Hartnell College Foundation
The Western Food Safety Conference

Hartnell College Foundation The Western Food Safety ConferenceHartnell College Foundation The Western Food Safety ConferenceHartnell College Foundation The Western Food Safety Conference

Hartnell College Foundation
The Western Food Safety Conference

Hartnell College Foundation The Western Food Safety ConferenceHartnell College Foundation The Western Food Safety ConferenceHartnell College Foundation The Western Food Safety Conference
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Schedule

2026 WESTERN FOOD SAFETY CONFERENCE

Advancing a Culture of Food Safety

Excellence


 May 6–7, 2026

Sherwood Hall 940 N Main St, Salinas

Welcome

The Western Food Safety Conference brings together all levels of the agricultural workforce and support services to California’s Central Coast for two days of in-depth education on the most current Food Safety issues and concerns for fresh fruits and vegetables.

AGENDA – MAY 6, 2026 (DAY 1)

NOTE: SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE

8:00 - 9:00

Check-In, Continental Breakfast, and  Sponsors’ Tables Open

8:00 - 9:00

Check-In, Continental Breakfast, and  Sponsors’ Tables Open

9:00

EMCEE - Welcome

Event Details

9:00

EMCEE - Welcome

Johnna Hepner

9:05 - 9:15

Welcome - Overview for the Day

Event Details

9:05 - 9:15

Welcome - Overview for the Day

Michael Gutierrez, Superintendent/President, Hartnell College

9:15 - 10:00

Keynote Speaker

Event Details

9:15 - 10:00

Keynote Speaker

Joseph W. Reardon  
Senior Director of Food Safety Programs for the National Association State Departments of Agriculture 


10 years of the Pr...

Event Details

10:00 - 10:45

From Prediction to Action: Where is Predictive Modeling Taking Produce Safety?

Event Details

10:00 - 10:45

From Prediction to Action: Where is Predictive Modeling Taking Produce Safety?

This session explores the emerging potential of predictive modeling to revolutionize produce safety by shifting from reactive to proactive a...

Event Details

10:45 - 11:00

BREAK AND SNACK

10:45 - 11:00

BREAK AND SNACK

11:00 - 11:45

Why Your Mock Recalls Aren't Preparing you for a recall and how to change that

Event Details

11:00 - 11:45

Why Your Mock Recalls Aren't Preparing you for a recall and how to change that

Traditional mock recalls test traceability, but they rarely reflect the complexity of a real food safety crisis. This conversation explores ...

Event Details

11:45 - 12:30

Breaking the Data Silo: How Supply Chain Partners Are Making FSMA 204 Data Work

Event Details

11:45 - 12:30

Breaking the Data Silo: How Supply Chain Partners Are Making FSMA 204 Data Work

Collecting FSMA 204 data is only the first step — making it usable across the supply chain is where the real work begins. As growers, distri...

Event Details

12:30 - 1:15

Lunch

12:30 - 1:15

Lunch

1:15 - 2:00

Advancing Produce Safety: FDA’s Data-Driven, Risk-Based, Risk Management Framework

Event Details

1:15 - 2:00

Advancing Produce Safety: FDA’s Data-Driven, Risk-Based, Risk Management Framework

This session highlights how the FDA leverages data analytics, scientific evidence, and risk modeling to inform the identification and mitiga...

Event Details

2:00 - 2:45

BEYOND BURNOUT: BUILDING RESILIENT FOOD SAFETY TEAMS UNDER PRESSURE

Event Details

2:00 - 2:45

BEYOND BURNOUT: BUILDING RESILIENT FOOD SAFETY TEAMS UNDER PRESSURE

Managing Stress, Burnout, and Retention in Food Safety Role


Food safety depends on people making high-stakes decisions under intense pressure...

Event Details

2:45 - 3:30

CALIFORNIA LONGITUDINAL STUDY:

Event Details

2:45 - 3:30

CALIFORNIA LONGITUDINAL STUDY:

An FDA-WCFS-CDFA-Industry Collaboration Regarding STEC Occurrence in the Central Coast Agricultural Region of California


This session will re...

Event Details

3:30 - 4:15

Building Confidence with Data Supported Sanitation Programs

Event Details

3:30 - 4:15

Building Confidence with Data Supported Sanitation Programs

When sanitation decisions are guided by data, teams can move from reactive cleaning to confident, preventive action. This conversation highl...

Event Details

4:15 - 5:00

A MULTIMODAL APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING PATHOGEN FITNESS IN PRE-HARVEST ENVIRONMENTS:

Event Details

4:15 - 5:00

A MULTIMODAL APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING PATHOGEN FITNESS IN PRE-HARVEST ENVIRONMENTS:

Focus on E. coli O157:H7 REP2.


This presentation explores how integrating environmental measurements, microbial genetics, and advanced analyt...

Event Details

5:00

Closing Comments

5:00

Closing Comments

AGENDA – MAY 7, 2026 (DAY 2)

NOTE: SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE

8:00 - 9:00

Check-In, Continental Breakfast, and  Sponsors’ Tables Open

8:00 - 9:00

Check-In, Continental Breakfast, and  Sponsors’ Tables Open

9:00

EMCEE - WELCOME

Event Details

9:00

EMCEE - WELCOME

Johnna Hepner

9:05 - 9:15

Welcome - Overveiw for the Day

Event Details

9:05 - 9:15

Welcome - Overveiw for the Day

Michael Gutierrez, Superintendent/President, Hartnell College

9:15 - 10:00

Keynote Speaker

Event Details

9:15 - 10:00

Keynote Speaker

Dr. Darin Detwiler, Detwiler Consulting Group LLC


Leading a Culture of Food Safety Excellence has no Expiration Date

10:00 - 10:45

Agricultural Water Assessment: Getting Value Out of the Effort

Event Details

10:00 - 10:45

Agricultural Water Assessment: Getting Value Out of the Effort

Conducting an Agricultural Water Assessment for Pre-Harvest Agricultural Water is required by the FSMA PSR. Most farms will be able to navig...

Event Details

10:45 - 11:00

BREAK AND SNACK

10:45 - 11:00

BREAK AND SNACK

11:00 - 11:45

Beyond Compliance: How is Data Science Transforming Produce Food Safety?

Event Details

11:00 - 11:45

Beyond Compliance: How is Data Science Transforming Produce Food Safety?

Data science is reshaping how the fresh produce industry manages risk and advances prevention. This session explores how data sharing, predi...

Event Details

11:45 - 12:30

Cyclospora Prevention: The Latest to Turn Insights into Action

Event Details

11:45 - 12:30

Cyclospora Prevention: The Latest to Turn Insights into Action

Cyclospora cayetanensis has a complex biological life cycle that presents both challenges for study and opportunities for control, despite o...

Event Details

12:30 - 1:15

Lunch

12:30 - 1:15

Lunch

1:15 - 2:00

Chasing Zero- Practical Take-Aways from Large Scale Field Trials

Event Details

1:15 - 2:00

Chasing Zero- Practical Take-Aways from Large Scale Field Trials

Zero food safety  "defects" in fresh produce is determined only by the combined limits of the full sampling, processing, and detection syste...

Event Details

2:00 - 2:45

Bridging the Gap Between Food Safety and Logistics: A Roadmap to Safer Shipments

Event Details

2:00 - 2:45

Bridging the Gap Between Food Safety and Logistics: A Roadmap to Safer Shipments

Safe food transportation is often the best-kept secret in fresh produce logistics, where price and delivery time routinely outweigh trailer ...

Event Details

2:45 - 3:30

Listeria in produce: sources, transmission, and control

Event Details

2:45 - 3:30

Listeria in produce: sources, transmission, and control

While Listeria monocytogenes is well recognized as a challenge for the produce industry, opportunities remain to further improve its control...

Event Details

3:30 - 4:15

WHOLE GENOME SEQUENCING TO METAGENOMICS:

Event Details

3:30 - 4:15

WHOLE GENOME SEQUENCING TO METAGENOMICS:

The Current and Future Role of Genomics in Food Safety


Speaker: 

Dr. Kerry Cooper, University of Arizona

4:15 - 5:00

SB54: FRESH FOOD PACKAGING: FINDING A WORKABLE PATH FORWARD

Event Details

4:15 - 5:00

SB54: FRESH FOOD PACKAGING: FINDING A WORKABLE PATH FORWARD

California’s SB 54 is reshaping fresh food packaging requirements, with significant implications for food safety, product integrity, and she...

Event Details

5:00

Closing Comments

5:00

Closing Comments

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