Food safety and quality assurance professionals sit at the heart of our industry’s success. Today’s global food supply chain is more complicated than ever with evolving consumer demands, regulatory shifts, and rapid advances in science and technology. Staying ahead requires not only knowledge, but the ability to apply that knowledge in today’s complex operating environments and supply chains.
That’s why I invite you to join me at the Food Safety Consortium, October 19 – 21, 2025, in Washington, DC. This event brings together food safety leaders, regulatory officials, and industry experts for three days of immersive learning, networking, and professional development. The Program starts with several pre-conference workshops and training which leads into two full days of high-level panel discussions and educational presentations.
By joining me at this must-attend event, you’ll network with and gain insights from researchers, experienced food safety practitioners and industry colleagues.
Hands-On Training: Listeria Control and Risk Management
On Sunday, October 19, I’ll be leading a full-day workshop that bridges the fundamentals of operational food safety programs with the latest pathogen detection tools. Together with expert colleagues, we’ll start with the basics of Listeria prevention and control—covering sanitation, hygienic design, monitoring, and root cause analysis—and then move into advanced strategies like sampling, rapid detection, and sequencing technologies.
Industry Leaders and Real-World Lessons
The Consortium’s main program will feature regulatory voices like Kyle Diamantas, FDA Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods, and Dr. Justin Ransom, USDA FSIS Administrator. We’ll also hear from Ricky Dickson, former CEO of Blue Bell Creameries, reflecting on how his company managed and recovered from a nationwide Listeriosis outbreak – an invaluable case study.
Women in Food Safety Networking Breakfast at the 2024 Food Safety Consortium
Why Attend?
Events like the Food Safety Consortium are more than a conference, they are platforms for building a stronger network of professionals and advancing food safety culture across our industry. You’ll have the chance to connect with regulators, suppliers, QA leaders, and peers who face the same challenges you do, and return to your company with better understanding, innovative tools and new ideas that make a difference.
The Food Safety Consortium will take place October 19-21, 2025, at the Crystal Gateway Marriott, Arlington VA directly across the Potomac River from Washington, DC. The Program starts with several pre-conference workshops and training which leads into two full days of high-level panel discussions and educational presentations.
Organized by Food Safety Tech and the American Frozen Foods Institute (AFFI) the Food Safety Consortium Conference has been an educational and networking event since 2012 for Food Protection that has food safety, food integrity and food defense as the foundation of the educational content of the program.
Editor’s note: the original version of this article was originally published in AFFI’s website.
From food safety and quality to food defense, integrity, and physical and digital security, the system continues to operate in silos. More than ever, there is the need for a unified, risk-based U.S. food protection system.
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Dr. Sanjay Gummalla is sr. vice president of scientific affairs, at the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI). His broad industry experience in food science and nutrition are key to guiding science and policy advocacy, and effective scientific tools and resources for the food and beverage industry. He is in the forefront of coordinating Listeria monocytogenes and enteric virus prevention and control programs and policy efforts on behalf of the frozen food industry. He also leads the industry’s initiatives in food waste reduction, decarbonizing the frozen supply chain and packaging recyclability. As executive director of the frozen food foundation, the research arm of the industry, he steers a portfolio of initiatives and projects in food safety, nutrition, and sustainability.
Prior to joining AFFI, Dr. Gummalla was the vice president of product development at Zentis NA, a global fruit preparation manufacturer. His technical expertise extends to flavor development, food microbiology, and product development resulting from managing global food application projects at Givaudan Flavors and leading the global dairy flavor research and development portfolio at Cargill.
Dr. Gummalla previously represented the industry as advisor, U.S. Agricultural Trade Advisory Committee for Processed Foods; committee member, IAFP’s Journal of Food Protection; president, Capital Area Food Protection Association; and chair, International Food Science Certification Commission which administers IFT’s Certified Food Scientists program.
On the food safety front, he is a Preventive Controls Qualified Individual instructor and served as adjunct assistant professor at the University of Cincinnati, where he taught food microbiology. Early in his career, he was a post-doctoral researcher at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) representing FDA’s foray in to nanotechnological applications for food safety. He holds a Ph.D. in Nutrition and Food Sciences from Utah State University.