Attendance at 5th Annual Food Safety Summit Jumps 34% as Secretary of Agriculture & FDA Commissioner Discuss Safety and Security of the Nation's Food Supply.

Business Editors

FLORHAM PARK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 1, 2003

Last month 1,505 food manufacturers, food processors, restaurant executives and food retailers gathered in Washington, DC for the Fifth Annual Food Safety Summit. The key topic of the event was food safety, food security, and bioterrorism which was the subject of keynote addresses by Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman and Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Mark McClellan, MD, PhD.

"Food safety and food security issues have never been more important than now, and this has truly become the premiere food safety event in the industry," said Scott Goldman, president of Eaton Hall Exhibitions, producers of the event. "This year's Food Safety Summit attracted a record number of attendees and was an incredibly timely and important gathering for top executives from leading restaurant and foodservice establishments to share ideas, on how best to ensure a safe, secure and wholesome food supply."

The conference kicked-off with a half-day seminar on Food Security & Bioterrorism presented by the National Food Processors Association and sponsored by Booz Allen Hamilton. At the workshop, attendees heard from front line leaders in the US Government, the military, law enforcement, corporate security experts, the transportation sector and the food industry who provided the latest information on the real threats to our food supply.

During the two general sessions a packed audience listened intently to policy addresses by Secretary Veneman and Commissioner McClellan. In addition, the lineup of keynote speakers included Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS), chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Dennis Mullen, chairman, president and CEO of Birds Eye Foods, Lawrence Hutter Consumer Package Goods (CGP) Lead, Europe, of Deloitte Consulting, and Jon Luther, CEO of Allied Domeq Quick Service Restaurants, which include Dunkin Donuts, Baskin-Robbins and Togo's.

More than 70 speakers discussed solutions for the industry with real-world QA strategy for commercial companies. Topics included food safety, food security, food plant operations, quality assurance, microbiology, sanitation and laboratory practices. Presenters included executives from such household name food companies as Kraft, General Mills, Campbell's Soup, M&M, ConAgra, Tyson, Olive Garden, Hormel and Burger King.

"The Food Safety Summit is the premier event for food safety professionals. It provides us an opportunity to meet and talk with top people in the field from government and across all industry sectors. In my experience, the conference program is always current and relevant," said Chet England, Chief Food Safety Officer, Burger King Corporation.

On the Expo floor, several brand new technologies were on display for the first time, including a new method of tracing food products from point-of-consumption all the way back to their origin on the farm. In addition, the USDA launched their Food Safety Mobile that will visit some 100 communities this year alone to educate consumers about safe food handling techniques. Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman and Dr. Elsa Murano, Under-Secretary for Food Safety, US Department of Agriculture unveiled the new mobile on the show floor.

For the first time, The 2003 Food Safety Summit was held alongside the RxQA Expo, the Pharmaceutical Quality Assurance Event. Many of the same microbiological, contamination control, and sanitation issues apply to both food and pharmaceuticals. This combined event is now the complete QA/QC event for the two industries where quality and regulatory compliance are most important.

The Food Safety Summit is sponsored by the National Food Processors Association (NFPA), the National Restaurant Association, the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and Food Safety Magazine. The 2004 Food Safety Summit is scheduled for March 17-19, 2004 at the Washington DC Convention Center. For additional information about exhibiting and or attending future Food Safety Summit events, visit www.foodsafetysummit.com or phone [phone].

PRODUCER/OWNER:

Eaton Hall Expositions LLC, of Florham Park, NJ, is a publishing and trade show firm, which specializes in bringing buyers and sellers together. Eaton Hall Expositions, which owns the Food Safety Summit, created the event in 1999. For additional information about exhibiting and or attending the Food Safety Summit, visit www.foodsafetysummit.com or phone [phone].

SPONSORS:

The National Food Processors Association (NFPA) is the voice of the $500 billion food processing industry on scientific and public policy issues involving food safety, nutrition, technical and regulatory matters and consumer affairs.

The National Restaurant Association (www.restaurant.org), founded in 1919, is the leading business association for the restaurant industry, which is comprised of 870,000 restaurant and foodservice outlets and a workforce of 11.7 million. The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation is dedicated to fulfilling the educational mission of the National Restaurant Association, and created the International Food Safety Council to heighten the awareness of the importance of food safety education.

Food Marketing Institute (FMI) conducts programs in research, education, industry relations and public affairs on behalf of its 2,300 member companies -- food retailers and wholesalers -- in the United States and around the world. FMI's U.S. members operate approximately 26,000 retail food stores with a combined annual sales volume of $340 billion -- three-quarters of all food retail store sales in the United States. FMI's retail membership is composed of large multi-store chains, regional firms and independent supermarkets. Its international membership includes 200 companies from 60 countries.

Food Safety Magazine the leading publication about food safety and quality assurance, visit www.foodsafetymagazine.com