Beltway Beat

Call For Presentation and Poster Abstracts for the 15th Annual Food Safety Consortium Conference

By Rick Biros
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April 1, 2026


• Categories: Beltway Beat, Biros' Blog, Food Manufacturing, Food Safety Consortium, Foodservice & Retail, From the Editor’s Desk

Food Safety Tech invites you to submit abstracts for consideration for the 2026 Food Safety Consortium Conference, October 21-23, 2026 in Washington DC

The 15th Annual Food Safety Consortium will take place October 21-23, 2026, 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.

The 15th Annual Food Safety Consortium is a conference for food safety and quality assurance professionals that equips attendees with cutting-edge knowledge, practical skills, and a collaborative network to enhance their professional development as champions of food safety and innovation in the production of foods and beverages.

The conference’s mission is to elevate industry standards, and the exploration of key scientific and regulatory developments impacting public health and safety and its implications for food production. The Food Safety Consortium represents an invaluable opportunity for professionals to engage with leading experts, exchange insights, and collectively advance best practices in food safety. The conference scope includes both human and pet foods.

“Our conference committee has been advising me on the program. Attendees should expect to see topics such as the rise in digital transformation in food safety and quality, the impact of AI, risk management, FSQA benchmarking as well as continuing the discussion on the case for a single food protection agency.” said Rick Biros, Content Director & Publisher, Food Safety Tech.

Biros added, “this year is the 15th anniversary of FSMA, Food Safety Tech and The Food Safety Consortium. The big question is, has FSMA improved food safety in the 15 years? We plan to address that question as well as what do we need to do to improve food safety on a macro scale and in individual companies. What is the benchmark we measure against and what is our goals and timeline? Let’s call it our Food Safety Moon Shot!”

2026 Advisory Committee

• Shahram Ajamian, Senior Director Global Quality and Food Safety Governance, McCormick
• Al Baroudi, MS, Ph.D., Vice President, QA & Food Safety, The Cheesecake Factory
• Jason P. Bashura, MPH, RS, PepsiCo R&D, Global Food Safety & Quality Assurance, Sr. Manager, Global Food Defense, PepsiCo
• Peter Begg, Chief Quality and Food Safety Officer at Lyons Magnus
• Rick Biros, Content Director & Publisher, Food Safety Tech (Committee Chairperson)
• April Bishop, Chief Food Safety Officer, Urban Farmer
• Byron D. Chaves, PhD., Associate Professor & Food Safety Extension Specialist, Department of Food Science and Technology
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Michael Ciepiela,VP of Quality and Continuous Improvement, Southern Specialties
• Darin Detwiler, L.P.D. Founder, Detwiler Consulting, LLC
• Tracy Fink, Founder & Principal Advisor, ThinkFink Solutions, LLC
• Melody Ge, Sr. Food Safety&Quality Advisor, MarsMel LLC, and President, Women In Food Safety
• Jorge Hernandez, Quality Assurance VP, The Wendy’s Company
• Jill Hoffman, Senior Director, Food Safety and Quality
B&G Foods, Inc
• Justyce Jedlicka, NA Commercial Applications – Food & Beverage Regulatory Science & Lab Solutions, BioMonitoring, MilliporeSigm
• Barbara C. Kowalcyk, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Director of Institute for Food
  Safety and Nutrition Security, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University
• Jennifer Lott, Technical Development Director – Certification and Tailored Solutions, SGS North America
• Melanie Neumann, President, Neumann Advisory Services, LLC
• Debby Newslow, President, D. L. Newslow & Associates, Inc.

Submission Deadline: All abstracts must be submitted by Friday, May 22, 2026

Go to FoodSafetyConsortium.org and click on the Submit an Abstract button or use this link below:

Click Here to Submit an Abstract

The Cannabis Quality Conference is back! The Cannabis Quality Conference and the Food Safety Consortium will take place under one roof and at the same time. With both food and cannabis markets innovating relentlessly with new technology and best practices to improve quality and safety, the two conferences running alongside each other will allow for a meeting of the minds like no other.