The programmes will cover a wide range of education sessions on timely meat and poultry issues, including food safety, worker safety, dietary guidelines, new products and export and international issues.

EU Free Trade Negotiations: What are the Implications for Animal Production? will examine the current state of Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations between the United States and the European Union and the potential impact of a successful or unsuccessful outcome on both the European and American farmers and producers.

The seminar, which will be held on Wednesday 28 January, is free to all IPPE attendees.

The programme is a follow-up of the highly successful EuroTier/DLG programme that was offered in November in Germany and will feature several industry specialists, including Jim Sumner, president, USA Poultry & Egg Export Council, who will provide the introduction to the program.

Dr Paul Aho, economist with Poultry Perspective, will provide a US perspective on EU–US TTIP negotiations and agriculture.

Gina Tumbarello, director of international policy and trade, American Feed Industry Association, will review TTIP implications for US poultry, pork and dairy farmers/producers, and Dr Martin Banse, director of the Thünen-Institute, will provide an European review of the TTIP implications.

The Pork 101 Workshop will cover quality and consistency issues in the pork industry, providing insight on value differences in swine, pork carcasses, pork primals and processed pork products due to quality variation, while the Biosecurity: PEDv and Foot and Mouth Disease programme, which will also be translated into Spanish will discuss the biosecurity challenges posed by the porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus (PEDv) and Foot and Mouth disease and provide practical advice to pig farmers on maintaining a healthy herd.

Texas A&M University’s Davey Griffin, PhD, is scheduled to speak at this session.

The Pork Tech Theatre programme will look at the latest developments in the international pig industry, addressing topics such as group housing of pregnant sows, a PEDv research update and a future without antibiotics.

The Market Intelligence Forum will identify key issues facing the poultry industry and provide understanding into how domestic and international poultry industries are positioned to move forward in 2015, while the US-EU Free Trade Negotiations programme will examine the current state of Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations between the United States and the European Union and the potential impact of a successful or unsuccessful outcome on both European and American farmers and producers.

The Export and International Issues in the Meat and Poultry Industries sessions will also cover key topics to help businesses succeed in the international market.

The Antibiotic Use in the Meat and Poultry Industry sessions will give attendees a scientific look at the complexities of antibiotic use in the meat and poultry industry, while the Sanitary Design programme will take some of the key lessons from ready-to-eat (RTE) sanitation best practices and teach attendees how to apply them in a raw/fresh setting.

The Worker Safety Considerations: Equipment Design, Installation & Operation workshop will look at manufacturer design considerations, new equipment installation and pre-start up safety procedures, machine guarding, lock-out and other important safety issues. The workshop will be held on Tuesday 27 January.

A Risk Management Approach to New Equipment Projects presentation will be provided by Tim Ward of Keystone Foods. Eric Nolten and Roger Huezo of Meyn, will present 'Equipment Manufacturing: Building Safety into the Design' and Paul Pressley of the US Poultry & Egg Assocation (USPOULTRY) will provide information on machine guarding.

The Validation Workshop, sponsored by the American Meat Institute, will discuss the scientific, regulatory and practical components of food process validation, a key aspect of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) system.

The programme will include a presentation by Dr Gary Acuff, director of the Center for Food Safety at Texas A&M University, entitled 'Basic Concepts in Validation/Verification'.

Dr Manpreet Singh, associate professor of Food Science at Purdue University, will host the Experimental Approaches discussion.

Dr Jim Dickson, professor at Iowa State University, will close the workshop with the ‘Interpretation and Practical Application’ presentation. The workshop will be held from 8:00 to 10:00am on Tuesday 27 January.

The American Meat Institute (AMI) announced that it will sponsor two additional free education workshops.

The Best New Products and Consumer Trends workshop will provide an overview of new consumer trends research and will describe the implications of these trends for the meat and poultry industry.

Lynn Dornblaser from Mintel will present the ‘Best New Products’ discussion.

Jerry Kelly, national retail account manager for Sealed Air Corporation’s Food Care Division, will host the session entitled, ‘Empowering the Engaged Consumer: How Processors can Adapt to Survive the Evolving Meat and Poultry Landscape’.

This two-hour session is scheduled from 2:00 to 4:00pm on Tuesday 27 January.

The second session, Dietary Guidelines and FDA Labelling Update, will address the significance of the recommendations from the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on federal diet and nutrition policy, and will discuss potential concerns for the meat and poultry industry.

The workshop will also discuss the impact of FDA’s proposed revisions to the Nutrition Facts panel and serving sizes on the health profile and marketing tactics of meat and poultry products.

Hillshire Brands’ Dr Kristin Harris will provide the dietary guidelines update, while Dr Donna Garren, vice president of regulatory and technical affairs at the American Frozen Food Institute, will present the update on FDA labelling.

This two-hour workshop will take place from 8:00 to 10:00am on Wednesday 28 January.

The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) will host a half-day meeting on Exporting Feed and Feed Ingredients to the US on 28 January. The educational programme will look at the complex process of exporting feed and feed ingredients into the United States.

Gina Tumbarello, AFIA director of international policy and trade, will lead the programme, focusing on topics such as ‘US Feed/Feed Ingredient Import Trends’, ‘APHIS: Exporting Animal and Plant Products to the US’ and ‘Exporting FDA-regulated Products to the US’.

Leah Wilkinson, AFIA director of ingredients, pet food and state affairs, and Richard Sellers, AFIA senior vice president of legislative and regulatory affairs, will also join in on the discussion to provide an update on the Food Safety and Modernization Act (FSMA) and present on the US feed regulatory system.

“The re-proposed FSMA rules have a direct effect on the feed industry by creating major changes to the regulations of feed, feed ingredients and imports,” said Ms Wilkinson.

“Understanding how to be in compliance with the proposed requirements comes hand-in-hand with understanding the current complexity of importing feed ingredients to the US.”

The IPPE will also be hosting a series of seminars, workshops and education programmes that are covered by a registration fee.

The International Poultry Scientific Forum to be held on 26 to 27 January is sponsored by the Southern Poultry Science Society, the Southern Conference on Avian Diseases, and the US Poultry & Egg Association.

The forum presents information on industry topics such as environmental management, nutrition, physiology, pathology, processing and products, and avian diseases.

All attendees, including presenters, must register and pay for IPSF. The only exception is students with a valid student ID, who may register complimentarily on-site.

The American Meat Institute Foundation (AMIF) will be hosting its Environmental Conference for the Meat and Poultry Industry on 26 January at the IPPE.

The Conference, formerly held in conjunction with AMIF’s Conference on Worker Safety, Human Resources and the Environment, will address key environmental issues facing the industry, including resource conservation, greenhouse gas emissions and waste management.

The conference will include the AMI Environmental Recognition and Achievement Awards, which will be presented at an evening reception.

The AMIF Conference on Worker Safety and Human Resources will be held in late spring 2015.

The US Poultry & Egg Association is hosting a Poultry: Microbial Control in 2nd Processing programme that will present strategies for pathogen control food safety programmes in second processing, with topics that may include plant and equipment design and validation, current interventions and the development of new evaluation tools and methods.

The half-day programme will be held Wednesday 28 January.

The programme will hear from industry specialists, including a presentation by Jill Stuber, quality systems verification manager, GNP Company, on the Statistical Evaluation of Food Safety Risks for Processing Equipment.

Dr Walid Alali, professor, University of Georgia, will review ‘Differences between External and Internal Salmonella Contamination’. Matt Prine, technical service director with Packers Chemical, will discuss ‘Advancements in Pre-operational and Operational Sanitation’.

Casey Weber, senior food scientist/microbiologist at the Cargill Innovation Center, will discuss the ‘Impact of Threshold Testing on Food Safety Programs in 2nd Processing’, and a guest speaker from Foster Farms will provide a ‘Poultry Company Perspective on Food Safety Investigations’.

The Animal Agriculture Sustainability Summit will focus on why sustainability matters to the animal agriculture industry.

Sponsored by US Poultry & Egg Association, this programme will provide viewpoints from industry and agriculture experts on sustainability and why it matters to the animal agriculture industry, as well as how to communicate efforts to consumers, suppliers and industry stakeholders.

This year's Animal Agriculture Sustainability Summit will include a presentation by Dr Marty Matlock, professor at the Department of Biological and Agriculture Engineering at the University of Arkansas, on ‘Sustainable Agriculture: What Is It and Why Do We Need It?’.

Dr Hongwei Xin, professor of Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering at Iowa State University, will review ‘Advancements of the US Egg Industry over the Past 50 Years’.

Jamie Burr, environmental stewardship manager with Tyson Foods, will discuss the National Pork Board’s ‘Pig Production Environmental Footprint Calendar: Lessons Learned’.

The summit will conclude with a ceremony to recognise and present honours to winners of USPOULTRY’s 2015 Family Farm Environmental Excellence Award.

Sponsored by US Poultry & Egg Association, the Environmental Bootcamp education programme will provide an overview of the environmental regulations that commonly affect the poultry, egg and meat processing industries and discuss the importance of environmental audits and inspections.

The half-day programme will take place on Thursday 29 January and include a regulatory overview by Christian Richter, principal with The Policy Group.

John Pierson, P.E., research engineer with Georgia Tech Research Institute, will discuss Stormwater NPDES Permitting and SPCC Compliance.

James Faison, regulatory compliance manager for Mar-Jac Poultry, will present ‘National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Feed Mills’.

Sam Hardin, P.E., consulting engineer with Clear Water Consultants, will review ‘Environmental Reporting (Tier I, Tier II, and TRI Reporting)’ and Warren Howe, P.E., vice president at Woodruff & Howe Environmental Engineering, will discuss ‘Environmental Audits and Inspections’.

The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) will host a one-day Food Safety Modernization Act (FMSA) seminar on 28 January.

The ‘Phase I Food Safety Modernization Act: Building a Foundation for Compliance’ course is designed to educate and update feed and pet food manufacturers and ingredient suppliers on the various components of the new law.

Dr Henry Turlington, AFIA director of quality and manufacturing regulatory affairs, will address a number of FSMA-related issues affecting the industry in this hands-on training including:

• FSMA proposed rules and AFIA recommendations
• building a solid foundation with current good manufacturing practices, key components of a supplier verification programme
• and creating an animal food safety plan, recall plan and training programme.

“Our goal for the training is to help our members and the feed industry understand what it will take to comply with the new rules,” explained Dr Turlington. “The requirements for the industry are changing and we need to begin building the foundation for success now.”

AFIA previously hosted three successful Phase I FSMA regional seminars this year in Sacramento, California, Des Moines, Iowa, and Atlanta, Georgia, as well as partnered to speak at training sessions in Ohio, Indiana and New York.

The association will announce information about Phase II – the next phase in the FSMA training series – in early 2015.

FSMA was signed into law on 4 January 2011, and on 29 September 2014, the official publication of the re-proposed rules were published in ‘Federal Register‘.

The re-proposed rules include changes to the foreign supplier verification programme, animal food, human food and produce.

The US Poultry & Egg Association is hosting the Seminario Técnico para Maximizar la Eficiencia de la Industria Avícola (Technical Seminar for Maximising the Efficiency of the Poultry Industry), which will be presented entirely in Spanish.

The programme will discuss methods for improving economic efficiency in the areas of breeding, incubation, grow-out and health.

The full-day programme is scheduled Monday 26 January.

The programme will feature a variety of topics, including ‘Automation of Feeders in Breeders, Pan Feeders and Chain Feeders’; ‘Mechanical Nests Management’, ‘Factors that Affect the Peak of Production and Persistence in Breeders’, ‘Rooster Management to Maximise Layer Fertility‘, ‘Maximising Fertile Egg Efficiency’; ‘Efficient Energy Management in the Hatchery; Health Programs to Improve Chick Quality‘, ‘Improving Economic Efficiency Using Controlled Environments in Warm Climate Areas’, ‘Reducing Energy Costs in Broiler Houses’, ‘Management Practices to Improve Food Safety’, ‘Improving Yields at the Slaughter Plant’ and ‘Practical Experiences to Reduce Costs Associated with Avian Diseases’.

The National Renderers Association is hosting the two-day 2015 International Rendering Symposium, which will include a presentation by Dr William Dozier of Auburn University on the usefulness of rendered products in poultry feeding.

Ansen Pond of Darling Ingredients will discuss quality assurance in the rendering industry.

Dr Ken Wilson of Simmons Feed Ingredients will give a presentation on the importance of rendered products in pet food, while Dr Jesse Trushenski of Southern Illinois University will focus on the importance of rendered products in aquaculture.

Other topics will include ‘FSMA and Its Implications on Industry Certification Programmes’, ‘Innovations in the Rendering Industry’, ‘A Virtual Tour of a Rendering Plant’, ‘Global Market Report’ and ‘Rendering and the Sustainability of Animal Agriculture‘.

The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) will host a one-day Pet Food Conference on Tuesday 27 January, which will discuss nutrition, trade and certification programmes impacting today’s pet food and pet food ingredient manufacturers.

More than 10 speakers will address a variety of topics at the conference, including Dr Daniel McChesney, director of office of surveillance and compliance at the US Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, who will provide agency updates and the impact on the pet food industry.

The conference will feature several other industry experts including Dr Colin Basler of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, LeAnn Chuboff of the Safe Quality Food Institute, Marianne Smith Edge from the International Food Information Council, Richard Ten Eyck of the Association of American Feed Control Officials, Dr David Meeker from the National Renderers Association, Janet Riley of the American Meat Institute, Dr Charles Starkey of American Proteins, Dr Kelly Swanson from the University of Illinois, Gina Tumbarello of AFIA and Svetlana Uduslivaia from Euromonitor International.

There will also be a pet food safety panel, featuring Jolyda Swaim, Olsson, Frank and Weeda, and other pet food manufacturers and ingredient suppliers, which will give an update on the proposed Food Safety Modernization Act rules, food safety plans and sampling.

January 2015