Symposium tackles red tape challenges

As if feeding 9 billion people by 2050 was not enough of a challenge for the food industry, ever-evolving regulations can create confusion and significantly impede progress. 
Meanwhile, says Alltech, when news of food safety issues go viral, families who are already far-removed from the farm become wary of the entire supply chain and the organizations safeguarding it. The regulatory landscape presents a challenging environment for any farmer or food producer, also facing the formidable foes of economic woes and unpredictable weather patterns.
Alltech’s 28^th Annual International Symposium, held May 20 – 23 in Lexington, Kentucky, will address these challenges through its dedicated regulatory session, featuring expert speakers from leading regulatory organizations and influencers.  
“Agriculture is at a crossroad between competitiveness, trade, safety and sustainability. Minimum standards of feed safety are often not enough. Businesses are going beyond these minimum standards for several reasons including strict retailer procurement policies, brand/reputation management and consumer demand. This regulatory session will address both feed safety and trade against the backdrop of these competing demands,” said Jean Kennedy, European regulatory affairs manager for Alltech.
Regulatory focused session topics will include:
Feed Safety

• Key Challenges to Sub-Saharan Feed Safety and Regulation
• Food Safety Modernisation Act
• Japanese Case Study: Crisis Management
• Quality Assurance – A marketing ploy or a risk reduction strategy?

Feed Trade

• Ensuring Compliance Across International Boundaries
• Do Better Standards Mean Safer, Better Foods?
• 5 Trends that Might Concern You – Reviewing the regulatory scene
• Feeding 9 billion people: A unique challenge for the world’s feed industry

Featured presenters at the regulatory session will be De Wet Boshoff, executive director of the African Feed Manufacturers Association; Mario Cutait, chairman of the International Feed Industry Federation; Joe Hain, deputy director, Processed Products and Technical Regulations Division, Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; Keith Millar, head of Animal Feed Unit and Secretary to the Advisory Committee on Animal Feedingstuffs, Food Standards Agency, United Kingdom; Joel Newman, president of the American Feed Industry Association; Ashley Peterson, National Chicken Council, United States; Katsuaki Sugiura, professor at the University of Tokyo Research Center for Food Safety; Patrick Wall, professor of Public Health at the University College Dublin, Ireland.
Other invited and confirmed roundtable participants include representatives from Argentina (SENASA), Chile (SAG), China (MOA and ZAoAS), Ecuador (AGROCALIDAD), Guatemala (MAG), the Dominican Republic (SEA), Mexico (SAGARPA) and Peru (SENASA).
Additional information on the regulatory session is available at www.alltech.com/symposium-sessions/regulatory. The 2012 Symposium will be the forum for more than 100 presentations by industry experts, including experts from Domino’s Pizza, Jack in the Box, Wendy’s, Nestle, Murphy-Brown, Future Farmers of America, PetSmart and the Harvard School of Business.