Foreign material continues to be one of the most challenging, yet underdiscussed, aspects of most producers’ food safety programs. In this workshop, you will learn best practices in building an effective foreign material prevention program – as well as understanding how to respond when a contamination event occurs. Speakers/Panelists: • Amanda Lockhart, Corporate FSQ Manager, Hormel Foods (Presentation of the Foreign Material Maturity Model) • Shawn Stevens, Food Industry Attorney, Food Industry Counsel, LLC (Roundtable participant) • Kye Luker, Chief Product Officer, FlexXray • Kurt Westmoreland, Chief Commercial Officer, FlexXray, Moderator Agenda Benchmarking Your Foreign Material Challenges and Solutions – 30 min Presenter: Kye Luker, Chief Product Officer, FlexXray In this presentation, we'll discuss recent benchmark data around the incidence of foreign material contamination, covering common sources and the most effective prevention strategies. Attendees will also learn about mitigation approaches that leverage leading-edge technology such as X-ray and CT scanning, and how to integrate them into your food safety program. Foreign Material Contamination: Risks, Recalls, and Mitigation Strategies Presenter: Shawn Stevens – Food Industry Counsel The presence of unwanted foreign materials in ingredients and foods is emerging as growing problem and a leading cause of food product recalls. In many cases, these recalls can affect entire supply chain and result in extreme financial losses for affected companies. This session is designed to discuss foreign material risks and trends, the leading causes of foreign material recalls, and various strategies the food industry can employ for minimizing foreign material contamination risk through developing partnership strategy with technology suppliers and implementing programs for mitigating the threat of foreign material contamination. Workshop: Understanding Your Foreign Material Maturity – 1hr 15 min Moderator: Amanda Lockhart - Corporate FSQ Manager - Regulatory Compliance & Sanitation, Hormel Foods How robust is your organization’s foreign material prevention and response program? During this interactive exercise we’ll explore the North American Meat Institute’s Foreign Material Maturity Model to assess where your practices align. You’ll then work in groups to create a proactive improvement plan to move your food safety organization along the maturity curve in the future.