ALEXANDRIA, Va.—NACS is hosting its first food safety conference, taking place October 1 in Las Vegas at the NACS Show. NACS has worked with more than a dozen convenience retail food safety professionals for the past two years to develop this conference.
The NACS Food Safety Conference will take place 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and the agenda is packed with food safety professionals and academia who are experts in their field.
“One of the unique things about this conference is that it’s going to be retail specific,” said Dr. Jay Ellingson, chief scientific officer at Wisconsin-based Kwik Trip, who will moderate the conference. “For those who attend and embrace this conference and enjoy the educational part, it will be very retail centric in terms of the discussions and the high-caliber presenters who are food safety experts.”
Speakers include Dr. Lone Jespersen, founder of Cultivate and food safety culture expert, who will share exclusive insights on the NACS Convenience Store Food Safety Culture Maturity Model, the first and only global convenience retail industry-specific model that advances food safety culture by initially focusing on the leadership level.
Mandy Sedlak, senior food safety and public health manager for EcoSure, a business of Ecolab, will talk about today’s food safety climate with a convenience retailer who is leading safe food-handling procedures and operations, and Dr. Ben Chapman, a professor and food safety extension specialist at North Carolina State University, will discuss what the industry has learned since March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic started and how we can best prepare for the future.
Shawn Stevens, founder of the Food Industry Counsel, who will guide attendees through today’s complex supply chain issues, as well help retailers create a plan of action for recalls. Stevens will also lead a panel discussion with Ellingson and Nancy Wilson, director, quality assurance, risk management & safety, Wawa Inc.; and Jeremy Zenlea, director, head of health and safety, EG America.
Sessions at the conference include:
- Why Food Safety Culture?
- Food Safety Fireside Chat
- What the Pandemic Taught Us About Safe Food Handling
- Vendor Failure? What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You
- The Hidden Dangers of Recalls–Navigating (and Avoiding) Regulatory, Civil and Criminal Exposure
- What’s Next for Our Companies?
Registration is required for the NACS Show to attend the Food Safety Conference at an additional cost of $329 for retailers and $499 for NACS Show exhibit staff. Participation in this event qualifies attendees for 5 CEU Credits from the National Environmental Health Association.
View the robust schedule and register today to join your colleagues for the NACS Food Safety Conference.