IDFA, Food and Drug Administration to Offer Food Defense Awareness Workshop at International Dairy Show
The International Dairy Foods Association, in cooperation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, will convene a Food Defense Awareness Workshop during the International Dairy Show and PROCESS EXPO this fall. The workshop aims to enhance the food industry's understanding of food defense, share available tools and resources and demonstrate how companies can create food defense plans for their facilities. The workshop will be held November 6, the final day of the four-day exhibition scheduled for the McCormick Place in Chicago. Much of the workshop will focus on FDA's new tool, the Food Defense Plan Builder software program, which is designed to guide manufacturers through a series of steps that will help them develop proprietary food defense plans. Working with industry, FDA developed the voluntary tool to help companies implement food defense at their facilities.
"I have collaborated with FDA during the development of this tool and during a number of vulnerability assessments that the tool is based upon, and I believe FDA has done a great job with this effort," said Clay Detlefsen, IDFA vice president of regulatory affairs. "Industry focus groups reviewed the tool, and they liked it, too. We're eager to share it with a broader audience and believe the International Dairy Show will provide an excellent forum."
The workshop will open with an update on the status of food defense regulations, followed by key learnings from the vulnerability assessments. Attendees will have ample time for hands-on experience with the new tool. Registration is free, but space is limited to 100 participants. Contact Robin Cornelison, IDFA trade show director, at rcornelison@idfa.org for registration details.
"This workshop is just one of the many exciting new opportunities that we've added to the International Dairy Show this year," said Neil Moran, IDFA senior vice president, finance, administration and trade show. "The comprehensive educational sessions, daily networking receptions on the show floor and extensive line-up of exhibitors offer a valuable combination that's just not available anywhere else."
The International Dairy Show, co-located with FPSA's PROCESS EXPO, is expected to attract over 800 total exhibitors who will display the newest technologies in equipment, packaging, ingredients and services for processors of dairy, food and beverages. Industry professionals will attend the International Dairy Show to find solutions spanning the entire manufacturing process from receiving and blending to processing and packaging to material handling and distribution.
More than 15,000 total attendees will have the opportunity to view both trade show floors more than 300,000 square feet of exhibits, offering everything that dairy companies need to run more efficiently, create new products and improve profitability.
The International Dairy Show will be held November 3-6. For more information, visit www.dairyshow.com.
The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, DC, represents the nation's dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers, with a membership of 550 companies within a $125-billion a year industry. IDFA is composed of three constituent organizations: the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), the National Cheese Institute (NCI) and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA). IDFA's 220 dairy processing members run nearly 600 plant operations, and range from large multi-national organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent more than 85% of the milk, cultured products, cheese and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States. IDFA can be found online at www.idfa.org.
6.20.2013