CEOs from Global Food Industry Giants to Gather at GFSI's 2017 Global Food Safety Conference

PARIS and HOUSTON, December 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

• Under the theme of "Leadership for Growth," seven CEOs "walk the talk" and demonstrate just how important food safety is in their business: Cargill, Danone, Ecolab, The Hershey Company, Mondelēz, Tyson Foods and Wegmans Food Markets. 

• The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) and The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) are working hard on what is already promising to be a record-breaking Global Food Safety Conference. The 2017 edition will take place in Houston, Texas from February 27 to March 2. 

• Stephen Ostroff of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) will speak about the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and collaboration for the growth of food safety systems. 

Leadership for Growth is the theme of GFSI's 16^th Global Food Safety Conference. In a striking demonstration that "food safety must come from the top" in a vibrant company food safety culture, seven CEOs of today's food industry heavyweights are set to take the stage at the industry's flagship global food safety event.

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Dave MacLennan, CEO Cargill, Emmanuel Faber, CEO Danone, Doug Baker, CEO Ecolab, John P. Bilbrey, CEO The Hershey Company, Irene Rosenfeld, CEO, Mondelēz, Tom Hayes, incoming CEO Tyson Foods and Danny Wegman, CEO Wegmans Food Markets are lined up to speak on the role of food safety leadership through the Global Food Safety Initiative.

The 2017 conference, poised to break attendance records and attract well over 1,000 delegates from 60 countries, will highlight how GFSI serves as a driver to the food safety ecosystem and how companies can leverage GFSI for growth, no matter where in the supply chain they operate. Integrating innovation, networking and efficiency, the programme will show how the industry can engage deeper in the supply chain to enable more extensive collaboration.

"The 2017 GFSC Committee is busy working to develop an outstanding program that leverages the successes of our past conferences and incorporates the feedback that many of the attendees have provided, all while looking to the future of how the Global Food Safety Initiative will continue to drive the vision of Safe Food for Consumers, Everywhere," said Peter Begg, GFSI Board member and Chair of the conference Programme Committee.

"Our conference theme this year is 'Leadership for Growth'", Begg continued. "The work that GFSI is doing on food safety is not only about compliance to regulations and standards, but supports the efforts to feed a growing population that according to estimates will reach 9 billion people by 2050. We have structured the program to address many of the areas that will enable the food industry to meet these challenges in the coming years. As food safety is non-competitive and one food safety problem can impact every company in the food chain, we must collaborate to ensure that on food safety, all boats rise with the tide."

With the vast amount of change seen in 2016 - from new globally-relevant regulations such as the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) to the release of several revised scheme standards, the 2017 conference is focused on the need to grow our own leaders through this ever-changing food safety landscape to be efficient, effective leaders for the future. 

"GFSI returns to the United States in the wake of new US food laws and regulations taking effect that impact not only the U.S. but those countries who trade with and export their products to the U.S.," commented GFSI Director Véronique Discours-Buhot. "Hence Houston, Texas is a fitting forum to discuss the ever-changing global landscape of food regulations as well as equally critical food safety and food security issues impacting the global supply chain."

More than ever, the GFSI annual conference is playing a leading role in advancing food safety and the science behind it, further developing the food safety community as well as the global collaboration to do together what no one company or country can do alone.

To follow all the latest news on the Global Food Safety Conference, follow us through the #GFSI17 hashtag.

To learn more about the programme and register online, visit: http://bit.ly/GFSI17Comms

For press and media partnership opportunities, contact Lisa Prévert: l.prevert@theconsumergoodsforum.com

For sponsorship and exhibition opportunities, contact Marie-Ange Houppermans: ma.houppermans@theconsumergoodsforum.com

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