WASHINGTON D.C. — The National Restaurant Association and the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) announced they will hold a conference to boost produce safety in the foodservice and farming industries.
According to a news release, the conference, titled Produce Safety & The Foodservice Industry: A Farm-to-Table Conference, will be held in Monterey, Calif., March 29-30. The meeting is sponsored by Taco Bell.
"We are pleased to produce this conference to assist restaurant operators, retailers, suppliers, food safety experts, scientists and government partners in examining all aspects of produce safety," said Steven C. Anderson, outgoing president and chief executive officer of the NRA. "In light of recent E. coli and other foodborne illness outbreaks, we hope that this conference will set the stage for restaurant-industry professionals to work with suppliers and government to enhance produce safety."
The conference, which is open to the entire farm-to-table supply chain, is designed to educate leaders at all levels of the food supply chain about efforts necessary to improve produce safety, as well as advocate strong and effective legislative and regulatory actions at the federal and state levels to improve the safety of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Topics of discussion at the conference will include:
- The latest statistics on food-borne illness outbreaks related to produce safety
- Epidemiological investigations at the farm and supply-chain levels
- Legislative and regulatory efforts to enhance product safety
- Lessons learned from the meat industry to control pathogens and reduce risk
- Steps taken by national and regional produce organizations to respond to outbreaks and improve the safety of fresh fruits and vegetables
- Farm-to-table supply-chain perspectives on produce safety
- Consumer confidence in produce safety, and how this affects restaurants
- The development of restaurant-industry requirements for produce vendors.
To view the full conference agenda and register for the conference, click here.
