Dr. Corene Canning, Technical Development Manager – Brenntag Canada

Corene Canning completed a Ph.D. in Food Science and Nutrition from Wayne State University. Her current title is Technical Development Manager, Brenntag Health and Nutrition, Americas. In her current role, Corene works alongside the Brenntag R&D team to provide custom solutions to our partners. Corene has 9 years experience in various roles in the Food Industry.

PRESENTATION:

Advancement in Prebiotic Technologies for Functional Food Development

Gastrointestinal (GI) health has been established as having a beneficial health impact that extends beyond digestion. Healthy gut microbiota has been shown to impact our immune response and prevent disease. Furthermore, bacterial colonization in the gut by beneficial bacteria such as: Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli have also been proven to improve our emotional wellbeing and mood 1. A dietary prebiotic is defined as a selectively fermented ingredient that allows specific changes, both in the composition and/or activity of the gastrointestinal microflora that confers benefits upon host health 2. In many products, manufacturers create functional foods and supplements containing both prebiotics and probiotics to make use of the synbiotic effect of these ingredients 3. While probiotics have limitations in functional food formulation, including short lifespan and limited viability, the applications for prebiotics have greater potential to be used in novel ways 4. While there is evidence of noncarbohydrate prebiotics, the majority of prebiotics are oligosaccharide carbohydrates. In recent years, and reinforced by the Covid-19 pandemic, consumer demand for functional foods which promote immunity has increased and driven opportunity in the marketplace for prebiotics. Up to this point, many foods containing prebiotics made use of Inulin and fructooligosaccharide (FOS). These products have now been incorporated into dairy products, breads, cereals dietary supplements, among others 5. Prebiotics that have been used in functional food production to a lesser extent include human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) and galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS). HMOs have long been regarded as the ideal prebiotic for humans. HMOs are the third most abundant component of breast milk and are well known to be critical in the development of the gut microbiome during infancy. For these reasons, there has been an interest from companies looking to harness the prebiotic power of HMOs through industrial production. The most direct application for HMOs involves their addition to formula and toddler beverages, to induce the same response on the GI microbiota in formula-fed babies, that breast-fed babies benefit from 6. There is significant research proving that HMOs can increase abundance of bifidobacteria in adults as well. Adequate levels of bifidobacteria in the adult GI tract has been associated with reduced risk of inflammation, gastrointestinal infections, and irritable bowel syndrome 7. The in-house production of HMO 2’-Fucosyllactose by BASF introduces new opportunity for the customized production of functional foods. GOS is another prebiotic with exceptional potential, in part due to its similarity to HMOs. GOS is one of the most examined prebiotics with strong clinical evidence supporting its ability to promote digestive and immune health 8. Furthermore, GOS has been established as an ideal prebiotic to include in functional food development based on its high solubility, clean, taste, stability, and low glycemic index. GOS has been included in various functional food applications including infant foods, dairy products, confectionery, beverages, and pet food 4. Due to strong market demand and global interest, it appears there is abundant opportunity for the development of functional foods with HMOs and GOS as the primary bioactive ingredient.

Christian Blyth, Pathogen Specialist – 3M Food Safety

Christian is an expert in pathogens, his expertise ranges from food microbiology testing, trends in microbial food safety testing to food regulatory topics. He has over 12 years of experience supporting the food industry from 3M Food Safety Division. Christian also has depth experience on regulatory submissions with Health Canada.

PRESENTATION:

3M Food Safety

High level overview of the best practices in environmental monitoring. n partnership with Cornell University and other industry experts, 3M has developed the Environmental Monitoring Handbook for the Food and Beverage Industries – a comprehensive guide to help you build and enhance your environmental monitoring program.

What is Environmental Monitoring? Sampling and testing the environment and equipment within a food manufacturing facility to prevent cross contamination of the finished product from the environment.

Agenda for presentation includes:

1. General considerations-Integrated Environmental Monitoring Overview
2. Sample Handling
3. Hygiene Monitoring with ATP
4. Allergens
5. Indicator and Spoilage Organisms
6. Pathogens
7. Discussion and Q&A

Dr. Muhammad Basit, Doctorate in Business – Specialization in Leadership, Change and Organizational Behavior. MBA, MSc – FSQA, MS. Food Processing Technology, Train the Trainer – IACET.

Dr. Basit brings along 25 years of inter-continental business exposure in organizational excellence in the manufacturing and service sectors. Over the years, he has successfully displayed sturdy leadership in the implementation, mentoring, and auditing of various quality, food safety, and ethics-based global standards including ISO-9000 series, SA-8000, ISO-22000, BRC, SQF, FSSC, IFS, GMP, HACCP & others.

Basit’s core areas of interest are business excellence, organizational effectiveness, productivity, cultural change, food safety culture, contemporary food safety systems, quality cost, conflict mgt, continuous improvement, food regulations, food labeling & social accountability. He has successfully facilitated >200 companies on various matters and mentored >7000 individuals and audited >600 organizations around the globe for various food safety, quality, operational excellence, business excellence standards and ethical standards.

He is Doctorate in Business, MSc in Food Safety and QA, MSc. in Food Tech, MBA in Organizational Behaviour, BS in Food Process Technology, PGD in Advanced Food Safety, Diploma in Sanitation Mgt, PGD in TQM, Agri-Business, Master Train the Trainer – IACET with certifications in Thermo-processing & Canning, Good Lab Practices, ISO 17025, Food Packaging and Seafood Food Safety. Besides, he is also certified with ASQ for CMQ/OE, CQA, CHA, and Certified Lead Auditor for Gluten Free, Food Manufacturing, Food Packaging, Animal Feed, Pet Food, Ethical Sourcing and High-Risk Food Safety Operation.

Dr. Basit is an approved and active Auditor/ Consultant/ Trainer for SQF, BRC and FSSC 22000, ISO 9000 besides many other standards and management schemes.

PRESENTATION:

The Impact of Food Safety Leadership and Food Safety Culture on Organizational Excellence – Prospects and Bottlenecks

Organizational Excellence (OE) is an outcome of ongoing efforts to cultivate an internal mechanism of policies, procedures, and processes with an aim to integrate and engage the organizational dynamics into a successful model. The ultimate aim of this framework is to deliver customer satisfaction by providing required products or services and by engaging and
motivating employees.

Organization excellence does not propose a system or a group of systems, but it suggests a mindset to deliver excellence. To consistently deliver excellence, its not possible without having a strong organizational culture that ensures excellence in performance, first time and every time. To achieve the goal of Organization excellence, a great combination and integration is
anticipated within organizational dynamics. It expects to engage leadership and human resources at all levels, requires strategic planning, and an environment of objectives, analysis, measurements, and monitoring to evaluate data to overview performance. In the pursuit, the organizations must adopt customer centered approach without compromising business results.

To instill the culture of OE in food business operations, though there might be many fundamentals but “food safety leadership” and “food safety culture” are among the key attributes. Organizational leadership and Organizational Culture go hands in hands in ensuring Organizational effectiveness and Organization’s Food Safety Culture. To induce a sustainable food safety culture, an authentic and competent leadership is required who could understand expectations and commit to provide adequate support by playing its role.

The leadership for food safety to cultivate food safety culture must have competency, skill, strategies, and tools to equip their team to be successful. Being a subset of Organizational Culture, food safety culture is very complex and involves multiple dimensions. To researchers and scholars, every essential ingredient and stakeholder of any food business operation has a
role in cultivating and maintaining a food safety culture.

It’s linked with employees and their integrity. It associated with managers and teams. It revolves around leaders and their leadership styles. To effectively manage food safety risks, it’s probably not just an essential fundamental under modern food safety management systems but also an integral component of smart manufacturing and food business excellence.

This presentation is an overview of available research and skill based hands-on learning, scholarly insight and practitioners view to elucidate the concepts, and its implications and emphasises prospects to achieve organizational excellence and perceived challenges specific to food safety leadership and food safety culture.