Food Safety Symposium by Ecolab and Nation's Restaurant News Brings Leaders Together During Food Safety Month.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Avian flu, foodborne illness, terrorism threats and food allergy awareness were among the significant issues on tap at the Ecolab-sponsored Nation's Restaurant News Food Safety Symposium on September 15-17 at the Charlotte, N.C., campus of Johnson & Wales University. This first annual two-day event was held as part of National Food Safety Education Month in September and attracted foodservice operators interested in food safety, security and quality assurance.

"Food safety is one of the most significant challenges faced by our industry today. Ecolab believes it is important to partner with Nation's Restaurant News in bringing together top companies and leaders to share our combined knowledge and experiences, and collaborate on solutions that benefit everyone," said Katherine M.J. Swanson, vice president of food safety for Ecolab. "Ecolab is committed to helping customers recognize potential food safety threats before they become major problems. Our 360(degrees) of Protection(TM) program applies a comprehensive approach to help protect the most critical aspects of foodservice operations, and the Food Safety Symposium complements the work we do every day with the goal of using our collective intellect to discover new food safety innovations."

The keynote speaker at the Symposium on Sept. 16 was Steven F. Grover, vice president of food safety, quality assurance and regulatory compliance with Burger King Brands. In his address, "Food Safety and Risk Management: What You Need to Know," Grover provided a big picture presentation covering current food safety issues affecting the foodservice industry such as Avian flu, foodborne illness (E. coli, Listeria, Salmonella, norovirus), terrorism, BSE (mad cow disease), foot-and-mouth disease and food allergy awareness and alert strategies.

Other topics at the Symposium included a panel discussion on "Best Practices in Supply Chain Management," moderated by Peter Romeo, executive editor of NRN Online, featuring Ecolab's Swanson; a panel discussion on "Best Practices in Food Safety at the Unit Level," moderated by Al Liddle, managing editor of conference and technology at NRN; "Crisis Management" and "Solutions Oriented Roundtable Discussions." In addition, the attendees participated in an interactive hands-on workshop on the Johnson & Wales campus in Charlotte, where they cooked their own dinner with an emphasis on implementing best practices in food safety.

With 2005 sales of $4.5 billion, Ecolab is the leading global developer and marketer of premium cleaning, sanitizing, pest elimination, maintenance and repair products and services for the hospitality, foodservice, healthcare and industrial markets.

Ecolab shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ECL. Ecolab news releases and other investor information are available on the Internet at http://www.ecolab.com.

(ECL-C)