FMI to hold virtual food safety event

The Safe Quality Food Institute, a division of FMI – The Food Industry Association, will present a new event, SQF Global, with the goal of uniting the worldwide food safety community. Scheduled to take place online Oct. 27-29, the ambitious event will span two hemispheres, in addition to various languages and time zones.

“SQF Global will gather a dynamic community of food producers, retailers, leaders and service innovators across a wide range of food safety operations and job functions, including compliance, quality, training, regulatory, audit and technical areas,” explained Leslie G. Sarasin, president and CEO of Arlington, Virginia-based FMI. “It’s our intention to offer a forum that fosters continued enhancement of the safety and security of the global food supply chain.”

SQFI-certified supplier sites provide critical global food production and employ thousands of workers at more than 10,000 sites in 40-plus countries. The division’s mission is to offer consistent, globally recognized food safety and quality certification programs based on sound scientific principles, applied across all industry sectors and valued by all stakeholders.

“By welcoming food safety professionals from among 40 countries across multiple languages and time zones, SQF Global provides an opportunity for the food safety community to learn, collaborate, engage and connect with peers,” said Gigi Vita, chief food safety assessment officer and senior vice president of SQFI. “During COVID-19, our organization has remained focused on worker and auditor safety, supply chain, production, product quality and trust.”

SQF Global will run for three business days to provide flexibility, with multiple engagement opportunities available through a collaborative technology platform. The program will feature the release of SQF’s Edition 9.0 Code, developed to meet the latest GFSI benchmarking standards, in response to retailer and buyer needs.

Last month, BNP Media said that its 2020 Food Safety Summit would be a virtual experience rather than an in-person event. That event is scheduled for Oct. 19-Oct. 22. 

This article originally appeared in Progressive Grocer.