Practical, Plant Operations Short Courses Planned for Worldwide Food Expo 2007

Washington, D.C. – A special track of short courses focusing on plant operations will be part of the extensive educational program at Worldwide Food Expo 2007, Oct. 24-27, 2007, at McCormick Place in Chicago, Ill. Detailed information and on-line registration for the entire trade show event can be found at http://www.worldwidefood.com.

The in-depth Plant Operations Short Courses, three times longer than the typical workshops offered, will allow operations and plant managers to learn about improving plant operations to increase output, quality, efficiency and flexibility while saving money through proven management tools, tested sanitary design principles and actual case studies.

Attendees can choose from some or all of the following four sessions:

Flexible Production Lines (Wednesday, Oct. 24, 8:15-11:30 a.m.)
Learn savvy strategies for designing flexible or “swing” production lines to reduce product changeover times and speed to market launch. Hear from HAGEN & Co. CEO Trevor Cusworth and participate in solving actual cases from food processors and manufacturers.

Six Sigma for the Food Industry (Thursday, Oct. 25, 8:15-11:30 a.m.)
Producing quality products and maintaining customer satisfaction are essential. Six Sigma is a quality management process that is widely embraced. Learn from Don L. Redinius, Master Black Belt and Six Sigma Executive Training, President, Agillist Group, Inc., on how you can put these tools to use to enhance quality at your plant.

Technology for Tracking Milk Processing (Friday, Oct. 26, 8:15-11:30 a.m.)
Learn the latest technology to track real-time compositional data in raw milk. Then see how these technologies improve the tracking of the milk as it moves through your plant, from heating to cooling to drain. This interactive course will help you meet regulatory standards while increasing your plant's profitability. Craig Nelson, founder and chief technology officer of Vigilistics, Inc., will lead the course.

Application of Sanitary Design Principles for Equipment and Facilities (Friday, Oct. 26, 8:15-11:30 a.m.)
Sanitary equipment, plant layout and design are key factors in ensuring the safety of meat and poultry products. The Sanitary Design Principles session will help companies design for enhanced sanitation and food safety. Designed specifically for plant managers, quality assurance and food safety staff, auditors, plant operations staff, sanitation staff, as well as equipment and facility design professionals interested in understanding the criteria for sanitary design. Speakers include Robert “Skip” Seward, Ph.D., vice president, regulatory affairs, AMI; Joe Stout, director of sanitation, Kraft Foods North America; David Kramer, vice president engineering, Sara Lee U.S. Food Supply, Sara Lee Foods; Chris Harmon, senior vice president, project manager, Hixson; John Johnson, director, automation and technology, Tyson Foods, Inc.

Worldwide Food Expo 2007 features the Food, Dairy & Beverage Exposition and the AMI International Meat, Poultry & Seafood Industry Convention and Exposition and is sponsored by the American Meat Institute (AMI) and the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA). Show registration is available now at http://www.worldwidefood.com, along with updated agendas, hotel and housing information, and a new feature “MyExpo” – an interactive guide to helping attendees get the most out of their visit to the Expo.

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AMI represents the interests of packers and processors of beef, pork, lamb, veal and turkey products and their suppliers throughout North America. Together, AMI’s members produce 95 percent of the beef, pork, lamb and veal products and 70 percent of the turkey products in the United States. The Institute provides legislative, regulatory, public relations, technical, scientific and educational services to the meat and poultry packing and processing industry.

The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, D.C., represents the nation's dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers, with a membership of 530 companies representing a $90-billion a year industry. IDFA is composed of three constituent organizations: the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), the National Cheese Institute (NCI) and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA). IDFA's 220 dairy processing members run more than 600 plant operations, and range from large multi-national organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent more than 85% of the milk, cultured products, cheese and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States. IDFA can be found online at www.idfa.org.