Safe Food Matters! Key Theme At IDDBA's Dairy-Deli-Bake Seminar & Expo

Madison, WI —  Food safety will be a prominent theme at the International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association’s™ (IDDBA) Dairy-Deli-Bake Seminar and Expo, June 7-9 in Atlanta, GA, as the association will provide attendees with keynote and workshop sessions, demos, a certification class, and resources in support of its year-long food safety campaign, Safe Food Matters!

The goal of Safe Food Matters! is to build awareness about specific food safety practices that retailers can utilize in service departments—primarily delis—to encourage the sale of safe food. In 2015, the association is focusing on Listeria monocytogenes, a bacteria that causes listeriosis, a potentially life-threatening condition responsible for approximately 1,600 infections and 260 deaths annually.

Among the food-safety programs available to Show attendees are:

  • Keynote speaker Phil Lempert, SupermarketGuru, will present findings from his original IDDBA food safety research, such as:

o   Thorough cleanliness is a make-or-break issue for 83.3% of respondents.

o   Clean floors are the biggest indication to respondents that a store is clean.

o   While 83.3% of respondents will shop a store only if it’s clean, even more (85.2%) will shop a service department only if they think the department takes food safety seriously.

  • Keynote speaker and Attorney Shawn Stevens will detail how retailers can better protect their customers and reduce risk by effectively controlling Listeria in the deli environment. He’ll discuss responsibilities and proactive measures they can take to minimize foodborne illness risks, as well as address emerging trends in food safety, the changing liability landscape, and why education matters.
  • The Show & Sell Workshops, a new interactive and tactical series of seminars focusing on food safety and industry topics. Held at the event’s Show & Sell Center, food-safety-focused presenters include:

o   Phil Lempert, SupermarketGuru

o   Attorney Shawn Stevens

o   Kristina Barlow, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service

o   Jeff Mitchell, ChemStar

For information on Dairy-Deli-Bake Seminar & Expo, click here. For information and resources on IDDBA’s Safe Food Matters! campaign, click here.

About IDDBA: 

IDDBA is a nonprofit membership organization serving the dairy, deli, bakery, cheese, and supermarket foodservice industries. Member companies enjoy many benefits and services including the annual seminar and expo, leading-edge research, training programs, management tools, and an annual trends report. For more information, contact IDDBA at 608.310.5000 or visit our website, www.iddba.org.

Source: International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association’s™ (IDDBA)