains common. Learn how you can stay ahead of the curve with a preventive focus on food safety. Create an environmental monitoring program that considers:
    • An integrated approach
    • Risk analysis
    • Risk management
    • Risk Communication

    Take away experienced perspectives to help you build and enhance your environmental monitoring program.

  • 3:15 PM
    Case Study: CFIA
    Understanding the Safe Foods for Canadians Regulations
    Kevin Urbanic
    Senior Director, Operations Ontario, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, CFIA
    The Safe Foods for Canadians Regulations came into effect in 2019. Understand the implication of these regulations, with an emphasis on outcome-based inspections. Source insights into:
    • The CFIA processes for inspections under SFCR
    • The CFIA processes for identifying and addressing non-compliances under SFCR
    • The SFCR tools and documentation intended to support industry compliance

    Improve your understanding of the SFCR and CFIA inspection processes.

  • 4:00 PM
    Case Study: Arrell Food Institute
    Advances in Labeling Innovation & Technology: Transforming from Static to Dynamic Interactive Labeling
    Maria Corradini
    Associate Professor and Chair Arrell Food Institute, University of Guelph
  • 4:30 PM
    Stop-Start-Continue

    Review your take-aways from the day’s learnings. Attendees will discuss their plan for their return to the office:

    • What will you stop doing?
    • What will you start doing?
    • What have you successfully benchmarked and will continue doing?

    Confirm your take-aways from the first day of the conference.

  • 4:45 PM
    Conference Adjourns to Day Two
April 1, 2020
April 2, 2020
  • 7:30 AM
    Registration and Breakfast
  • 8:30 AM
    Opening Remarks from the Chair
    Cameron Prince
    VP, Regulatory Affairs, The Acheson Group
    Former Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Canadian Food Inspection Agency
  • 8:30 AM
    Keynote: Plant-based Products
    Ensuring the Safety of New Plant-based Products
    Sharon Mohammed
    Director, Corporate - Regulatory Management, Maple Leaf Foods

    Increasingly, consumers are demanding new plant-based meat substitutes. Ensure the safety of these new products while meeting your consumers demands. Gain expert insights on:

    • How to produce plant-based meat alternatives while meeting regulatory requirements
    • Avoid cross-contamination from actual meat sources or allergens
    • Ensure the safe and proper preparation of artificial meats by end-users

    Take advantage of the plant-based trend while ensuring the safety of your products.

  • 9:00 AM
    Industry Expert
    Strengthen Your Internal Audit Program To Enhance Monitoring And Ensure Compliance
    Neil Coole
    Director, Food & Retail Supply Chain Director, BSI Americas
    Auditing programs remain a core aspect of your food safety management system. Master your internal audit system to bolster oversight and stay compliant. Build a roadmap to:
    • Improve the drafting of internal reports
    • Train your staff to Identify nonconformity
    • Optimize your schedule for auditing
    Improve your oversights with best of class internal auditing. 
  • 9:30 AM
    Case Study: CBD
    Is CBD Safe? – What Happens When Regulatory Agencies Cannot Keep Up With Rapid Innovation
    Dave Donnan
    Food Expert and Industry Leader, TBA

    Cannabis products were made legal in Canada in 2018 and edibles and novel cannabis derived products are now entering the Canadian market. In the US a different approach was taken. Cannabis remains federally illegal, but over 35 states have legalized it medically and over 10 have legalized recreational cannabis products. CBD products are different yet again as the USDA legalized hemp production and distribution, but did not opine on CBD production. CBD is heralded as the new miracle drug, but it is caught in a tangle of federal, state and regulatory crossfires. What is the path forward for Canadian and US based companies? How can we ensure safe products? These challenges, and more will be discussed in Dave Donnan’s presentation.

  • 10:15 AM
    Morning Break
  • 11:00 AM
    Roundtable Discussions
    Source Solutions to Your Most Pressing Food Safety Issues from Peers in Your Industry Vertical

    Bring your most pressing food safety issues to this session and source exclusive solutions from your peers. Delegates will be sorted into roundtable groups related to industry verticals.

    Solve your food safety problems with the insights of your peers and industry leaders.

  • 11:30 AM
    Case Study: Del Monte
    Applying FDA & CFIA Regulations to Prevent Contaminated Produce Outbreaks
    Lourdes Tamborello
    Director, Quality Assurance, Eastern Region and Canada, Del Monte Fresh Produce

    Canadians are increasingly likely to consume fresh fruits and vegetables five or more times per day. Leverage regulatory best practices to ensure the safety of your consumers. Take away a blueprint to:

    • Enforce safe produce handling practices
    • Navigate common production risks
    • Exceed the industry benchmark for produce safety 

    Exceed regulatory standards to reduce contamination.

  • 12:00 PM
    Industry Expert: Foreign Materials
    Refine Your Program For Foreign Material Control To Protect your Brand

    Foreign materials can have a disastrous effect on your brand. Develop innovative solutions to detect foreign materials before they contaminate your food products. Develop your strategy to:

    • Enhance your glass and plastic controls
    • Monitor your suppliers
    • Ensure the quality of your equipment

    Protect your brand with enhanced foreign material controls. 

  • 1:00 PM
    Networking Lunch
  • 2:00 PM
    Case Study: Strawberry Hill Farm
    Food Safety in Organics – from the Crop to the Consumer
    Tim Livingstone
    Owner, Strawberry Hill Farm
  • 2:30 PM
    Case Study: New Trends
    Stay on Top of the Latest Issues and Trends to Maintain the Safety of Your Food
    Ewen Todd
    Adjunct Professor, Food Science and Human Nutrition, Michigan State University

    New issues are constantly emerging in the food industry. Get an update on current and emerging food safety issues, the latest science, and innovative solutions to new and recurring problems. Gain up-to-date information on:

    • New scientific issues and solutions to pressing problems
    • Emerging threats and how to manage them
    • Regulatory updates and changes

    Get the inside scoop on the latest issues and trends that your company needs to maintain food safety.

  • 3:00 PM
    Afternoon Break
  • 3:30 PM
    Case Study: CWD
    Preventing the Spread of Chronic Wasting Disease to Protect the Food Supply
    Keith Munro
    Wildlife Biologist, Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters

    Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a progressive, fatal nervous system disease known to naturally infect white-tailed deer, mule deer, moose, red deer, elk and reindeer. Health Canada recommends that humans not consume meats contaminated by CWD and efforts are being made to keep it out of the food supply. Source insight on:

    • The spread of CWD and how it can be prevented
    • The risks of CWD entering the food supply
    • Efforts to reduce the spread of CWD and to minimize risks

    Get the lowdown on CWD, its risk to the food industry, and how to prevent its spread.

  • 4:00 PM
    Panel: The Future of Food Safety
    Gain Insights on Emerging Issues and Opportunities in Food Safety
    Amin Asadi
    Quality Assurance Manager, Akuna Health Products
    Dr. Dhirendra Thakur
    Quality Assurance Manager, Tasty Selections
    Cameron Prince
    VP, Regulatory Affairs, The Acheson Group
    Former Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Canadian Food Inspection Agency

    New regulations, changing consumer expectations and emerging technologies are changing the food industry. Join North American food safety leaders for a discussion on new issues and trends affecting your industry. Source exclusive insights on:

    • What regulatory changes are impacting the food industry?
    • Emerging risks in the food industry and how to manage them
    • How new technology can make food safer

    Develop a strategy to address new food safety issues to protect the safety of your food.

  • 4:30 PM
    Stop-Start-Continue

    Review your take-aways from the day’s learnings. Attendees will discuss their plan for their return to the office:

    • What will you stop doing?
    • What will you start doing?
    • What have you successfully benchmarked and will continue doing?

    Confirm your take-aways from the final day of the conference.

  • 4:45 PM
    Conference Adjourns
  • 4:50 PM
    Networking Reception
April 2, 2020

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