Webinars

The list below shows upcoming webinars held by IAFP and IAFP’s Professional Development Groups (PDGs). Please note that all opinions and statements are those of the individual making the presentations and not necessarily the opinion or view of IAFP.

Upcoming Webinars

  • Avoiding Premature Water Activity Testing Results When Meeting Safety Regulations May 17, 2022 (12:00 PM -1:00 PM Eastern Time)

    Organized by: Low Water Activity Foods PDG

    Government, risk-based product safety programs require water activity testing monitoring to mitigate risk, and these results must be reliable. Consequently, water activity testing methods need to be verified, meet the requirements of standard methods, and represent true equilibrium values. Water activity testing requires a vapor equilibration step that cannot be artificially sped up and fast water activity results are likely not meeting this requirement of vapor equilibrium. To illustrate the potential problems of premature results, several common food products were tested continuously in several manufacturer’s water activity instruments. The results indicate that less stringent end-of-test requirements did produce premature results that were different by as much as 0.03 aw than the final equilibrium results. This webinar will discuss the requirements of common water activity standard methods and the danger of failing audits when relying on premature water activity values.

    Learning Objectives:
    •An overview of the role of water activity testing in meeting government regulations
    •The requirements for water activity testing to meet standard methods and government regulations
    •Why fast water activity results may be premature and not fully reliable
    •The importance of understanding the impact of end-of-test settings
    •Best practices for optimizing test time while still obtaining reliable results

    Presenters
    • Brad Taylor, Presenter Brigham Young University
    • Brady Carter, Presenter Neutec Group
    • Laure Pujol, Moderator Novolyze
  • Achieving Best-In-Class Food Safety Culture Through Evolution May 24, 2022 (4:00 PM - 5:00 PM Eastern Time)

    Organized by: Food Safety Culture PDG

    For many of our organizations, food safety culture continues to evolve through shared best practices, adoption of new technologies, enhanced employee training programs and leadership focus. The challenge many of us face is the limited opportunity to learn from those proven organizations that are leaders in demonstrating advanced food safety cultures. What are those food safety strategies other companies are deploying that effectively improve their food safety culture? One organization that has become a leader in food safety culture is Chipotle. Chipotle has developed and implemented progressive strategies for food safety over the last several years with measurable successes as best-in-class food safety culture.

    Kerry Bridges, Vice President of Food Safety for Chipotle will share cutting-edge food safety protocols they have implemented in the areas of supply chain risk management, product technology, ingredient traceability, technical resourcing, 3rd party audits, and supplier and employee training strategies to mitigate food safety risks in their operations. Kerry will share the importance of the shared responsibility of food safety throughout their organization and the importance of involving diverse stakeholders to support their food safety programs. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn proven food safety culture approaches from one of the leaders in our industry!

    Presenters
    • Kerry Bridges, Presenter Vice President of Food Safety, Chipotle Mexican Grill
    • Laura Dunn Nelson, Moderator Vice President Food Safety and Global Alliances, Intertek Alchemy
  • Making Your Environmental Monitoring Plan Smarter May 26, 2022 (2:00 PM - 3:00 PM Eastern Time)

    Using examples and case studies, this webinar will focus on ways to work smarter to extract additional value from EMP data. EMP data can provide information beyond simple verification that sanitation efforts were successful when viewed through the lens of time, space, and workflow. Deep dive data analysis will give you insight into where and what to correct.
    Examples and data analysis derived from both commercially processed foodstuffs and raw fruit and vegetables will be reviewed. Historic data applied to new data provides additional insights. Data analysis strategies will be illustrated with case studies. These case studies will highlight the unique challenges of each situation and the need to avoid a “one size fits all mentality”. Trial metrics will be generated and assessed as models for continuous improvement using case studies.
    Through case studies, we will identify when special tools such as whole-genome sequencing and zone 1 testing, are applicable to your EMP. Case studies will illustrate how to respond to organism recurrence as opposed to transient strains of pathogens. Special emphasis will address the needs of raw, ready-to-eat manufacturers who have characteristic environmental risks due to the absence of a kill step.

    Learning Objectives:
    •Learn to define environmental monitoring performance metrics that apply to your operation and utilize trend analysis in problem prevention.
    •Understanding when whole-genome sequencing adds benefit to your EMP.
    •Demonstrate examples of qualitative and quantitative deep-dive data analysis that provides real actionable insight.
    •Understand when, where, and how to do zone 1 testing. Are the risks worth the reward?
    •Suggest examples of what to advise raw ready to eat, food manufacturer to include in EMP program, and how to use the data generated to correct deficiencies.

    Presenters
    • Doug Marshall, Presenter Eurofins
    • Florence Wu, Presenter Fremonta Corp.
    • Morgan Young, Presenter AEMTEK Labs
    • Eric Wilhelmsen, Moderator Smart Wash Solutions
  • 7-Steps of Sanitation (Spanish) Jun 23, 2022 (11:00 AM - !2:00 PM Eastern Time)

    Organized by the Sanitary Equipment and Facility Design PDG

    During this webinar, you will learn about the 7-step sanitation process used in the food industry to ensure effective sanitation. The steps of the process are explained by experts in the field of sanitation. The purpose of each step and key concepts will be discussed with emphasis on optimizing efficiency and consistency of outcome. Details about various cleaning methods including when and how to use them are also shared with participants. The latest automated and manual cleaning methods for wet and dry plants will be compared and described on how and when to use each method. The session concludes with examples from the field and a question-and-answer exchange with our experts.

    Learning Objectives:
    • Provide Spanish-speaking attendees an understanding of the optimal sequence of events in sanitation to generate a clean and safe surface in an efficient manner.
    • Gain the ability to identify differences in wet and dry sanitation procedures and their influence on the selection of sanitation tools.
    • Describe how cleaning and disinfection are different and when to apply each method.

    Presenters
    • Alejandro Rojas, Presenter Ecolab
    • Rick Stokes, Moderator Ecolab