National Turkey Federation (NTF) today confirmed that USDA's Under Secretary for Food Safety Dr Elisabeth Hagen will deliver the keynote speech at the 2011 NTF Annual Convention on 10 to 12 February 2011 at the Loews Ventana Canyon in Tucson.

Dr Hagen is expected to discuss the implementation of new science-based food safety technologies and the ongoing evolution of the HACCP inspection system when she addresses more than 500 turkey industry executives expected to attend the NTF Annual Convention General Session on Thursday 10 February.

NTF President Joel Brandenberger, said: "NTF and its membership look forward to hearing about Dr Hagen's vision for the future of USDA's science-based, risk-based inspection system. We look forward to working with her as she builds on the agency's successes in enhancing the safety of the food supply and further strengthen its public health mission."

A physician certified in infectious disease and graduate of the Harvard Medical School, Dr Hagen previously was USDA's chief medical officer. She assumed the under secretary position in August, where she is responsible for establishing policy to assure the safety of the nation’s meat, poultry and processed egg supply, for overseeing the operation of FSIS, and, as a member of the White House Food Safety Working Group, for helping develop the overall administration food safety policy.

NTF's Annual Convention General Session will also include presentations from a major supermarket chain's meat executive, who will discuss ways to include more turkey products in the retail meat case, and from Tom Elam, Farm Econ, LLC, who will provide an economic update on the turkey industry. This year's session will lead off by honoring one of the Turkey on the Menu (T.O.M.) Award winners, a food-service chain that exemplifies success with turkey menu applications.

The federation's convention is designed to find ways to constructively stampede through obstacles so the industry can continue to prosper by marketing turkey products to consumers.