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Global Food Safety Conference 2012 Conference Report Advancing Global Food Safety Through Collaboration February 15th – 17th 2012 Hyatt Regency Gr...
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Global Food Safety Conference 2012

Conference Report

Advancing Global

Food Safety Through Collaboration

February 15th – 17th 2012 Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Hotel, Orlando FL, USA

www.tcgffoodsafety.com



Global Food Safety Conference Report 2012

Global Food Safety Conference Orlando 2012

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rom February 15th to 17th, the Consumer Goods Forum welcomed 940 food safety experts and decision makers from the food industry for the 11th Global Food Safety Conference, in Orlando, USA. This edition was the largest and most successful yet with a 29% increase in attendance from the London Conference last year and a 35% increase from the Washington edition in 2010. Attendees from 50 different countries represented the whole spectrum of the supply chain including growers, manufacturers and retailers, along with public and private entities and both international and local stakeholder organizations. This broad mix of perspectives and expertise was the perfect fit for this year’s theme: Advancing Global Food Safety Through Collaboration. A line-up of internationally renowned presenters carried this theme throughout the 3 days of plenary and break-out sessions, giving evidence of the need for collaboration across the board. The best practices they shared provided attendees with not only food for thought but also true actionable opportunities. Attendees also enjoyed as usual the Conference’s numerous networking opportunities and social events, and those less familiar with GFSI were invited to join an Induction Session presenting the fundamentals of the Initiative’s approach, just before the start of the Conference. We are proud to have received extremely positive feedback on all aspects of the event, with 96% of attendees rating the Conference either good, very good or excellent. This report is also available on www.mygfsi.com

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Global Food Safety Conference Report 2012

Contents Day 1: Wednesday 15th February GFSI Induction Session

Breakout Session

Welcome and Introduction..................................................... 4

Ingredients and Ingredient Driven Issues........................25

Food Safety — Commitment From the Top...................... 5 GFSI Overview................................................................................5

Crisis Response: Food Safety and Natural Disasters.....................................26

What is Accreditation and Certification?...........................6

Food Fraud – What You Need To Know............................27

Implementing GFSI: Food Service Perspective..................6

Using Innovative Techniques to Implement a Safe and Sustainable Future Supply Chain........................................28

Implementing GFSI: Manufacturer Perspective...............7 GFSI Global Markets Programme A Pathway Towards Certification...........................................7 Closing Words................................................................................7 Plenary Session Advancing Global Food Safety through Collaboration “One Common Goal - Safe & Affordable Food”............10 Bringing Stakeholders Together.......................................... 11 The Evolving Food System.....................................................12 Rapid Exchange of Food Safety Information in a Globalized World...............................................................13

Food Safety in Emerging Markets.......................................29 India: Implementation of Food Safety Modernization Act in India – Capacity & Capability Development Perspective...................................................................................30 Learning from Others: Investigative Findings from Recent Food-borne Outbreaks.............................................31 Behavior Based Food Safety..................................................32 Global Food Supply Chain Collaboration.........................33

Day 3: Friday 17th February Breakout Session

Consumer Trust in the Social Media Age.........................14

Micro Testing – Does It Result in Safer Food?...............34

Day 2: Thursday 16th February

Private and Public Standards: Complementary or Antagonistic?.......................................35

Plenary Session

Fresh, Healthy & All Natural: Consequences on Food Safety.............................................36

Reducing Risk Early in the Supply Chain.........................15 Retail Food Safety—Catalyst For Change.........................16 Trends in Consumer Food Safety Attitudes: Practices and Behaviors in the Home...............................17 New Regulatory Paradigms for an Interconnected World – The Regulatory Perspective..................................18 Anticipating Food Safety Risks – The Industry Perspective.........................................................19 Who is Responsible for Food Safety — The Consumer Perspective.....................................................22 Communicating Food Safety in the Information Age – The Media Perspective.............................................................23

Plenary Session Win-Win Solutions for Retailers and Suppliers: “Building Capacity for Safe and Sustainable Sourcing”..............................................................39 Future Food Production Technologies..............................40 Closing Remarks.........................................................................41 Next Meetings..........................................................................46



Global Food Safety Conference Report 2012

Day 1: Wednesday 15th February GFSI Induction Session Welcome and Introduction Jürgen Matern, Vice President Sustainability & Regulatory Affairs, Metro AG, Germany

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ürgen Matern, outgoing Chair of the Global Food Safety Initiative Board of Directors, welcomed the audience to the GFSI Induction Session. He highlighted the benefits that his company, Metro AG, has seen since it began to accept GFSI recognized schemes from its supplier base almost five years ago. Metro has reduced the number of recalls by 90%. This German multinational places great emphasis on sourcing locally when it opens up outlets in new locations. By implementing the GFSI Global Markets Programme for small and/or less developed businesses among their suppliers in certain countries, Metro has reduced post-harvest losses by 40%.

 By implementing the GFSI Global Markets Programme, Metro has reduced post-harvest losses by

40%

Food Safety — Commitment From the Top Michael Roberson, Director of Corporate Quality Assurance, Publix Supermarkets, Inc., USA

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 In 2011, Publix operated the fewest recalls in five years

Plenary Session

ood safety is a shared responsibility: a food safety incident will impact your business, even if you are not directly involved in the incident. “If food safety is not part of your firm’s board-level strategy for success, your food safety system will not work.” In 2009 Publix required all manufacturers and ingredient suppliers to its store brand products to become certified against a GFSI recognized scheme by January 2012. Through this process, those suppliers are also “well on their way” to becoming compliant with the US Food Safety Modernisation Act. In 2011, Publix operated the fewest recalls in five years, which it attributes to the benefits of working within the GFSI framework.

GFSI Induction Session

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Global Food Safety Conference Report 2012

Breakout Session

GFSI Overview Frank Yiannas, Vice President Food Safety, Wal-Mart Store, Inc., USA

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FSI is the ultimate win-win-win solution. to reduce its internal food safety auditors from 8 to 2, Governments win because it complements and thereby able to reattribute resources to product legislation, facilitates trade and acts as an innovation; Cargill has saved USD 5 million annually in efficient monitoring tool; companies audit costs so far, and projects to increase this to USD 15 million a year once GFSI recognized win because it opens up market access, drives efficiency and reduces duplication schemes are fully implemented along their entire supply chain. of effort and consumers win because operating within the GFSI framework minimises product recalls (by 31% on average) and increases confidence in the food supply. Citing further numbers, Frank Yiannas made the business case for GFSI: Swiss retailer Migros was able

 Cargill has saved USD 5 million annually in audit costs so far

GFSI Induction Session Plenary Session Breakout Session



Global Food Safety Conference Report 2012

What is Accreditation and Certification? Rena Pierami, Vice President Auditing, Silliker Global Certification Services, USA

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he accredited third party certification model is not a snapshot event, but rather a continual process. It leads to robust audits and helps companies better manage their system. Once a company is engaged, there are timelines to respect. “The accreditation process itself does not directly involve the company — you just need to know that the certification body you work with is itself accredited,” Pierami said. This is your guarantee that the certification body has demonstrated its competence to carry out the audits and that it complies with its own processes. “Certification is the assurance that you — the facility — are maintaining your control

measures, that you have identified your risk and know that what you’re doing is controlling it.” When a facility is awarded the certificate, the certification body owns it and will monitor the facility.

 Certification is the assurance that you are maintaining your control measures, that you have identified your risk and know that what you’re doing is controlling it

Implementing GFSI: Food Service Perspective Michael Liewen, Vice President Global Quality Assurance, YUM! Brands, USA

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UM! deals with 2,500 suppliers across 18 international markets and is in the process of transitioning from its own audit programme to the implementation of the GFSI recognized schemes. While YUM! was satisfied with its own audit programme, the international food service company realised that their suppliers were incurring additional costs in implementing a specific YUM! audit programme on top of other audit programmes. The company approached GFSI to find out more about the GFSI framework within which so many other global companies were operating. YUM! ran both its own audit and key requirements from the GFSI Guidance

Document side by side to build knowledge and then worked on closing gaps. They subsequently conducted a voluntary pilot. Yum! are also using the Global Markets Programme to build capability with their suppliers in emerging markets.” Liewen said that through this implementation, his company expects to see advantages around governance, resources and auditor competence. Above all, Liewen recommended taking part in the GFSI process, joining the working groups and “having skin in the game”.

Implementing GFSI: Manufacturer Perspective Holly Mockus, Director, Food Safety, Sara Lee Corporation, USA

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place. Challenges included the variety of facilities, resourcing and resistance to change, but positive reinforcement helped. The top-down focus on food safety also brought benefits through unexpected synergies and consolidation. The process of continuous improvement was also vital: “Achieving certification against a GFSI recognized scheme should not be an annual event — it needs to become a way of life.”

  Acheiving certification against a GFSIrecognised scheme needs to become a way of life

Marc Cwikowski, Director, Food Safety & Supplier Quality, The Coca-Cola Company, Belgium

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n 2008, GFSI stakeholders identified the need for technical assistance and support for “small and/or less developed businesses” in the development of their food safety management system. The GFSI Board subsequently approved the formation of a Technical Working Group to develop this technical assistance through a continuous improvement programme, helping these companies to get from where they are to where they should be. The programme is divided into basic and

intermediate level requirements, providing a step by step process which ultimately should lead these suppliers to achieving full certification against a GFSI recognized scheme. Assessments carried out against the programme are unaccredited until the company is audited against a GFSI recognized scheme. A protocol has been drafted to support the implementation of the programme, guiding a company through each of the stages.

Closing Words Yves Rey, Corporate Quality General Manager, Danone, France, and appointed next GFSI Board Chair

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ood safety is non-competitive. We strongly believe that by working together we can achieve more. The agribusiness is facing key challenges. One is consumer trust: it has been eroded and the food business has a role to play. Another is globalisation: today’s food supply knows no borders, but the same is

true of contamination. We need to raise the bar and create a level playing field, and GFSI will continue to work collaboratively to promote common best practice approaches for the management of food safety across global supply chains.

Breakout Session

GFSI Global Markets Programme A Pathway Towards Certification

Plenary Session

ara Lee selected the SQF scheme when the company decided to begin implementing a GFSI recognized scheme in their plants. Setting itself a timeline of six months for the first plant audit, the company first trained everyone from VPs and middle management through to colleagues working in engineering and procurement. “Everyone from the top down understood what we were going to do.” The company found that much of what was needed was already in

GFSI Induction Session

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Global Food Safety Conference Report 2012



Global Food Safety Conference Report 2012

This Conference provides a global forum to get all stakeholders on the same page on important topics in order to enhance food safety. I am glad I attended the GFSI Induction session which made me believe that indeed Food Safety is a driving force behind these certif ications.

Excellent high level exchange of strategic food safety information .

This conference is priceless, the knowledge that you walk away with allows you to apply it right away in your day to day work!

The best global event of its kind , nothing else comes close!

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Global Food Safety Conference 2013 Global Food Safety Conference Report 2012

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GFSI Induction Session

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Global Food Safety Conference Report 2012

Plenary Session Advancing Global Food Safety through Collaboration “One Common Goal - Safe & Affordable Food” Frank Yiannas, Vice President Food Safety, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and GFSI Board Co-Vice Chair, USA

Breakout Session

Plenary Session

Yves Rey, Corporate Quality General Manager, Danone, appointed next GFSI Board Chair

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he modern food system has provided consumers with a more diverse food supply and a convenient source of economical meals. But there are risks as well as benefits. Ensuring this food is safe is a shared risk and a shared responsibility, calling for an unprecedented level of collaboration.

a loss of confidence in our food supply,” he said. “With a global population projected to reach 9.3 billion people, the agribusiness will be faced with a huge challenge,” Rey continued. “How will we feed 9.3 billion people safely in 2050?”

“Today’s food system has created more interdependence than ever As we have progressed from before between multiple Yiannas hunter-gatherers through stakeholders,” simple farming to large continued. “Manufacturers scale agri-business, the alone can’t do it. Retailers number of players and touch points in the supply chain alone can’t produce safe food. Neither can regulatory has increased. Foods are being transported further than officials, nor consumers. In other words, twenty-first ever before and food-borne outbreaks have the potential century food safety requires greater collaboration than to be widespread. “In a changing food system, food at any other point in human history.” production, processing, distribution, retail, foodservice, While genetic fingerprinting has allowed us to improve transportation all have a shared responsibility to provide our detection of related outbreaks, helping to mitigate safe food,” Frank Yiannas told the audience. epidemics, this detection is only as good as our Yves Rey further outlined that today’s consumer not only expected value for money but also demanded that companies act responsibly towards the community. “Each time there is a food safety incident, besides the human tragedy, there is

willingness to share information and work together. "The next big outbreak is right around the corner,” Yiannas concluded. “We can continue to work independently and react to it — or we can choose to collaborate and prevent it.”

 Today’s food system has created more interdependence than ever before between multiple stakeholders

Bringing Stakeholders Together Jürgen Matern, VP Sustainability & Regulatory Affairs, Metro AG and Outgoing GFSI Board Chair

Breakout Session

 Risks are present in the entire food supply chain, across big and small companies, and we must all work together

Plenary Session



“Food safety is a shared responsibility and covers issues related to safety, hygiene, sanitation and the supply chain, both locally and globally. We must define best food safety practice and the way it is applied to the The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) supply chain,” Matern told strives to advance global food safety the conference. “We need results now. We through collaboration. Its objectives are must use the recent data that has been to reduce food safety risks; drive cost collected from outbreaks of food-borne efficiencies in the supply chain; develop illnesses to find the right way to combat competencies and capacity-building and the problems. Risks are present in the provide a platform for networking to entire food supply chain, across big and small companies, and we must all work facilitate the exchange of knowledge. together. The initiative achieves these by creating links with key organizations and regulators, Matern urged delegates to use the building confidence in third-party expertise and knowledge available from certification, improving communication the experts present at the conference. and by benchmarking food safety “Via GFSI, we can deliver better solutions to all countries in the world.” certification schemes against the GFSI Guidance Document, to determine equivalence between these scheme’s food safety management systems. Consumers do not trust the food supply chain,” Jürgen Matern said. While the media is quick to report on any outbreaks that occur, the industry has not developed a way to systematize the sharing of data and expertise. “We must share information through open communication, both between food safety experts and to consumers,” Matern said.

GFSI Induction Session

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GFSI Induction Session Plenary Session Breakout Session

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Global Food Safety Conference Report 2012

The Evolving Food System John D. Floros, Professor & Head of the Department of Food Science, The Pennsylvania State University, USA

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wo million years ago, humans learned to cook food, John Floros told delegates. “That simple transformation allowed mankind to change socially.” Throughout history, man has overcome hunger by harvesting and cultivating land and also by processing food with sophisticated methods. “More recently, we learned to preserve food, this created another change in social development.”

  We have giant global challenges ahead of us with a very high demand for food

In the past, food was a local commodity, grown either on your own land or that of your neighbour. Now food is a global supply. Some 60% of fruits and vegetables and 80% of seafood consumed in the US is imported. “The fact that the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is able to inspect only 1% of this imported food is a cause for major concern,” Floros said. Food is a complex system that changes through time and space. A simple cup of soup has 40 basic ingredients from 500 different companies. We have giant global challenges ahead of us with a very high demand for food, caused by population growth, limited land, pathogens and pests, new strains and varieties of which continue to emerge. In 50 years, the world’s population will require 100% more food and 70% of this food must come either from efficiency or improvements in technology. The food system must be based on science and technology, it must be flexible and consumer driven, it must assure the health and wellness of the consumer and be fully sustainable. “Without food processing, our food system will not achieve any of these goals. Society must invest in basic and applied research. Meanwhile, food scientists must work together with industry, government and the public,” Floros concluded.

Rapid Exchange of Food Safety Information in a Globalized World Peter K. Ben Embarek, Scientist – International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) World Health Organization, Switzerland

“We talk about the need for more collaboration,” Peter Ben Embarek said. “But we are far from completing the job. When you consider that a food safety incident can spread into dozens of countries and thousands of products, companies must do a better job of collaborating.”

we have an emergency of food safety management.” Dealing with such events requires rapid exchange of information at both national and international levels. By sharing information and experiences between countries, food safety issues can be managed more effectively and efficiently. It is therefore important to have a mechanism in place to facilitate collaboration between countries. To provide such a mechanism, INFOSAN was launched in 2004 and has been growing ever since.

The old international health regulations (IHR), passed in 1969, covered only Yellow Fever, Cholera and Plague. The new IHR (2005) covers all public health emergencies of international concern, including those caused by food. Member States are obliged to declare all public health emergencies of international concern to the WHO. They also receive reports from sources other The World Health Organisation (WHO) and than Member States (media, private sector, the Food and Agriculture Organization of NGOs, social networks, etc.). The WHO also the United Nations (FAO) have developed has a 24-hour monitoring, operations and INFOSAN, a voluntary network of national response capability. food safety authorities, created to allow the “In a globalized world, efficient rapid exchange of information on food safety communication and sharing of data is the events of international concern, to minimize key to the management of food safety their impact and facilitate their coordination events,” Ben Embarek said. “We can’t afford and management. not to collaborate — particularly when

Ben Embarek added that even though the vast majority of delegates present are producing foods under very complex and controlled systems, they still represent the minority, globally. “Better collaboration globally can help,” he said. The use of early warning and response

 In a globalized world, efficient communication and sharing of data is the key to the management of food safety events

Breakout Session

capabilities, for example, allows for faster detection, resulting in a more rapid response, potentially preventing or reducing the incidence of food-borne illnesses.

Plenary Session

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e live in an increasingly globalized and interconnected world, where food products move rapidly across borders. A contaminated raw material or common ingredient can end up creating very large outbreaks of food-borne disease across several countries, causing expensive recalls on a large scale.

GFSI Induction Session

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GFSI Induction Session Plenary Session Breakout Session

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Global Food Safety Conference Report 2012

Consumer Trust in the Social Media Age Jean-Jacques Vandenheede, Director Retailer Insights, The Nielsen Company, Belgium

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he future is social — the future is mobile. These are the key predictions from Jean-Jacques Vandenheede, who has been tracking the changes in consumer behaviour at Nielsen. Social media is having a tremendous impact on our lives, but the shift is driven more by changing attitudes to technology than by relationships, Vandenheede argued. Half the population of the world is under 30. “These people have grown up with technology and will use it more than any other generation,” he said. Meanwhile, mobile devices have changed the way we connect and communicate. We no longer need to be face to face in order to have a conversation with friends and family. Consumer trust in digital brands and organisations is rapidly changing. Soon, Vandenheede argued, mobile devices will replace the PC. “Children in kindergarten are using iPads, proving that the future is mobile,” he said.  In addition to the PC, Vandenheede saw the future of the website itself as limited. “Dedicated mobile applications will possibly replace websites and advertising, creating fundamental change. Consumers would download the application, then click on it to buy and learn about the product of their choice.” Increasingly, consumers are turning to the internet not just for information but also to help in decision-making. “Three out of five consumers share their experiences via social media,” Vandenheede said. “This is changing the world.” But social media is not only the future of advertising, Vandenheede argued, it will also be used by companies to learn from their consumers and make decisions about products. However, there is also the potential for a negative impact. To get the best out of social media it is imperative “to respond quickly, to be organised and be visible” Vandenheede said. “Learn to listen and leverage what you learned. Remember listening is as important as communicating,” he concluded. “In the future the bottom line of your business will be affected by how well you use social media.”

 In the future the bottom line of your business will be affected by how well you use social media

Day 2: Thursday 16th February

Plenary Session

Reducing Risk Early in the Supply Chain Joan Rosen, Director Global Food Safety and North America Quality, Chiquita Brands Intl. , USA

“One of the unique challenges of produce is the diverse and complex supply chain,” Rosen continued. “There is a broad range of product categories and each of them has its own unique attributes. Probably the most prevalent is the lack of a defined kill step and the reliance on prerequisite programs like GAPs.” Food safety at Chiquita focuses on prevention and intervention. Consistent policies and rigorous standards are the key to this, along with commodity- and geographyrelevant data. Taking ownership of food safety and providing leadership in research and innovation are also crucial. “We have strong, very long-standing and collaborative relationships with our suppliers and customers,” Rosen said.

Chiquita ensures that its standards exceed both the scope of the FDA’s GAP guidelines and the requirements of the California Leafy Green Products Handler Marketing Agreement (LGMA). The company has 16 separate functional areas of agricultural operations during pre-planting through post-harvest. Growers and harvesters that do not meet Chiquita’s standards are removed from the approved supplier list. “We always have a set of eyes out there to monitor what’s going on out there in field and if there is something that changes, there is a phone call.” Rosen concluded: “Know and educate your suppliers. Clear communication will ensure confidence in your supplied product.”

Breakout Session

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uture prevention strategies must focus on eliminating the presence of pathogenic organisms on raw and processed products early in the supply chain, before they enter retail, foodservice or home environments, Joan Rosen told delegates. “Food safety starts at the field because the process starts at the field,” she said.

Plenary Session

 Clear communication will ensure confidence in your supplied product

Chiquita’s in-house expertise consists of more than 40 professionals, PhDs, agronomists and microbiologists, all of whom are focused on food safety excellence. Their raw product food safety team conducts thousands of field audits. Training includes HACCP, auditing, food safety courses, plant science, microbiology and produce processing. Continuous improvement is a requirement for annual training in food safety for all team members.

GFSI Induction Session

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GFSI Induction Session Plenary Session Breakout Session

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Global Food Safety Conference Report 2012

Retail Food Safety—Catalyst For Change Peter Overbosch, VP Corporate Quality Assurance, Metro Group, Germany



In today’s complex food system, consumers are becoming increasingly removed from most aspects of food production,” Peter Overbosch reminded the conference. And yet, shockingly, 1.8 million people die each year from food-borne illness. “We need to react to that,” he said. “Each company needs to be a catalyst for change.” Among the changes Overbosch advocated were a move from hazard-based to risk-based food safety programmes and a reduction in sole reliance on certification programs. “Certification programs are a major step in managing food safety, but certification cannot be the final word.” He said companies need to insist on science-based programs and resist making the wrong step. “Collectively as retailers we need to decide and not sit back. We need an ongoing demonstration of relevant capability. We need to actively engage with our suppliers, work proactively with them and look beyond certification to consistent performance.” Overbosch said Metro sought assurance that a company is continuously following food safety standards. “Each company needs to visit the facilities of their suppliers,” he argued. “Food safety is a full contact activity: get engaged.” Metro is finding its suppliers are increasingly certified under ISO 22000. “This is a move in the right direction but Metro would like to see companies achieving full certification against GFSI recognized schemes as the companies move forward.”

 Certification programs are a major step in managing food safety, but certification cannot be the final word

Trends in Consumer Food Safety Attitudes: Practices and Behaviors in the Home Chirstine Bruhn, Consumer Food Marketing Specialist, Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California Davis, USA

 The consumer’s role is to follow basic food safety guidelines

Where cooking is concerned, many times food is not thoroughly cooked due to a person’s preference and their failure to use a thermometer, Bruhn said. Of those she surveyed, 25% preferred their meat pink, while 83% used visual clues to determine when meat was cooked. More than half (53%) owned a meat thermometer, but used it only for large cuts. Summing up, Bruhn said: “Consumers do not follow recommended behaviors. They appear receptive to food safety tips, but actual adherence to them is not as great as their reported behavior.”

Breakout Session

Bruhn’s research found that most consumers do refrigerate perishable food items soon after purchase. In some rural and urban areas, however, the travel time from supermarket to home may reach two to three hours where public transportation is used. She further explained that in the home refrigerator “meat and poultry may be stored in a location that could lead to cross contamination”. The survey showed that 23% of consumers store meat wherever there is room, while 9% store raw meat on a shelf above ready-to-eat products.

Plenary Session

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or many raw foods, such as meat and poultry, the presence of pathogens is unavoidable in spite of using today’s production technologies, Christine Bruhn said. “As such, consumers have a role In a separate survey of 4 000 to play in preparing food safely.” people, Bruhn found that 20% The consumer’s role, she of consumers said they did not wash their argued, is to follow basic food hands before preparing food; 15% did not safety guidelines. “Education wash their hands after handling raw meat messages teach us to clean, or poultry and almost 60% did not wash separate, chill and cook,” she after cracking a raw egg. Only 7% of people said. “But do consumers keep said they washed their hands for 20 seconds raw meat, poultry and fish or more. The most common hand-washing separate from ready-to-eat time was 2 seconds (23%). foods in the shopping cart? In observational studies, the results were Do consumers keep their fresh more worrying: 32% of those observed products separate from raw did not wash their hands directly after products of animal origin? handling raw meat. Only 41% of all hand The answer is that they do not washing events involved soap and 47% separate them as well as we had hoped they of those observed “dried” their hands by would.” Drawing on the results of her recent just shaking off the excess water. In 74% research, she said that only 28% of those of households there was the potential for she surveyed separated raw meat products cross-contamination. The average number from their produce or other fresh products of potential cross-contamination events per in the shopping bag. household was 35.

GFSI Induction Session

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Global Food Safety Conference Report 2012

GFSI Induction Session Plenary Session Breakout Session

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Global Food Safety Conference Report 2012

New Regulatory Paradigms for an Interconnected World – The Regulatory Perspective Michael R. Taylor, Deputy Commissioner for Foods, FDA, USA

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paradigm shift. Rather than placing primary reliance on FDA inspectors detecting and correcting problems at the port of entry, the FSMA makes importers accountable for verifying that the food they import has been produced in accordance The new FDA Food Safety Modernisation act with US standards, or under modern (FSMA) recognises the primary responsibility and preventive controls that provide capacity of the food industry to make food safe. It the same level of public health also spells out the essential and complementary protection.  “In short, importers role of government. The FSMA directs the FDA must manage their supply chains to build a new, modern food safety system that to ensure the safety of imported foods,” Taylor includes a level playing field of standards that all said. must follow and provides a toolkit for gaining The Foreign Supplier Verification Program makes private-sector supply chain management the high rates of compliance.  The FSMA contains some 50 specific directives foundation of the import safety system, but for the FDA to collaborate in the design and Congress has also recognised the important implementation of the new food safety system, role already being played in supply chain not only with other federal and state agencies management by private sector third party audits and certifications. Like GFSI, Congress and the but also with foreign governments. FDA know that rigorous, objective private audits Three of the forthcoming proposed rules relate to can add significant food safety value and thereby establishing the basic regulatory framework for complement oversight by public regulators. “But prevention, which Congress mandated for those we also recognise that rigour and objectivity who grow and pack fresh produce and process cannot be taken for granted. Under this program, food and animal feed. While Congress recognises the FDA will recognise accrediting bodies and that prevention is a shared responsibility of set standards for accreditation of third-party all participants in the food system, it also certification bodies and auditors aimed at ensuring recognises the differences between facilities that the rigour, objectivity and, most importantly, the manufacture or pack food and animal feed and transparency of third-party audits,” Taylor told farms which grow produce. “That is why we are delegates.  proposing three separate rules to establish the basic framework of prevention standards,” Taylor “The challenge of implementing the FSMA is great,” Taylor summed up. “But so is the said. opportunity to strengthen Facilities that process human food will be required food safety and the global to establish modern preventive controls that are food system.” consistent with internationally recognized HACCP principles and address supplier verification activities that relate to the safety of food.  n an increasingly complex global food system, previous regulatory paradigms may not be sufficient to manage 21st century food safety risk, Michael Taylor told delegates. “Providing safe food in the 21st century will require new regulatory approaches as well as greater collaboration by all stakeholders.”

The law’s new import requirements are closely tied to the preventive controls, producing safety requirements and calling for a fundamental

  We also recognise that rigour and objectivity cannot be taken for granted

Anticipating Food Safety Risks – The Industry Perspective Christian Mahr, Director Quality and Food Safety, Danone, The Netherlands

In the absence of a crystal ball, Danone uses processes and procedures to “identify, anticipate, mitigate and manage risks”. The company’s “Quality and Food safety Risk Analysis” is performed at each point in a product’s development, Mahr said. It is performed again in the evaluation and monitoring steps.

Using the example of a 125ml bottle of concentrated nutridrink — a product used in clinical environments for malnutrition patients — Mahr explained how the process worked. Danone had been challenged to create a bottle that could be used repeatedly throughout the day rather than in a single dose. Following analysis, the microbiological risk was found to be much less than the company expected. But because there was no way to foresee how the consumer would use the product, Danone had to mitigate the risk by reducing the actual shelf life to only 24 hours. The product was labelled to reflect 24 hours as the maximum use.

 If we only do the technical part of risk management and risk assessment and don’t include the scientific part, it’s useless

Danone used both technical and scientific methods to accomplish a goal to meet the needs of their client. “Risk communication has to be an integral part of this process. Communication is essential at each stage of such a project.”

Breakout Session

“Everything starts with hazard identification,” Mahr told the conference. The company uses experts and scientists in the areas of microbiology, packaging and nutrition to assist in identifying hazards as well as managing, evaluating, reducing, mitigating and monitoring risk. “If we only do the technical part of risk management and risk assessment and don’t include the scientific part, it’s empty, it’s useless,” Mahr said.

Plenary Session

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ood safety begins by designing safety into the product, Christian Mahr said. This is done by ingredient selection, formulation and challenge studies, he said.

GFSI Induction Session

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Networking

Social Events

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Sessions

Exhibition Area

GFSI Induction Session Plenary Session Breakout Session

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Global Food Safety Conference Report 2012

Who is Responsible for Food Safety — The Consumer Perspective Charlie Arnot, CEO, Center for Food Integrity, USA



What does it take to build trust?” Charlie Arnot asked delegates. Presenting new research, he said the findings showed that consumers feel there is shared responsibility, from the farmer to the retailer. The research also showed that consumers have definite priorities when it comes to choosing food. The highest priority —year after year — is “safe food”. The second is “affordable food for my family and me”. “Nutritious food” is third on the list. Given the high priority given to safety, companies must earn and maintain a formal “licence” to operate from consumers and government, Arnot told the conference. “As owners of “trust”, consumers and governments are going to impose greater control each time this trust is violated. Loss of social licence is not limited to the one bad actor but affects the entire industry.”

The US egg recall of 2010 is a good example. On 13th and 18th August 2010, more than half a billion eggs were recalled over concerns about Salmonella enteritis. “The social consequences of the recall were: no market for eggs, loss of multiple flocks, hundreds of national and international media stories, enormous financial impact on egg farms, illnesses that generated personal injury lawsuits, along with litigation between businesses by suppliers, customers and other farms.” The government’s response was to pass the Food Safety Modernization Act and increase enforcement of the federal egg safety rule.

  What are you doing to improve your relationship with your stakeholders?

Using a triangle graphic, Arnot argued that the foundation of trust lay in being ethically grounded (compassion, responsibility, respect, fairness, and truth). The second side of the triangle represents that which is scientifically verified: it must be data-driven, repeatable, measurable, specific and objective. The third side of the triangle represents that which is economically viable: ROI, demand, cost-control, productivity, efficiency, and profitability.

“The range of our stakeholders grows every day due to social media,” Arnot reminded the conference.  “What are you doing to improve your relationship with your stakeholders?”

Communicating Food Safety in the Information Age – The Media Perspective Dina ElBoghdady, Reporter, The Washington Post, USA

 There should be more information, but people do not know who to trust

Breakout Session

“The media does play a role in what people think,” ElBoghdady affirmed. “It is also our responsibility to give them the correct information.” While it is easy to blame the media for scares, she argued that industry shared the responsibility for helping consumers to interpret what was in the news. Industry should collaborate with the media ahead of time, she told the conference.

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s a journalist, Dina ElBoghdady acknowledged that the particular group of delegates in the audience generally wanted to stay out of the news. “There should be more information, but people do not know who to trust,” she said. “Reliability is very important to all of us and to our consumers.” Newspapers and news outlets, she said, were third and fourth on the list of reliable information givers.

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Yes the conference is the best in the industry.

Truly global and great networking !

Keeping up to date on food safety. One stop shop!

Trends are discussed , and key players who will help solve the problems are here .

It helps keep up with industry first hand information and new requirements to make eating a safe experience for everyone .

To be on top of emerging trends and how the industry is headed .

Ingredients and Ingredient Driven Issues Moderator: Cindy Jiang, Senior Director, Worldwide Quality Systems, Food Safety and Nutrition, McDonald’s Corporation, USA

Ingredients and Ingredient Driven Issues Katsuya Seguro, Group General Manager, Ajinomoto Inc. Co., Japan of the working areas, to ensure that raw and finished materials are properly stored and used to prevent cross-contamination. Effective and regular pest control programs should be maintained and reviewed. Employee health and the sanitary control of workers is critical.

Jeff Banks, Global Head Quality Assurance, Barry Callebaut, Switzerland Barry Callebaut’s dried, ambient-stable components have a long shelf life, but can become contaminated at very low levels. The key drivers of contamination, Jeff Banks explained, are globalisation, low cost country sourcing, mergers and acquisitions,

Packaging and Food Safety

economic downturn, supply chain complexity, outsourcing of manufacturing and auditing. To regain control we must collaboratively assess, design out, and manage risk. Audits should drive improvements, not merely satisfy compliance. We should maintain surveillance programs with verification testing. Lastly, it is vital to share our learnings.

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Samuel S. Messina, Senior Director, Quality and Continuous Improvement, HAVI Global Solutions, USA Hard-to-open packaging, packages with rips, cracks, tears, spills and leaks — has this ever happened to you? “Packaging was meant to protect the product, but sometimes it does not work that way,” Samuel Messina said. With more than 70,000,000 people

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Emerging Food Safety Issues & Preparedness

Plenary Session

Contaminated food ingredients can affect multiple products, while each product is distributed through various channels and consumed in multiple settings. As well as establishing proper critical control points (CCPs) companies must achieve effective zoning

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relying on the strength of packaging materials, HAVI’s primary goal is to build packaging quality and safety into the process upfront. It’s crucial to partner with suppliers in order to qualify sourcing, ensure capability and meet regulatory requirements. This is accomplished through development, testing, data processing and communications.

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Crisis Response: Food Safety and Natural Disasters Moderator: Cenk Gurol, AEON Group Chief SCM Officer and President, Aeon Global SCM and GFSI Board Co-Vice Chair, Japan

How AEON Recovered From the National Disaster Yasuhide Chikazawa, Vice President Merchandising Reform Officer, AEON Company, Ltd., Japan In March 2011, Japan suffered a devastating earthquake and tsunami. For those that survived the double disaster, access to safe food and supplies was critical. Some 65% of Aeon’s stores were closed and 30% of its supply chain capacity was erased. But Aeon’s recovery process ensured that 95% of these stores could reopen within two weeks. “Traceability

became even more important,” Chikazawa said. Aeon eased the minds of its customers with safe food and the information that goes along with it. “Food Safety has become Aeon’s top priority issue,” Chikazawa said.

The Coca-Cola System’s Response to the 2011 East Japan Earthquake & Tsunami Troy Clarida, Director, Incident Management & Prevention, The Coca-Cola Company, USA Neil Marshall, Director, Quality & Food Safety, The Coca-Cola Company, USA When the Japanese earthquake and tsunami struck, Coca-Cola launched its recovery (IMCR) process. Once the safety of associates was established, the company assessed the supply chain. Production plants & distribution centers were significantly damaged and customers were concerned about radioactive contamination and food safety. Through third-party expertise, the company established a radiation testing and screening capability. Food safety

operations formed two teams and assessed the supply chain through HACCP and identified high-, medium- and low-risk suppliers. It is necessary to have a global approach for business continuity. Through GFSI, the information that was gained from this tragedy can be shared.

Structuring a Digital Infrastructure for the Event of a large Scale Disaster

Cenk Gurol, AEON Group Chief SCM Officer and President, Aeon Global SCM and GFSI Board Co-Vice Chair, Japan During a large-scale disaster, manufacturing and distribution centers suffer significant damage.. It is therefore key to develop a clear view of the macro situation. There is a 37% chance that there will be another 8.0 earthquake in Japan within five years, and the Japanese people must be prepared. It is urgently necessary to develop a digital infrastructure that

will support smooth delivery, inventory deployment, traceability and in-store retailing in an emergency. The government is creating a program to share data digitally. It is necessary to implement hazard management systems, and GFSI is a very good resource as a platform for knowledge exchange.

Food Fraud – What You Need To Know Moderator: Rick Roop, Senior Vice President, Science and Regulatory Affairs, Tyson Foods, USA

Food fraud – What You Need to Know John Spink, Associate Director & Assistant Professor, Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection Program, School of Criminal Justice, Michigan State University, USA misrepresentation of food, food ingredients, or food packaging — or false or misleading statements made about a product — for economic gain. The cause of an event might be food fraud, but the effect of an adulterated product is a food safety incident.

Tim Jackson, Food Safety Director, Nestlé, USA Nestlé has adopted an early warning management system involving detection, risk evaluation, communication, decision and finally, actions within the company’s quality management function to control the

issue. “This is resource-intensive and does not seem to have immediate economic benefit and it’s sometimes difficult to prove the savings of something you have averted,” Tim Jackson said. “However, there are enough cases out there of expensive issues which can justify it.”

Food Industry Enterprises Credit in China Dr. Dong Qiao, General Director, China Certification & Accreditation Institute (CCAI), China In 2010, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued new standards of general requirements for food enterprises.

Their aim was to establish a rating management system whereby a company managing its food safety management systems effectively over a specified period of time would collect a certificate.

Breakout Session

Practical Management of Economic Adulteration of Raw Materials

Plenary Session

Every time there is an incidence of food fraud, there is a potential threat to public health. Food fraud is a collective term used to encompass the deliberate and intentional substitution, addition, tampering or

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Ron Cotterman, Executive Director, Sustainability, Sealed Air Corporation, USA

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Using Innovative Techniques to Implement a Safe and Sustainable Future Supply Chain Moderator: Bob Gravani, Professor Food Science, Cornell University, USA Tatiana Koutchma, Research Scientist, Food Engineering, Agriculture and Agri-Food, Canada Aldin Hilbrands, Senior Manager, Product Intergrity Royal Ahold, The Netherlands More than 30 emerging technologies — such as mechanical energy, high-pressure, electromagnetic energy, sonication, chemical, plasma and magnetic field — will help improve cost efficiency, transparency, competitiveness, food safety and food security. They can also bring extended quality life, which is not the same as shelf life. New packaging methods will reduce consumer waste by 30%, creating more shelf-stable foods. Leakresistant packaging will be very important for fresh poultry packaging. Defining this process and bringing the novel technologies onstream, however, is slow. The EU, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and China have identified and defined this process. However, the United States, Japan and India have not.

Technology can also improve the store experience. Stores need to recognise the opportunity provided by the ubiquity of the smart phone. This technology can make it easier for a shopper to find ingredients, make her shopping list or navigate and find products in the store. But before we can provide this technology, we need a high quality database to drive the applications. The first store in the US to use this technology was Stop n Shop; they called the service Scan It. Customers would add their information such as allergies — to the database, personalising and adding value to the shopping experience. This can help drive traffic to your store and separate you from your competitors.



Food Safety in Emerging Markets Moderator: D.V. Darshane, Director, Policy Product & Technology & Standards, Global Quality & Product Integrity, The Coca Cola Company, USA

Egypt: Implementation of the GFSI Global Markets Program for Local Metro Suppliers

of assessment, followed by three days of face to face training and mentoring, and ended with a second round of assessment. The results demonstrated that whereas around only 35% of suppliers tended to pass the basic and intermediate level requirements after the first round of assessment, following the training around 75% of suppliers passed the basic and intermediate levels.

The pilot therefore proved the effectiveness of the GM Protocol in improving supplier compliance with food safety and in responding to retailer/manufacturer needs. It provided practical experience and hard data to verify The objective of the pilot programme with Metro in and finalize the GM Protocol. The localisation approach Egypt was to pilot and test the GFSI Global Markets can be duplicated and scaled. Suppliers were satisfied Protocol at Basic & Intermediate Level, and provide and are now requesting further assistance in continuous concrete feedback to validate the requirements set out improvement and to tap market opportunities. in the programme. The project involved a first round

Africa - Caribbean - Pacific: Technical Assistance Program for Horticultural Export Companies Morag Webb, Policy Adviser, COLEACP-PIP Programme, Belgium COLEACP, a non-profit inter-professional association that represents and defends the collective interests of ACP producers/exporters and EU importers of fruits, vegetables, flowers and plants managed this programme for fresh fruit and vegetable exports at the request of ACP-EU. The programme piloted the GFSI Global Markets Primary Production Protocols for less developed businesses. The objectives were to maintain or increase horticultural exports from ACP states in order to alleviate poverty and to prevent changing EU regulatory requirements from having a negative effect on ACP exports.

With the goal of meeting the requirements set out at both the Basic and Intermediate levels of the GFSI Global Markets Programme, the project also gave producers and exporters information, knowledge and skills needed to meet market requirements and helped develop their capacity to adapt to changing requirements on a sustainable basis. Companies new to the process found it very useful, .while PIP found that the Global Markets Programme and protocol provided a baseline to monitor progress and assess impact for their technical assistance programmes.

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With an increase in the trend for “locally sourced, locally sold” products, companies must respond to this demand while maintaining high food safety standards. UNIDO/ ETRACE was established in 2004 as a joint project of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and the Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry, with the Italian Development Cooperation and the private sector, through the Italian-Egyptian “Debt for Development” swap.

Plenary Session

Alaa Fahmy, Director, Egyptian Agriculture and Agro-industry Technology Centre, Egypt

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India: Implementation of Food Safety Modernization Act in India – Capacity & Capability Development Perspective Chinmayee Deulgaonkar, National Food Manager, DNV Business Assurance, India India needs a new food law because the country’s current laws are not harmonized with CODEX and other international guidelines. The current law has a less scientific approach and only focuses on adulteration and not food safety. India has therefore established the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to consolidate food laws, establish science-based food safety standards and regulate the manufacture, storage,

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distribution, sale and import of food products. India believes government, industry and the consumer are all responsible for food safety. Part of FFSAI’s brief is to educate consumers with accurate and informative labeling.

Learning from Others: Investigative Findings from Recent Food-borne Outbreaks Moderator: Cindy Jiang, Senior Director, Worldwide Quality Systems, Food Safety and Nutrition, McDonald’s Corporation, USA

Germany. Lessons learned the E. coli outbreak

Germany’s 2011 E. coli outbreak was the largest of its kind in Germany since the Second World War. There were 3,842 cases in total. One of the biggest challenges facing the investigation was navigating the country’s 16 different relevant authorities and the high level of bureaucracy inherent in dealing with them. As a result, it took

a long time to consolidate information. Public health and food control authorities need to optimise their cooperation and accelerate the exchange of information. Prevention and surveillance strategies must focus more strongly on foods of plant origin as potential carriers of disease agents. Meanwhile, we should invest more in microbiological research and establish microbiology networks EU-wide that are equipped with large testing capacities.

Sherry McGarry, Senior Advisor, US Food & Drug Administration, Coordinated Outbreak Response and Evaluation, Office of Foods (U.S. FDA/CORE/OF), USA This outbreak covered 28 states, with 146 cases, resulting in 30 deaths and one miscarriage. It was not detected by Pulsenet but by traditional detection methods at Colorado State University. The common source was identified as Jensen Farms, where a design flaw made

cleaning difficult and some critical control points were missing. The FDA recommends that firms employ good agricultural and management practices, firstly in their packaging facilities as well as in the growing fields and, secondly, for growing, harvesting, washing, sorting, packing, storage and transportation of fruits and vegetables sold to consumers.

Taiwan’s Experience on Management of Plasticizer Contamination in Foods Chiareiy Liu, Researcher, Food and Drug Administration, Department of Health, Taiwan The source of this contamination was identified as a powder traced to a clouding agent used in the flavoring of additives. Emergency response teams traced the product supply and coordinated health authorities for a recall. Ultimately 425 companies were

involved and 877 products identified. There is a need for a food safety stakeholder network and greater intergovernment cooperation on aspects of industry, moral, social, legal, education, technology and management. The development of an information-sharing platform is critical for global food safety.

Breakout Session

USA. Lessons learned from the Cantaloupe Listeria Outbreak

Plenary Session

Bernhard Kühnle, Director General, Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, Germany

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A company’s culture amounts to the behavioral patterns of its people. When you change the behaviour, you change the culture. To achieve a sustainable food safety culture, a company must first have high expectations. Employees must have responsibility and be accountable. Good training is an orchestrated experience. It involves

Breakout Session

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Behavior Based Food Safety Moderator: Yves Rey, Corporate Quality General Manager, Danone, France, appointed next GFSI Board Chair

The Elements of Behavioral Change Robert Meyer, CEO, Breakthrough Consulting Solutions, USA experience (“knowing”), the transfer of knowledge and actions (“doing”). Knowing and doing leads to behavioral feedback to management and to the people. The result is sustainable behavioral change.

Lone Jespersen, Director of Food Safety Strategy, Maple Leaf Foods, Canada Maple Leaf Foods employs 22,000 people, while 11,500 people eat its food every day. In 2008, 23 people died from listeriosis traced to a slicer box that had never been opened for repair. “That changed what Maple Leaf is today,” Jespersen said. The Maple Leaf Foods culture

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model is based on three letters: A = Antecedents; B = Define behaviors; C = Consequences, both negative and positive.

Food Safety Awareness: Tools & Tactics for Effective Behavioral Change Glenn Bazzel, Continuous Skills Development Manager, ConAgra Foods, USA Food safety culture at ConAgra is built on three principles. The first is “standardised tools”. These include a solid, employeefocused structure and a reliable delivery method, such as the Alchemy training system and on-the job training with a mentor. The second requires “innovative techniques” to educate and validation via skills audits. Lastly, “people power”

engages employees by empowering them: any ConAgra employee has the power to stop a process if there is a food safety issue at hand.

Dane Fone, Director, Business Development - Global Food, NSF International, USA Making the jump from a compliance approach to food safety to a genuine proactive commitment can only be done by understanding behaviour enablers. These are: fear of getting caught, concern of consequences, peer pressure, incentives and leadership. Safe practices should be standard practices. Understanding the people-based risk and working with

experts and workplace psychologists will allow you to influence staff and deliver sustainable safe behaviour at a low cost.

Global Food Supply Chain Collaboration Moderator: Frank Yiannas, Vice President Food Safety, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., USA

The Development of a GFSI-compliant Quality & Food Safety Program for Mars Incorporated

“Mutuality” is an important principle This is both the definition and benefit of collaboration. Mars at Mars. A mutual benefit is a shared is currently looking for these collaborative relationships benefit; a shared benefit will endure. with its partners across the supply chain.

Audit Programmes Should be Process-based, Not Just a Checklist Andrew J Smith, President, LRQA, Inc, USA weaknesses in the company’s system will remain, despite the audit pass. “The reality is you can’t sweep this under the carpet,” Andrew Smith said. By contrast, LRQA carries out a process and systems-based audit. “It’s not just a checklist, it’s not just an inspection.”

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Standardised approach allows sharing of best practices across the business Jennifer Yezak, Global Food Safety Manager, Wrigley, USA

Wrigley received requests from major little different. We had multiple auditing bodies, limited retailers for certification against a benchmarking or best practice and limited visibility,” GFSI recognized scheme. Prior to this, Jennifer Yezak said. Implementing the GFSI approach the company had multiple standards. has allowed a single set of best practices to be shared “We had different approaches, every across every part of the business. department across the business was a

Visibility of results leads to ownership and business improvement

Roger Bont, Global Quality Assurance Director, Corporate Food Safety & Regulatory Affairs, Cargill A quality management programme compatible with the GFSI approach offers consistency and efficiency within factories, with suppliers and with your customers and retailers.

Breakout Session

Audit processes often get bad press because when companies know the auditors are coming on Monday morning, everyone rushes around to clean up and get a pass. When it is done this way, all the structural

Plenary Session

Cathy Stannard, Global Head of Quality & Food Safety Management, Mars Incorporated, UK

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Collaboration is proving to improve efficiency at both Mars and Cargill, and frees up large amounts of time that would have been spent managing audits. A good working relationship with the audit company also leads to an improvement-driven programme.

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Day 3: Friday 17th February Micro Testing – Does It Result in Safer Food? Moderator: Payton Pruett, Vice President, Corporate Food Technology & Regulatory Compliance, The Kroger Co., USA

The Microbial World: Can We Really Culture What We Cannot See? Paula J. Fedorka-Cray, Agricultural Research Service, Microbiologist, Research Leader, Bacterial Epidemiology & Antimicrobial Resistance Research Unit, USDA, USA Bacteria are everywhere: 40 miles up, 7 miles under the ocean, 24 feet down in soil, in rocks and cracks, in the air and water. Bacteria have only one purpose: survival. They can survive under extreme conditions. Research cannot be accomplished without considering time, cost

and especially talent. The challenge is to develop and use methods that will accurately detect and target bacterial populations with high sensitivity and specificity.

The Role of Microbiological Testing in Assuring Safe Food James Marsden, Professor of Food Safety and Security, Kansas State University, USA

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One of the greatest myths in food microbiology is the idea that finished product testing can guarantee the safety of the finished product. Millions of tests are done annually for E.coli 0157:H7 in beef raw materials. There is no question that it reduces the risk, but we still see cases and outbreaks of E.coli. Microbiological testing will make food safer but we must use it to validate effective interventions and to verify the efficacy of the overall

process. Validation and verification are both essential elements of an effective HACCP plan. Together, they assure the plan is adequately designed to control identified hazards and prove that the plan is operating as it should. Without validated CCP’s, HACCP plans will likely fail.

Safety by Design – the Role of Testing Matilda Freund, Sr. Director KFE Quality, Kraft Foods Europe, Switzerland

Product design is the foundation of food safety. This is where we look at the product we are creating, the packaging in which we are going to deliver it, work out how we are going to ask the consumer to handle it and how long they are going to keep it. Getting this right can make a genuine difference. Testing has a role in a welldesigned food safety program, but it cannot be used as a control as it is not able to detect contamination that is not homogeneous or low levels of contamination. However,

when a robust food safety management program is in place, it can be used for verification. If we really understand the potential hazards inherent in a product and try to design them out early, then there is less need for control later on in the process.

Private and Public Standards: Complementary or Antagonistic? Moderator: Bryan Farnsworth, VP Quality Management, Hormel Foods, USA

Codex Alimentarius is an organisation of 185 members (and 204 observers) with a common goal to protect the health of consumers, to ensure fair practices in the food trade and to promote the coordination of all food. Codex is an invisible link between producers, consumers and all actors in the food chain. Its strengths are its flexibility, since each country decides

how to apply the code, its accessibility (via the web) and its transparency. Challenges include finding consensus among diverse members, being flexible with private standards, which can be restrictive, and the participation of developing countries. GFSI already addresses many of the concerns of the Codex members. The mechanisms for GFSI and Codex to work closer together are in place, they should be used. “There are solutions which we can best find together,” Heilandt said.

ISO is a non-governmental organization that forms a bridge between the public and private sectors, providing linkages between key international organisations. In the past, ISO has not been very active in the realm of food safety, but this has changed over recent years. ISO is a nationally-based organisation: there is one

institute per country, which has the task of engaging industry and government with the standards (the current collection is comprised of around 19000 standards). International standards help economies thrive by linking global supply chains, by underpinning international trade, by reducing technical barriers to trade and assuring health and safety. Finally, they help renew confidence and promote economic recovery.

Breakout Session

Kevin McKinley, Deputy Secretary-General, ISO, Switzerland

Plenary Session

Tom Heilandt, Senior Food Standards Officer, Secretariat,, Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme, Italy

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Jairo Romero, President, ACTA (La Asociación Colombiana de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos – Colombian Association for Food Science and Technology), Colombia Private standards cover a range of applications from supply chain management to social standards, food safety, animal and plant standards and technical standards. This long string of requirements can create problems. They are constantly growing, creating significant challenges to small and less well-developed producers, making

a large impact on food safety and generating worldwide debate. Despite all these challenges, there have been some significant achievements. Brazil has better controls over pesticide residues; Chile is using SPS control systems for molluscs, pork, poultry and fruits. Uruguay and Argentina recognize national meat control systems. There have been key learnings from the exposure to international markets and related experts.

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Fresh, Healthy & All Natural: Consequences on Food Safety Moderator: Peter Begg, Director Global Quality Programs, Kraft Foods Global, USA

Clean Labels: Trends and Challenges Evangelia Komitopoulou, Head of Food Safety, Leatherhead Food Research, UK Clean labels are often defined as referring to natural products with no added preservatives, but there is a lack of common understanding. “A Clean Label is basically a term used by the industry and not recognised by consumers,” Komitopoulou said. “What consumers

really need is to be able to use simple labelling, in simple language, so they can understand exactly what they have in the product.”

Fresh, Healthy & All Natural: Consequences on Food Safety Brad Eldridge, Director, Quality Assurance, Abbott Nutrition, USA Abbot Nutrition’s approach to food safety starts with the supplier. “You ultimately want your relationship with suppliers to be a partnership and an alliance,” Eldridge said. “We have supplier conferences, so they can fully understand our business, see how their materials are being used and who the consumers of our products are. We have pictures of our employees’ children, infants

and grandparents, so when they have meetings or go to lunch they are reminded we are making products for our family members. This is very beneficial to improve the culture within our business.”

11 Food Safety Opportunities and Challenges

Jorge Hernandez, Senior VP, Food Safety & Quality, US Foods, USA

When developing natural products, it is important not to lose sight of other consumer demands, such as affordability. In some cases US Foods has wasted investment in new product development due to the

fact that when the product came to market it was simply too expensive for the average consumer, despite specific demands for the product.

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The clue is in the word GLOBAL which is very important for industry.

It is always good to realise through networking that we are not ‘alone’ in our own organisation facing similar challenges. This conference is a great platform to exchange ideas and bring them back to our individual organisation .

This is the leading global food safety conference that provides the latest information on global food safety including both the challenges faced by our industry and some solutions from the key stakeholders.

The Global Food Safety Conference attracts decision makers and high level participants which allow for a more strategic series of talks and presentations.

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Win-Win Solutions for Retailers and Suppliers: “Building Capacity for Safe and Sustainable Sourcing” Gerardo Patacconi, Chief, Cluster and Business Linkages Unit, Business, Investment and Tecnology Branch, UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization), Austria Ali Badarneh, Industrial Development Office, Trade Capacity Building Brands, UNIDO, Austria

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is a specialized agency, established in 1966, with 173 member states. It has a mandate to promote and accelerate sustainable industrial development in developing countries and economies in transition and to improve living conditions in the world’s poorest countries by drawing on its combined global resources and expertise. In recent years, UNIDO has assumed an increased role in global development by focusing its activities on three thematic priorities: poverty reduction through productive activities, trade capacity building and energy and the environment.

Some of the most common factors in capacitybuilding programs are: building sustainable local capacity through training, assessment and mentoring; streamlining and integrating the capacity within the national food safety system and supporting supplier development programmes.

 UNIDO has a commitment to continuous improvement Unido has

a commitment to continuous improvement, Ali Badarneh said. It acts as a partner in a system to help streamline the protocol within the whole organization and improve trust in collaboration with others, such as development partners and government. It encourages companies to working together as groups or clusters and solicits donors to support privateBy providing assistance to suppliers to increase public partnerships. access to new markets and improve the supply chain, UNIDO is bridging the gap between supplier and buyer demands through collaboration with local and global retailers. As a result, its food safety capacity building initiatives create wealth, enhance trade and increase consumer protection.

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customers.

UNIDO has projects in over 100 countries, where it assists companies though the transfer of skills and expertise. “To achieve this, UNIDO acts as a confidential advisor and broker, with no reporting on the results of assessments and capacity building and no market distortion”, Patacconi said. “Capacitybuilding is achieved through training development and deployment, through strengthening the institutional and legal framework, by mobilising financial resources and the interest and support of governments. We also have a direct link with the private sector,” Patacconi added.

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apacity-building and continuous improvement are essential if we are to enable less developed businesses to comply with market requirements and access local, regional and international supply chains, Gerardo Patacconi said. The benefits are shared, since retailers and brands can work with more suppliers across the globe, thus diversifying their offer while guaranteeing safe food to their

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Future Food Production Technologies Roman Buckow, Research Group Leader | Process Engineering Science, CSIRO Food and Nutritional Sciences, Australia

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egashocks in population health, food security, biosecurity and food safety are on their way and will fundamentally change the way we produce food, Roman Buckow told the audience. Concepts for the food factory of the future must consider new technologies and innovative approaches that can address these shocks through the delivery of healthy foods and diets that are safe, substantiated and sustainable.

  Processing can preserve agri-foods & ingredients and reduce the environmental footprint of transport systems

Population growth will increase global demand for food in the next 50 years “more than we can imagine,” Buckow said. Along with this basic demand, increased consumer purchasing power is driving demand for quality and diversity. But the energy, soil and water crises, climate change, population growth and the shortage of animal protein mean we will struggle to meet this demand using existing production methods. Among the solutions being developed are novel separation and ultrasound technologies, pulsed electric field processing, cool plasma processing, high-pressure heat sterilization and microwave sterilization. However, deployment is not a given. “Many of these will require consumer buy-in as well as acceptance from the regulatory agencies,” Buckow warned. “Processing can preserve agri-foods & ingredients and reduce the environmental footprint of transport systems,” Buckow said. Trade in processed food products is now 75% of global agricultural trade and growing twice as fast as raw commodity trade. Buckow put this down to technological advances in transportation, data processing, biology, telecommunications and finance, along with the global extension of supply chains and the consolidation of food processors and retailers. Development of new technologies is expensive and it can take several decades before they can be successfully commercialised. However, “step-change innovations in food processing” may be indispensable to address the future challenges, Buckow said. “A science-based assessment and an acceptance of technology solutions are crucial for ensuring food safety now and in the future.”

Closing Remarks Jürgen Matern, Outgoing GFSI Board Chairman, VP Sustainability and Regulatory Affairs, Metro AG, Germany Yves Rey, Incoming GFSI Board Chairman, Corporate Quality General Manager, Danone, France

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rank Yiannas was welcomed by Jürgen Matern to the role of co-Vice Chair of the GFSI Board alongside Cenk Gürol of Aeon. “We now have the Chair and Vice-Chairs of the Board representing Europe, the US and Asia. We are looking forward to continuing to advance global food safety through collaboration as a strong Board that takes into account the diverse needs of our globalised food industry”.  

Plenary Session

Incoming Chair Yves Rey told delegates to “Protect, Connect and Empower.” Protect consumer health and company reputations; connect science to business, farm to fork and private to public and empower the stakeholder. “We are currently managing food safety in a time of economic crisis, facing unprecedented budget cuts in governments and increasing unemployment rates,” Rey said. “But the more we overcome the challenges the better we become.” He added: «Life is like a box of chocolates — you never know what you will get, but the important thing is that the chocolate must be safe.”

Breakout Session

F

 The more we overcome the challenges the better we become

GFSI Technical Working Groups and Stakeholder Meeting

GFSI Board

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Global Food Safety Conference Report 2012

Exhibitors The following companies were looking forward to wecolming you to their stand in the networking and exhibition area during the conference

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Global Food Safety Conference Report 2012

The Consumer Goods Forum would like to thank its Partner and Sponsors:

pARTNER

Diamond Sponsors

Platinum Sponsors

Premium Sponsors

Gold Sponsors

Silver Sponsors

Bronze Sponsor

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Global Food Safety Conference Report 2012

Next Meetings

Japan Food Safety Day Tokyo - Japan, 30th October 2012

GFSI Focus Day: New Delhi - India, 4th December 2012

Global Food Safety Conference Barcelona - Spain, 6th - 8th March 2013

For more information, please contact: [email protected]

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Global Food Safety Conference Report 2012

6th-8th March 2013 / Barcelona, Spain

Global Food Safety Conference 2013 Food safety in a global economy www.tcgffoodsafety.com Share Knowledge and Network with over 800 Food Safety Experts from over 60 countries

6th-8th March 2013 Hotel Rey Juan Carlos  Barcelona, Spain

The Consumer Goods Forum

Thank you to:

International Headquarters Paris, France Tel: (+33) 1 82 00 95 95 email: [email protected]

Beth Miles, Retail Analyst, Planet Retail, UK

Japan Office Tokyo, Japan Tel: (+81) 3 62689477 email: [email protected] The Americas Office Washington, USA Tel: (+1) 301 563 3383 email: [email protected]

Mike Nolan, Food Safety Specialist, Sweetbay Supermarkets, USA Nancy McDonals, President, M & M Consulting II, Inc., USA Zeb E Blanton, Jr., Global Key Account Manager, SGS - North America, Inc., USA for providing the content for this report.

Thank you to: dm+c — ideas. content. communication. www.delevine.co for editorial input.