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GFSI Conference
Programme
Plenary Hall
Plenary Hall
Plenary Hall
Join Dr. Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, Ministry of Transport for the Republic of Singapore, as she sheds light on the initiatives and policies shaping Singapore’s food space and pioneering strides in environmental sustainability. In this keynote speech, Dr. Khor will explore the intersection between Singapore’s green future and dynamic culinary landscape, with emphasis on how its evolving food space fosters both innovation and resilience.
Plenary Hall
Join Mr. Vipul Chawla, Group CEO of FairPrice Group, as we explore how resilience and innovation in the food safety landscape are critical to ensuring safe food for all. We will discuss the key levers of delivering meaningful impact for safe food, discover how all stakeholders can be catalysts for renewed change and look at how we can overcome the challenges at hand to pave the way for a safer, more resilient future for the entire food industry.
Plenary Hall
Empowering Food Risk Prevention: Harnessing Data & AI to Mitigate the Risk of Chemical Hazards
The food industry faces a shifting landscape of risks, with chemical hazards like pesticides, mycotoxins, and heavy metals rising due to changing weather patterns. How can food & beverage companies move from reactive measures to proactive prevention?
This tech talk unveils the power of AI:
– Predictive models: Harness vast data on chemical risks, weather, and agricultural practices to forecast threats before sourcing ingredients.
– Efficient monitoring programs: Optimizing programs by pinpointing areas of high risk after purchasing materials.
– AI-powered dashboards: Accessing real-time insights into emerging chemical threats using global occurrence data.
Specifically, we’ll focus on a use case for the Mycotoxins by showing how predictive analytics can be integrated into existing food safety systems to optimize prevention. This tech talk is addressed to all food safety professionals working at:
– Food Companies that need to know of emerging risks to inform their food risk prevention, audit and testing plans.
– Organizations that need to be aware of emerging risks to implement controls and measures to minimize the risk of jeopardizing public health.
Presentation Theatre (Networking Area)
Leaders from the GFSI community will explore the strategic initiatives shaping the future of global food safety. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with the foremost minds in the industry and gain valuable insights that will drive excellence in food safety practices worldwide.
Plenary Hall
True transparency is the currency of food trust and essential in the provision of a safe and sustainable food supply. This session will showcase how leading retailers are using DNA-based traceability to connect animal-protein products back to the animal and the farm of origin and ensure accountability through complex protein supply chains. With this standard of traceability retailers have the knowledge to make informed supply chain decisions and provide assurance to consumers. True supply chain knowledge empowers retailers to safeguard and strengthen the integrity of their supply chains, improve product quality, and differentiate their brands with confidence.
Plenary Hall
How Data and Technology are Revolutionizing Food Safety
Join Christine Schindler at this innovative session to learn more about leveraging actionable, specific, measurable data and technology for real time insights and broader trends — from hygiene management, temperature monitoring, AI driven audits, expiration/ waste management and more. In a world where data driven decisions are crucial, this session will cover how data driven technologies are generating food safety insights driving food safety culture, and impacting operations and strategy through a proactive and predictive approach.
Presentation Theatre (Networking Area)
Generative AI and the Green Agenda: Enhancing Early Warning Systems for Food Safety and Environmental Integrity
In a time-critical session, we will explore how Generative AI is redefining Early Warning systems to serve the dual purposes of food safety vigilance and environmental foresight amidst the Green Transition. This presentation will demonstrate the integral role of AI in identifying potential hazards and opportunities that intersect with food safety and sustainability goals. Emphasizing the intricate balance between technological advancements and ecological considerations, we will articulate how Generative AI can support in green initiatives, such as pesticide reduction, sustainable packaging, and climate change resilience.
Key Takeaways: Participants will gain sharp, actionable insights into:
• The integration of Generative AI within Early Warning systems to navigate both food safety and environmental challenges.
• Strategies for aligning AI capabilities with the objectives of the Green Agenda, ensuring that technology contributes to sustainable food safety practices.
• The necessity for a harmonized approach where AI complements human expertise in mitigating risks associated with the Green Transition.
• Practical examples from industry leaders who are successfully utilizing AI to anticipate and address the complexities at the intersection of food safety and environmental sustainability.
Presentation Theatre (Networking Area)
Safe Food for Everyone: What Actions Can We Take NOW?
The World Health Organization estimates the global burden of foodborne disease to be 600 million illnesses every year and sadly 420,000 deaths. Children under 5 years of age carry 40% of the foodborne disease burden, with 125,000 deaths every year. The U.S. CDC estimates that 1 in 6 Americans get sick from contaminated food or beverages and 3,000 die from foodborne illness each year. About US$ 110 billion is lost each year in productivity and medical expenses resulting from unsafe food in low, and middle-income countries. The United States Department of Agriculture estimates that foodborne illnesses cost the United States more than $15.6 billion each year.
The goals of the panel discussion are:
1. For panelists to share how their food safety programs have changed in the last three years and how they will change in the next three years.
2. To discuss the integration of current and new technologies to improve food safety.
3. To explore the role of digital and AI on bending the curve of foodborne disease.
4. To enable the panelists to share what their organizations are doing to raise the levels of food safety knowledge within their organization and across the broader supply chain.
5. To hear the panelists perspective on optimal food safety training and education strategies in the digital age.
Areas of Focus:
• The steps retailers, manufacturers and university researchers are taking to bend the curve on foodborne illness.
• Changes in food safety and quality management practices occurring within the food retail and manufacturing communities.
• Competencies in hazard analysis and managing risks.
• Exploring the degree to which the food industry understands the significance of pests as vectors in pathogen transmission.
• Will digital and AI help bend the curve of foodborne disease?
• New approaches to food safety education and training.
Plenary Hall
Safeguarding our Food: The Role of Digital Transformation in Ensuring Quality & Food Safety Across the Value Chain
In the wake of rising global foodborne diseases and the increasing pressure on food production due to climate change, our panel session, “Safeguarding our Food: The Role of Digital Transformation in Ensuring Quality Across the Value Chain,” explores the crucial role of digital transformation in food safety. As we traverse the journey from ingredient suppliers to the final product, we will delve into how digital technologies can enhance efficiency, resilience, and transparency.
The session will highlight how these advancements can streamline processes, improve risk mitigation, and fortify the industry’s ability to address potential safety concerns promptly and effectively. Join us as we uncover the potential of digital transformation in aligning with our collective goal of raising the bar on food safety and meeting the needs of our evolving world.
Breakout Room 1
Developing Automated Traceability in the Australian Cherry Industry
The Australian cherry industry has embraced Quality Assurance standards to meet customer expectations, with all commercial operations certified to GFSI benchmarked standards. However, current paper-based traceability systems are inefficient and hinder rapid product tracing and performance evaluation.
To address this, automated traceability systems offer a solution, ensuring compliance with QA standards while digitising production, packing, and distribution processes. Cherry Growers Australia, in partnership with Agriculture Victoria, has spearheaded the development of a model automated traceability system using RFID technology. This system captures product data from harvest to packaging, enabling real-time visibility and identification throughout the supply chain.
Central to this system is the use of GS1 authorized and unique numbers, ensuring effective product identification globally. This standardized approach meets industry needs both domestically and in export markets, providing a reliable traceability solution.
SESSION TAKEAWAYS:
– Highlighting the advantages of digitising traceability systems using global interoperable standards
– How collaboration between industry, government and standards organisations are supporting enhanced product traceability and facilitating cross-border trade
Breakout Room 2
In the ever-evolving landscape of food safety management, the integration of innovative technology emerges as a game-changer. This session will explore the relationship between technology and food safety, providing insight into how innovative solutions can empower a proactive approach to ensuring the highest standards in global food safety and act as a critical enabler for a safer and more transparent food supply chain.
Breakout Room 1
The Green Transition and Food Safety are non-negotiables. Join us as we discuss the intersection of food safety and the green transition and explore how to proactively address challenges and make the green agenda work for all stakeholders. From examining unforeseen consequences witnessed in recalls, to unravelling the concept of regenerative agriculture, panelists will demonstrate how we can shape a resilient and safe future for all.
Breakout Room 2
Fresh Thinking in a New Era of Risk
The global risk landscape is changing, and a new era of risk is here. With an evolving regulatory landscape, ESG demands, supply chain uncertainty and an increasing number of cyber-attacks protecting your brand’s reputation and ensuring high levels of product integrity is vital to business success.
In this Tech Talk, presenter Kimberly Coffin will introduce the challenging risk landscape we are seeing today and how businesses must adapt in order to effectively anticipate, mitigate and manage the risks associated with product integrity, and ultimately, future-proof their brand.
Key takeaways:
During this session, the audience will gain a better understanding of:
• The challenging risk landscape and how the risks we are seeing are becoming increasingly interconnected across supply chains.
• The new era of risk and the history of the assurance industry.
• The five essential steps to navigating the new era of risk.
• Data-informed decision-making and LRQA’s supply chain intelligence platform, EiQ.
• How to grow sustainably in the new era of risk and the balanced approach to risk management priorities.
Presentation Theatre (Networking Area)
Rising to the A-I of the storm: using digital technology to protect food safety in an evolving world
Climate change impacts all of our daily lives in ways we may not even realise, with the extreme weather events we’re seeing across the globe being just one example of the adverse impacts it can cause. From heatwaves and blizzards to tornadoes and heavy rainfall, these volatile conditions can significantly impact the food supply chain in numerous ways – for example, causing increased economic costs, changing ecosystems and crop yields.
With our climate changing, we’re also seeing seasonal weather patterns becoming more erratic and unpredictable. As a result, pest activity trends are beginning to fluctuate, with certain pests and non-native species being able to thrive and adapt to new settings in line with the weather and changing climate. As the world’s largest pest control company, we see these changes first-hand and understand how they impact your food business.
To overcome these challenges, we’re using technology to create even more proactive pest control. In recent decades, our connected devices have helped us lead the industry by propelling our understanding of pests and gathering data-driven insights on pest activity. With more knowledge comes more power – this data has supported long-term data mapping and helped us identify common trends in pest behaviour and activity, such as how pest infestation levels are linked to weather trends. Now, technological advances are taking our digital solutions even further and keeping us ahead – sophisticated pest detection cameras powered by Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are enabling effective monitoring, earlier pest detection and more sustainable and targeted pest control.
In our GFSI Conference special session, Tony Poulsen, our Regional Director of Operations and M&A in Asia, will explore the correlation between the increasing frequency of extreme weather and its impact on pests and their infestation levels. Tony will dive into the innovative solutions that can protect your food business.
Join us on 9 April at 16:00 as we offer a new perspective on the pest challenges you face and explore the technological advances that can help mitigate pest risks in the food supply chain. We hope to see you there.
Breakout Room 1
Safe Collaboration and Data Sharing to Enhance Food Safety Risk Management – Concept or Reality?
It’s not every day that something comes along with the potential to change the game for the food industry. Six of the world’s largest food companies have partnered with bioMérieux and Mérieux NutriSciences to do something that achieves just that – changes the game. Through collaboration and sharing of data, whilst staying within the rules on competition and anti-trust, they have created an initiative that moves the needle of food safety management. Come and find out more about this groundbreaking initiative and how you can be a part of the change.
Breakout Room 2
From the big to the small, the digital era beckons a transformative journey in food safety management. This session will highlight the imperative of upskilling, including in SMEs, and explore the integration of new talents to fortify the digital management of food safety. Panelists will showcase the unique challenges concerning digital standardisation and examine how these hurdles can be overcome to establish a robust framework for digitising food safety.
Breakout Room 1
Join us as we explore the critical realm of food safety and plastic waste, looking at the challenges surrounding unintended recalls and engaging in a constructive debate on how to avoid unforeseen consequences in the utilisation of recycled plastics. Delegates will gain insights into the challenges posed by plastic waste and the regulatory considerations shaping their impact on food safety.
Breakout Room 2