Frank Yiannas
Frank Yiannas is a renowned food safety leader and executive, food system futurist, author, professor, past president of the International Association of Food Protection, and advocate for consumers.
Most recently, he served under two different administrations as the Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a position he held from 2018 to 2023, after spending 30 years in leadership roles with two industry giants: Walmart and the Walt Disney Company.
Through his career, Frank has been recognized for his role in strengthening food safety standards in new and innovative ways, as well and building effective food safety management systems based on modern, science-based, and tech-enable prevention principles.
At the conference Frank will deliver two opening keynotes at the conference:
Day 1: Opening Keynote Title: Safeguarding Our Food Future with Science, Technology and Innovation
These are challenging times in our nation and in the world as the global food system continues to face unprecedented headwinds ranging from inflation, labor challenges, and continued supply chain snarls.
But these challenges give birth to opportunity. They shape a vision of what the future could be, looking beyond what we currently do to what we CAN do in the future with new and emerging technologies, smarter tools and approaches for prevention, and new ways to collaborate through increased data sharing.
Join former FDA Deputy Commissioner, Frank Yiannas, for a balcony level view on challenges facing the food supply chain and the opportunities they present to create a safer, smarter, and more trusted food system.
Day 2: Opening Keynote Title: Preventing, Responding, and Evaluating Food Safety Risks: Lessons Learned from a Lifetime at Disney, Walmart, and the US FDA
The sheer scope and scale of the global food system is daunting. On top of that, food safety awareness is at an all-time high, new and emerging threats to the food supply are being recognized, and foodborne outbreak detection is improving and, in some instances, outpacing prevention. Moreover, coming out of the pandemic, the food system is in the midst of a food revolution. Many believe we will see more changes in food over the next 10 years than we have over the past several decades. Foods are being reformulated, new foods and new food production methods are being realized, and the food system is becoming increasingly digitized.
While these changes have the potential to benefit consumers, food producers, and the planet, they will introduce new risks that must be managed.
Achieving food safety success in these modern times will require more modern approaches that go beyond traditional training, testing, and inspection frameworks.
During this keynote, Frank Yiannas, a renowned food safety leader at Disney, Walmart and, most recently, at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, will share tips based on his industry experience on how to prevent, responding to, and assessing the risk of a food safety crisis.
