Listeria Control and Risk Management Workshop:
From the Fundamentals of Operational Food Safety Programs to Use of Pathogen Sequencing Tools in Food and Processing Environments.
A premier food safety educational opportunity that will bridge food safety programs with central microbiological concepts. Highlighting expert faculty and a progressive learning structure, the workshop takes participants across a spectrum of core food safety functions with a bend towards advanced skills and technologies. The program should appeal to a broad range of food safety professionals: early career food safety practitioners, food safety and quality managers, operations and supply chain professionals, and food industry executives. This intensive one-day workshop series offers two sessions focused on a) Getting back to food safety basics – Continuous improvement of Listeria prevention and control programs to address harborage; and b) Understanding and managing risk to achieve a safer food supply chain – From sampling for product testing to application of evolving pathogen identification tools.
It is intended to apply real-world experiences, impart practical knowledge, and offer actionable value to participants.
Thank you to AFFI Workshop Sponsor
Session 1
Getting back to food safety basics — Continuous improvement of Listeria prevention and control programs to address harborage.
This is a primer on best practices for prevention and control of Listeria monocytogenes. The session will begin with the principles of cleaning and sanitation and explore the application and reassessment of standard methods and practices in the context of Listeria entry, harborage, transfer, and food contamination.
8:00 AM
Welcome and Introduction
Sanjay Gummalla, PhD
Sr. Vice President Scientific Affairs, American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI)
Dr. Sanjay Gummalla is sr. vice president of scientific affairs, at the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI). His broad industry experience in food science and nutrition are key to guiding science and policy advocacy, and effective scientific tools and resources for the food and beverage industry. He is in the forefront of coordinating Listeria monocytogenes and enteric virus prevention and control programs and policy efforts on behalf of the frozen food industry. He also leads the industry’s initiatives in food waste reduction, decarbonizing the frozen supply chain and packaging recyclability. As executive director of the frozen food foundation, the research arm of the industry, he steers a portfolio of initiatives and projects in food safety, nutrition, and sustainability.
Prior to joining AFFI, Dr. Gummalla was the vice president of product development at Zentis NA, a global fruit preparation manufacturer. His technical expertise extends to flavor development, food microbiology, and product development resulting from managing global food application projects at Givaudan Flavors and leading the global dairy flavor research and development portfolio at Cargill.
Dr. Gummalla previously represented the industry as advisor, U.S. Agricultural Trade Advisory Committee for Processed Foods; committee member, IAFP’s Journal of Food Protection; president, Capital Area Food Protection Association; and chair, International Food Science Certification Commission which administers IFT’s Certified Food Scientists program.
On the food safety front, he is a Preventive Controls Qualified Individual instructor and served as adjunct assistant professor at the University of Cincinnati, where he taught food microbiology. Early in his career, he was a post-doctoral researcher at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) representing FDA’s foray in to nanotechnological applications for food safety. He holds a Ph.D. in Nutrition and Food Sciences from Utah State University.
8:05 AM
The Journey to a State of Control
Continuous improvement is an essential food safety principle! Fostering knowledge outside the realm of the day-to-day is critical to implementing new ways of thinking and cutting-edge tools and practices – John Butts, Ph. D., Founder and Principal, FoodSafetyByDesign LLC
Putting together continuous improvement and food safety culture using a maturity model. The model will define the pathway to a predictive state where the facility is operating at a very low risk for L. monocytogenes.
John Butts
Food Safety Expert, Food Safety by Design
Dr. Butts held the primary technical role at Land O’ Frost the 3rd largest sliced lunchmeat brand in the US for over 40 years. He served as an officer on the Leadership Team for over 35 years. His team at LOF developed the Seek & Destroy Process for Lm control in the early 90’s. In 2010 Food Safety By Design, LLC. was founded to help producers of high-risk products learn how to prevent and manage food safety risks. Root Cause identification, & Preventive and Predictive practices are key components of the Food Safety By Design Seek & Destroy Process. The Seek and Destroy Pathogen Control Process has been taught in all NAMI Lm Workshops for over 24 years. Dr. Butts has held and presented Seek & Destroy Process Workshops in the United States, Canada, Wales, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Australia, Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia. Dr Butts was a member of the American Meat Institute Board of Directors. He received the 2005 NSF Food Safety Leadership Award, 2006 Food Safety Magazine Distinguished Service Award, 2008 Meat Processing Award from the American Meat Science Association, 2009 Scientific Achievement Award from the American Meat Institute Foundation, & NSF Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016. He was inducted into the Meat Industry Hall of Fame in 2020.
8:30 AM
Is There a Crack in Your Foundation?
Understand the key challenges and aspects of validation, verification, and adjustments needed to achieve best-in-class sanitation – Kathy Knutson, NSF International
Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) are the foundation of every food safety system, and when that foundation is weakened, Listeria monocytogenes can find a way in. This interactive session will explore how small cracks—overlooked details, inconsistent implementation, or complacency in daily practices—can open the door to big problems. Drawing on first-hand experiences and observations from numerous food manufacturing facilities, the presenter will share real-world missteps of where GMPs have failed, how these failures create opportunities for Listeria to persist, and what can be done to prevent them. Participants will gain actionable insights to strengthen their own practices. Discussion, examples, and audience engagement will help participants learn how to spot and repair “cracks” in their own operations, reinforcing GMPs as a strong and reliable frontline defense against L. monocytogenes.
Kathy Knutson
Food Safety Expert, NSF International
Dr. Knutson is educated in Bacteriology, Food Science, and Education. She speaks, writes, and trains on FDA FSMA compliance. She has trained over 1000 Preventive Controls Qualified Individuals-PCQIs. She works with managers to write a thorough hazard analysis, food safety plan, recall plan, environmental monitoring program, and allergen management program. In 2020 her book was published, Food Safety Lessons for Cannabis-Infused Edibles. She served as the Chair of the Education Committee of the National Cannabis Industry Association. Dr. Knutson travels to manufacturers for swabbing to locate a pathogen during recall investigations and for gap assessments of GMPs. Her expertise is designing environmental monitoring programs for the control of pathogens in facilities manufacturing ready-to-eat foods. Learn more on her LinkedIn profile.
9:15 AM
Hygienic Design and Sanitation Survival Techniques
Applied experiential insights on the sanitation components necessary to nurture, survive and succeed given the demands for perfectly safe food – Joe Stout, Commercial Food Sanitation
Joe Stout
Food Safety Professional, Commercial Food Sanitation
Joe Stout, Director of Global Product Protection, Sanitation, and Hygienic Design for Kraft Foods, oversaw worldwide plant cleaning, allergen and pathogen control, pest management, and hygienic design of equipment and facilities. In 2020, he served as Vice Chair for the GFSI Hygienic Design Technical Working Group.
After retiring from Kraft in 2010, Joe founded Commercial Food Sanitation (CFS) to improve food industry sanitation. By 2013, CFS began supporting continuous improvement in sanitation and environmental controls for QSR suppliers across categories like poultry, seafood, meat, produce, bakery, and dairy. Services include improving sanitation efficiency, hygienic design, pathogen monitoring, crisis support, and training. Joe serves on four food safety advisory boards.
Joe received the IAFP Sanitarian of the Year award in 2015, the IAFP Food Safety Award in 2020 for his contributions to research and education, and the Food Safety Magazine Distinguished Service Award in 2022.
Joe retired from CFS in June 2025 and currently consults for the food industry.
10:00 AM
Break
10:15 AM
Adapting Environmental Monitoring Programs to Validate and Verify Listeria Control Efforts
Martin Wiedmann
Gellert Family Professor in Food Safety, Food Science, Cornell University
The overall goal of Martin's academic program is to develop and communicate the scientific knowledge needed to prevent and control foodborne and zoonotic diseases caused by bacteria as well as microbial food spoilage. With his training as a both a veterinarian and food scientist, Martin's programs focus on a comprehensive and interdisciplinary farm-to-table approach to food safety and quality. Martin also serves as co-director of the New York State Integrated Food Safety Center of Excellence.
11:00 AM
Investigate and Act – Seek and Destroy Listeria Harborage
A case study on the principles of vectoring and application of root cause analysis – Byron Chaves, Ph.D., University of Nebraska, Lincoln and Jeff Lucas, Mérieux Nutrisciences
Byron Chaves, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Food Science & Technology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
The overall goal of Martin's academic program is to develop and communicate the scientific knowledge needed to prevent and control foodborne and zoonotic diseases caused by bacteria as well as microbial food spoilage. With his training as a both a veterinarian and food scientist, Martin's programs focus on a comprehensive and interdisciplinary farm-to-table approach to food safety and quality. Martin also serves as co-director of the New York State Integrated Food Safety Center of Excellence.
Jeff Lucas
Senior Director, Consulting & Education, Mérieux NutriSciences
Jeff has consulted in all food industry segments specializing in food safety, microbiological issues with foodborne pathogens, food spoilage, sanitation, and HACCP. Jeff has assisted numerous companies in resolving issues with Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods and with Escherichia coli O157:H7 in raw beef including regulatory concerns, sanitation issues, and recall mitigation. He has instructed numerous short-courses and workshops across the US on HACCP, Listeria Control, Sanitation, Quality Systems and Food Safety. Jeff is a lead instructor for HACCP and an instructor in BRC. Additionally, Jeff is a Preventive Controls Lead Instructor for both human and animal food. Jeff’s tenure with food and meat companies includes Sara Lee, ibp, Inc., Land O’ Frost and J Bar B Foods among others. Jeff is a graduate of Auburn University and Texas A&M University.
11:45 AM
Lunch and Networking
Session 2
Understanding and managing risk to achieve a safer food supply chain — Sampling for product testing to application of evolving pathogen identification tools
Delving beyond the production floor, this session will cover learning about risk and managing food safety expectations across food supply chains. Participants will gain a thorough understanding of the role of sampling plans in finished product testing; be exposed to innovations in pathogen testing; and examine a pathogen tracking case study from the lens of novel sequencing tools.
1:00 PM
What’s the Difference Between a Hazard and a Risk?
Knowing and quantifying food safety risks is key to prioritizing and managing risk – Jennifer McEntire, Ph.D., Food Safety Strategy LLC
What’s the difference between a hazard and a risk? And if there is a food safety risk, just how big is it? Answering these questions is foundational to managing food safety, and yet these questions can be difficult to answer. In this discussion, you’ll learn how to systematically use data– both from your facility, and external data sources- to help prioritize risks, and your associated food safety efforts to control them.
Jennifer McEntire, Ph.D.
Founder, Food Safety Strategy, LLC
Dr. McEntire left the role of Chief Food Safety and Regulatory Officer for the International Fresh Produce Association (successor to the United Fresh Produce Association) in 2023 to use her extensive food safety experience to support the industry as the Founder of Food Safety Strategy, LLC.
A food microbiologist by background, she has worked in the Washington, DC area for over 20 years, bringing the scientific perspective to food safety regulatory issues. She held previous food safety leadership positions with the Grocery Manufacturers Association, The Acheson Group and the Institute of Food Technologists, where she led the FDA FSMA traceability pilots.
McEntire earned a PhD from Rutgers University as a USDA National Needs Fellow in Food Safety and received a Bachelor of Science with Distinction, magna cum laude, in food science from the University of Delaware.
She is a member of IFT, IAFP, serves on the technical committee of the Center for Produce Safety, and was the 2020 recipient of the NSF International Food Safety Leadership Award and 2023 recipient of the IAFP Harold Barnum Industry Award. She has received awards from both of her alma maters, is an accomplished author, including serving as editor for “Food Traceability: from binders to blockchain”, and is a highly sought after speaker.
1:45 PM
Sampling – The Power of ‘n’ and More
Don Schaffner, Ph.D.
Department of Food Science Chair, Distinguished Professor Extension Specialist in Food Science, Rutgers University, New Brunswick
Dr. Donald W. Schaffner is the Department Chair, a Distinguished Professor at Rutgers University, and Extension Specialist in Food Science. His research interests include quantitative microbial risk assessment, predictive food microbiology, handwashing and cross-contamination. Dr. Schaffner has authored more than 190 peer-reviewed publications, and numerous book chapters and abstracts. He has been the recipient of more than $9 million in grants and contracts, a majority in the form of competitive national grants. Dr. Schaffner has educated thousands of Food Industry professionals through numerous short courses and workshops in the United States and dozens of countries around the world. Dr. Schaffner was awarded the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) Elmer Marth Educator Award in 2009 for outstanding service to the public and IAFP in the area food safety and food protection education. He was also awarded the IAFP Maurice Weber Laboratorian Award in 2020 for outstanding contributions in the laboratory, recognizing a commitment to the development of innovative and practical analytical approaches in support of food safety. Dr. Schaffner has served on a variety of expert committees, including service to US National Academy of Sciences and the World Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) and US National Advisory Committee on Microbial Criteria for Foods (NACMCF). Dr. Schaffner is active in IAFP, IFT, the Society for Risk Analysis (SRA), the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), and the Conference for Food Protection (CFP). Dr. Schaffner was elected a Fellow of IFT in 2010, of the American Academy for Microbiology in 2014 and of the International Association for Food Protection in 2017. He served as an Editor for the ASM journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology from 2005 to 2020. He began serving as a Contributing Editor for the journal Food Microbiology and as Associate Editor for Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety in 2020. Dr. Schaffner was elected the Secretary of the IAFP in 2010, a five-year commitment including service as President of the organization in 2013-2014. He is the co-host of a podcast on microbial food safety called Food Safety Talk at http://foodsafetytalk.com, and another short podcast on risk called Risky or Not available apphttp://riskyornot.co. Since the start of the pandemic he has been interviewed for TV and print media (including New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal) on SARS-CoV-2 and the risks of COVID-19. He holds a B.S. in Food Science from Cornell University and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Food Science and Technology from the University of Georgia.
3:15 PM
Break
3:30 PM
Harnessing Rapid Time to Result, Low-Cost, and Accuracy for Continuous Monitoring
Transitioning from culture-based detection methods to application of novel, rapid, microbial testing technologies with precision and low cost – what are the needs and challenges to meet, particularly as we consider upscaling Listeria monitoring. A panel of technology experts and industry practitioners: Jeff Farber, Ph.D., University of Guelph, Canada; Sarah Powell-Price, Millipore Sigma; Joel Riemer, Ph.D., Testo bioAnalytics GmbH; Kelly Stevens, Ph.D., General Mills
Joel Reimer
Joel Riemer is the CEO of Testo bioAnalytics, a German subsidiary of the Testo Group, and an expert in lab‑on‑a‑chip technologies for rapid, on‑site bacterial detection. Over the past decade, he has served as a scientific liaison, translating emerging technologies into scalable industrial applications for the food industry. Previously, he designed microbiological assays at Forschungszentrum Juelich (one of Europe’s largest research centers) and Autodisplay Biotech in Duesseldorf. He holds a degree in Biology from the University of Duesseldorf and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Muenster. Joel brings ~15 years’ experience building advanced assay platforms, with peer‑reviewed publications and patent contribution in the field. He is active in several advisory committees and working groups, including with the AOAC and the AFFI.
Kelly Stevens
Sally Powell Price
Joined Merck KGaA, Darmstadt Germany (MilliporeSigma US) in 2020 as a Regulatory Subject Matter Expert for Public Health and Life Science with a focus on food safety, environmental monitoring, and cannabis in North America. In her current role, she routinely works alongside regulators within federal and state agencies to ensure compliance and collaboration to promote public health.
Previously, she served as a Regulatory Lab Supervisor at the New York City Department of Health Public Health Laboratory supporting food, water, and Legionella outbreak response testing. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Biology from Hamilton College, an MSc in Microbiology & Immunology from James Cook University in Australia, and did continuing coursework in public health at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and the University of Vermont Grossman School of Business. She has served as an Advisory Panel member for AOAC International and currently co-chairs both the International and Governmental Relations Committee and the Laboratory Science and Technology Committee for the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO).
Jeff Farber Ph.D.
Dr. Farber is currently the Director of a consulting firm which does food safety consulting with various food companies, organizations and countries. In addition, he is a senior advisor for Index Biosystems, a Canadian biotechnology company working in the area of food traceability and authenticity. Dr. Farber is also an Adjunct Professor and member of the graduate faculty in the Department of Food Science at the University of Guelph, in Guelph, Ontario.
Dr. Jeff Farber most recently was employed as a Full Professor in the Department of Food Science at the University of Guelph, in Guelph, Ontario, where he was Director of the Canadian Research Institute for Food Safety and head of the Master’s Program in Food Safety and Quality Assurance. Previous to that, he was the Director of the Bureau of Microbial Hazards in the Food Directorate of Health Canada, where he led a group of about 60 people working in various areas of microbial food safety and was instrumental in advancing the development of policy approaches on emerging microbial food safety issues in Canada and at a global level.
Dr. Farber has over 200 publications, plus numerous Book Chapters and has edited 5 books. He was Associate Editor of the International Journal of Food Microbiology for many years and has been on a number of Journal Editorial Boards. He is a Past-President of the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) and Executive Director of the International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods (ICMSF), a leading global think tank on emerging food safety issues. Dr. Farber also has extensive experience working experience at the international level, with organizations such as FAO, WHO and Codex Alimentarius. He was also recently appointed to the newly formed Science and Technology Advisory Group (STAG), under the umbrella of GFSI.
Dr. Farber has received numerous personal and team awards, winning 3 awards in 2020 from the International Association for Food Protection, and being nominated as a Fellow for The International Union of Food Science and Technology. As well, in 2022, Dr. Farber received an award from the American Frozen Food Institute for his exceptional work in improving the safety of the frozen food supply. In 2009, he won one of the highest awards presented to Federal Public Health Officials, the Prime Minister’s Outstanding Achievement Award, for his work as the lead scientist for Health Canada on the deli-meat listeriosis outbreak. In 2023, Dr. Farber was awarded the prestigious IAFP President's Lifetime Achievement Award. He also was recently honored for his contributions to both our understanding of Listeria and the advancement of food safety, by having a new species of Listeria named after him - Listeria farberi.
Most recently, Dr. Farber was appointed into the Order of Canada. The Order of Canada is one of Canada’s highest honours, and recognizes people who have made extraordinary and sustained contributions to the country. Dr. Farber was recognized for his significant contributions to improving food safety both within Canada and worldwide.
4:15 PM
Continuously Enhancing Our Food Safety Data – Whole Genome Sequencing
Monitoring Listeria in a frozen vegetable processing environment: Enhancing food safety with whole genome sequencing – Nadja Pracser, Ph.D., University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria.
In this study, we investigated the occurrence of L. monocytogenes and other Listeria spp. in a European frozen vegetable processing environment. In total, 8842 samples were analyzed between 2019 and 2020. For identification of persisting in-house clones and tracking of transmission route, whole genome sequencing (WGS) of 947 L. monocytogenes isolates from the processing environment (n=454) or from products (n=493) was done. Using WGS, we identified five in-house clones: ST451-CT4117, ST20-CT3737, ST8-CT1349, ST8-CT6243, ST224-CT5623, which were also found in frozen vegetable products. Transmission of Listeria was facilitated by the structure of the building and hard-to-clean conveyor belts were a major contamination source. In summary, this case study showed that WGS is a powerful tool to identify contamination sources and transmission patterns within the processing facility. See research here.
Nadja Pracser
Postdoctoral Researcher, Centre for Food Science and Veterinary Public Health Vienna
Nadja Pracser completed her bachelor's degree in Biomedicine and Biotechnology at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria, followed by a master's degree in Molecular Biology at the University of Vienna, Austria. She returned to the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna for her PhD studies, where she conducted research at the Centre for Food Science and Veterinary Public Health, focusing on Listeria and biofilms in food processing environments. Her research included collaboration with the food industry focusing on developing strategies to enhance food safety. Currently, as a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for Food Science and Veterinary Public Health, she continues to work in food microbiology and Listeria research.
5:00 PM
Concluding Remarks
Thank you workshop booth sponsors
Thank you other event sponsors
