
A Virtual Conference
Every Thursday from September 3 through December 17
The Food Safety Industry’s Premier Event
for Networking and Educational Opportunities
2020 Keynote Speaker
“At last year’s Food Safety Consortium, Frank Yiannas spoke about the ‘sea change’ happening at FDA and the increased efforts on the part of the agency to drive more transparency and traceability. We look forward to his insights, as well as learning more about FDA’s progress on its initiatives, especially the New Era of Smarter Food Safety,” says Rick Biros, president of Innovative Publishing Co., Inc. and director of the Food Safety Consortium Conference & Expo.
2020 Consortium Track Chairs
- Food Safety, chaired by Angela Anandappa, Ph.D., founding director of the Alliance for Advanced Sanitation
- Food Integrity, chaired by Steven Sklare, president of The Food Safety Academy; and
- Food Defense, chaired by Jason Bashura, senior manager, global food defense at PepsiCo.
BE Iconic™ Podcast

Gone Virtual, so we don’t go Viral
Illinois’ COVID-19 plan to reopen their economy is a Five-Phase Plan. Phase 5 is when groups larger than 50, in which they specifically mention conferences and conventions will be allowed. Illinois enters Phase 5 only when a vaccine or an effective treatment is in place. Based on Illinois’ reopening plan, we don’t see how there will be any conferences with more than 50 people in Illinois in 2020.
Therefore, the face-to-face combined Food Safety Consortium and Cannabis Quality Conference & Expo, originally planned for October 21-23, 2020 in Schaumburg, IL is postponed, with a target date of October, 2021.
Important 2020 Dates
- July 21: Registration Open!
- August 7: Early Bird Discount Expires
- September 3: Virtual Conference Series Begins
The Consortium’s overarching theme is “Food Protection” with topics that include:
- Episode 1 – September 3: Food Defense
- Episode 2 – September 10: Pest Management
- Episode 3 – September 17: COVID-19’s Impact on Food Safety Management
- Episode 4 – October 1: Keynote
- Episode 5 – October 8: Food Labs
- Episode 6 – October 15: Sanitation
- Episode 7 – October 22: Food Integrity/Food Fraud
- Episode 8 – October 29: Listeria: Detection, Mitigation & Control
- Episode 9 – November 5: Professional Development & Women in Food Safety
- Episode 10 – November 12: Food Defense
- Episode 11 – November 19: Food Safety Supply Chain Management
- Episode 12 – December 3: Food Safety Culture
- Episode 13 – December 10: Food Safety Supply Chain Management: Traceability
- Episode 14 – December 17: Future of Food Safety
There are no episodes on September 24 (Martha’s Vineyard Bluefish and Striped Bass Fishing Derby) and November 26 (Thanksgiving)
About the Consortium
Food companies are concerned about protecting their customers, their brands and their own company’s financial bottom line. The term “Food Protection” requires a company-wide culture that incorporates food safety, food integrity and food defense into the company’s Food Protection strategy.
Food Safety + Food Integrity + Food Defense = FOOD PROTECTION
For eight years, the Food Safety Consortium Conference & Expo has been an educational and networking event for Food Protection that has food safety, food integrity and food defense as the foundation of the educational content of the program.
With a unique focus on science, technology and compliance, the “Consortium” enables attendees to engage in conversations that are critical for advancing careers and organizations alike.
Not Just a Webinar
Human connection is so important for events. Whether it’s a random connection in a hotel lobby, a stroll by a booth at a trade show, or a seat next to a new friend in a learning session – connecting with others is what makes events so valuable.
That’s why we’ve built new tools into the Food Safety Consortium Conference Virtual Platform to ensure those discussions, discovery, and connection can go on whether our event is offline or online (and not end when the live stream does).
The new platform provides attendees with a way to keep track of live sessions, connect with sponsors, and engage with peers, all in a familiar way.
Two Virtual Conferences, Every Tuesday and Thursday
The Food Safety Consortium is co-produced with The Cannabis Quality Conference & Expo, an educational and networking event for cannabis safety and quality solutions. With a unique focus on science, technology and compliance, the Cannabis Quality Conference enables attendees to engage in conversations that are critical in finding solutions to improve regulatory compliance, quality, efficiency and cost effectiveness in a quickly evolving cannabis marketplace.
Become an Sponsor
Interested in sponsoring? Reserving your spot for a sponsorship is a sound business decision. The Food Safety Consortium Virtual Conference Series gives sponsors new and innovative tools for lead generation. Get access to thousands of registrants and attendees, interact with participants and reserve a spot for your Tech Talk.

Stay Up To Date
Stay informed with announcements about the event, pricing, hotel deals, speaker additions and more when you sign up for the Food Safety Tech newsletter here.
Register Now!
Take advantage of this chance to connect with cannabis industry and food safety professionals in the Greater Chicago Area! Don’t miss this opportunity to network with hundreds of industry stakeholders, get the latest on regulatory developments and see the newest technology disrupting the cannabis space.