Critical Updates To Counter Risks & Protect Customers Through Effective, Resilient & Proactive Food & Beverage Safety Strategies
Europe’s Flagship Event The 10th Annual Must-Attend Industry Gathering With Brand New Speaker Case Studies,
2nd June 2026, Institute of Chartered Engineers, One Great George Street, London
Regulations & Legislation ■ Sustainability ■ Microbiology & Chemical Contaminants ■ Supply Chain Resilience ■ Allergens & Accountability ■ AI & New Tech ■ Consumer Trust ■ Labelling & Packaging ■ Transparency & Authenticity ■ Food Safety Culture ■ Innovations & Novel Foods
08.15 Registration & Informal Networking
OPENING REMARKS
09.00 Morning Chair’s Remarks
Jemila Boye-Okit, Global Quality, Supplier Risk & Performance Lead, Barry Callebaut
REGULATIONS & LEGISLATION
09.10 Maintain Compliance In The Face Of Ever-Changing Regulations & Ensure Consistently High Food & Drink Standards Across Complex & Intersecting Legislation
- How can the food industry keep pace with evolving frameworks and guidance to ensure we’re always able to respond to and deliver against regulatory changes from DEFRA and other bodies?
- Balance profit, quality, and product innovation with strong guard-rails and consistent regulatory compliance
- Stay vigilant with UK regulations whilst aligning with international legislation to allow for export and global growth
SUSTAINABILITY
09.30 Uniting Sustainability Drives With Food Safety Protocols: Preparedness In An Age Of Global Agricultural Instability
- Concoct practical and conceivable approaches to improve sustainability efforts whilst continuing to make profits and grow reputation through green marketing
- With food security becoming an increasing concern in the UK, how can food manufacturers minimise food waste without compromising on quality and safety?
- As pressure mounts in the agricultural sector, how can food companies mitigate the effects on ingredients and the supply chain?
Frank Braun, Chief Sustainability Officer, Hälssen & Lyon
09.50 Bonus Session; Reserved for Exclusive Conference Partner
MICROBIOLOGY & CHEMICAL CONTAMINANTS
PANEL Q&A
10.05 Reduce Microbial Threats & Contamination Through Stringent & Proactive Regimes & Impactful Testing Strategies
- With the new Listeria guide coming out and the FSA’s telling 2024 report, what do farms and factories need to do to ensure safe and hygienic practices?
- Which new methods for improving hygiene – such as ultraviolet and cold plasma cleaning – could be the answer to the food industry’s unseen but dangerous problem?
- How can companies mitigate worsening microbiological issues and pesticide contamination through stringent testing?
Indranil Ray, Global Technical Director, Barry Callebaut
Mareike Wagner, Associate Director of FSQA (Quality), Factor
Rebecca McSweeney, Head of Technical – Analytical Services, Bakkavor
10.35 Morning Networking & Refreshments Break
11.05 Bonus Session; Reserved for Exclusive Conference Partner
SUPPLY CHAIN RESILIENCE
11.20 Adapt & Thrive Through Resilient & Reliable Supply Chains That Observe Safety Protocols, Pursue Traceability & Prioritise Quality
- What steps can practitioners take to ensure consistency in their supply chain – in quality, delivery, and compliance?
- In such internationally unstable times, how can each part of the product supply chain support and sustain one another?
- How can food companies prepare for faults within the supply chain, and bounce back when issues arise?
- Encourage and enforce traceability at all points of the food process to avoid catastrophic recalls and negative press
- Stay compliant to the legislation that effects each geographical location in the production process
FOOLPROOF ALLERGEN STRATEGIES
PANEL Q&A
11.40 Not A Trend But A Life-Or-Death Matter: Implement Strategies To Avoid Cross-Contamination & Education To Ensure Best-In-Class Allergen Controls
- How can we achieve holistic allergen testing strategies in complex supply chains for cohesive results and safe consumption?
- Harness new strategies to push forward clear allergen labelling to deliver new products without hesitation
- Can reliable and accurate allergen information really come from threshold requirements and eliciting doses – and is being cautiously compliant the same as being safe?
- Consider the legislation surrounding accountability for allergen-related incidents and prepare stringent controls for the potential upcoming Owen’s Law
Nick Martin, Chief Food Safety & Quality Officer, Fox’s Burton’s Companies (FBC) UK
Simon Flanagan, Research Fellow – Global Food Safety, Mondelez
Philip Quinn, Technical Manager, Waitrose
Raul Pettrone, Senior Food Safety & Quality Manager, WHSmith
Darren Smith, Technical Manager, Warrendale Wagyu
AI & NEW TECH
12.10 Ensuring Valuable Integration With The Most Relevant Technologies & Boost Food Safety & Quality Whilst Reducing Costs & Improving Efficiency
- What new technologies can the food industry utilise to improve quality, increase efficiency and ensure top-tier safety practices?
- How can food professionals mitigate the loss of generational knowledge through tech integration and the potential recurrence of basic issues?
- Cut through the noise – learn which technologies are worth investment and will provide real and justifiable results
- Fool-proof your systems – how can you continue to protect your customer if the network goes down?
Andres del Rio, R&I Director – Global Lead of Regulatory & Scientific Affairs, Lipton Teas and Infusions
12.30 Bonus Session; Reserved for Exclusive Conference Partner
12.45 Lunch & Informal Networking For Speakers, Delegates & Partners
13.45 Afternoon Co-Chairs’ Remarks
13.55 Bonus Session; Reserved for Exclusive Conference Partner
BUILDING CONSUMER TRUST
PANEL Q&A
14.10 Reputation & Perception: Protecting Brand Reputation In The High-Stakes Nature Of Food Safety
- In an industry that so intimately affects the consumer, how can each stage of the production process implement customer-focused attitudes to ensure trust and build reputation?
- With the stakes so high, how can the food industry earn the trust of the most vulnerable customers?
- Build long-term customer trust through clear and transparent communications in both customer-facing and internal systems
- As customers become increasingly interested in nutrition and industry specifics, harness increasingly high customer standards to improve reputation and forestall industry-wide blows due to fearmongering and scandal
Nisha Dupuis, Culture & Communications Coordinator, Five Guys
Monika Nadolna, Senior Technical Manager, Keelings
LABELLING & PACKAGING
14.40 Improve Transparency, Safety & Security Through Clear & Compliant Labelling & Packaging Strategies
- Provide clear, transparent and customer-centric labels to avoid misinformation, misunderstandings and recalls
- Keep pace with packaging regulations in the UK and abroad – how might the EU PPWR affect the UK in the coming months and years?
- How can sustainable packaging and sustainable transport of goods lead to improved reputation and a secure and lasting future for the food industry?
Jose Manuel Ahumada Suazo, Director of Quality Assurance/Quality Control, Fruitist
FRAUD, TRANSPARENCY & AUTHENTICITY
15.00 Tackle Food Fraud & Ensure Authenticity To Protect The Integrity Of Your Product & Avoid Negative Consumer Feedback
- Fight food fraud through complete control of the supply chain and utter transparency in all matters of food processes
- How can food companies ensure ethical and authentic sourcing of ingredients – as far back as livestock feed and overseas plantations – now that customers expect a higher level of information and a more controlled approach to our ingredients?
- Protect yourself and your supply chain – with geopolitics in such an unstable position, is supply chain insurance something that we will see more of in the food industry?
Clive Stephens, Head of Research & Development, Cranswick Plc
BACK TO BASICS COMPLIANCE: CASE STUDY
15.20 Put New Technologies & New Threats On Hold – How Are Old Issues Managing To Resurface?
Mehdi Adjiri, Group Head of Technical Accounts, The Compleat Food Group
15.40 Bonus Session, Reserved for Exclusive Conference Partner
15.55 Afternoon Networking & Refreshments Break
ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE
PANEL Q&A
16.25 Embed A Transparent & Cohesive Culture Of Food Safety & Convey The Expected Attitudes & Necessary Protocols To Every Employee Throughout The Organisation
- In such a complex supply chain, how can you pull together a single view of safety across organisations to ensure this vital aspect of the food industry and focus on the consumers’ safety?
- How can each company instil a consistent and uncompromising practice of food safety in every worker and every workplace through consistent and engaging learning?
- Build the right mindset throughout your organisation and curate a measurement system to confirm that staff and systems are on track to succeed
- Embed an attitude of disclosure in matters of safety amongst internal stakeholders to catch potential problems before they hit the shelves
Caroline Dennis, Head of Food Technical, Gousto
Virginie Rivas, Global Director of Regulatory Affairs, Food Safety & Trade Compliance, Bel
Adina Creanga, Global Quality & Food Safety Director, AAK
INNOVATIONS & NOVEL FOODS
16.55 Forecast The Food Market To Develop New Products & Market Them Accordingly, Addressing Concerns Surrounding Food Origins, Sustainability & Hygiene With Trusted Products & Transparent Attitudes
- Keep pace with trending diets and inventions in the food space to prepare for and stay relevant in the future market
- How can traditional companies utilise nutritional science and new discoveries to promote a healthier lifestyle ahead of the new HFSS laws?
- Learn how innovators are currently investigating the role of microproteins in novel foods and sourcing new components through textural analysis to enhance vegetarian and vegan alternatives
- How can novel foods address increasing concerns around UHP without compromising on matters of organoleptics?
Shirley Snell, Global Innovation Manager, Quorn Foods
DANONE CASE STUDY
17.15 Move Away From Hypotheticals & Deep Dive Into A Real Journey
- Tania Mejias takes us through the realities of how she instilled and continues to instil an attitude of safety amongst her team – through clarity of purpose and transparency in leadership – and highlights how that attitude should spread throughout every level and every function of one’s business
Tania Mejias, Europe Head of Quality & Food Safety Operations, Danone
17:35 – Official Close of Conference