2026 Annual Conference
The NCR FSMA Annual Conference will be held May 5-6, in Des Moines, Iowa. Registration for the annual conference will be $75, which includes several meals.
Registration for the virtual option is $10. Use the same registration link.
Registration closes on April 22.
The conference will be held at the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates building (100 Locust Street
Des Moines, Iowa 50309). The building is located .2 miles from the conference hotel. Parking is very limited around the World Food Prize, but we will have several reserved spot for conference attendees. Please let us know if you would like one of the spots, so we can plan to have enough.
All produce safety educators, regulators, and non-profit staff are invited to attend! We will be covering produce safety from both the grower and processor perspective. Pratik Banerjee will be speaking about his research involving microplastics/nanoplastics and pathogens. Byron Chaves will be speaking and leading hands on activities about validation processes. Phil Tocco will be sharing the results of OFRR surveys, and Arlene Enderton, John Krzton-Presson, and Nicole Baysel will be sharing the results of the north central region inspectors' reports. We'll get updates on the NCR FSMA's upcoming lending library and water hotline. Staff from lots of national organizations will also be sharing. You'll have time to work collaboratively when Kristin Esch leads a brainstorming activity. We'll also be visiting a farm with a processing facility.
On May 7, an environmental monitoring program course will be held, led by Byron Chaves. You will need to register for this course separately from the conference. Regulators, educators, non-profit staff are invited. Local growers and processors are also invited to the environmental monitoring course. Additional information about the EMP course can be found at the end of this webpage.
Register for the annual conference. You will have to chose the in-person or virtual option to register.
Register for the EMP course separately.
Apply for a stipend to help cover your travel costs.
A room block is available at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Des Moines Downtown. You can make your reservations online or by calling the hotel (515-244-1700). Reservations must be made by April 13.
Basic Conference Schedule
Download the Draft Agenda ncr_fsma_annual_conference_draft_agenda_march.pdf
May 5: 8:30am conference begins
4:30pm conference concludes for the day
May 6: meet in the hotel lobby at 8:15am, for an 8:30am departure for a farm tour
3:00pm conference concludes
Lunch and snacks are included in the event both days.
Environmental Monitoring Program Course
Environmental monitoring is used as a verification process to ensure the effective use of sanitation control measures in a food processing operation, when an environmental hazard, such as Salmonella or Listeria, is reasonably likely to be present. This course will provide tools to comply with regulatory requirements for implementation of effective sanitation practices. Dr. Byron Chaves, from Rutgers University, will lead the course.
The Environmental Monitoring Program course will be held in-person at the Embassy Suites by Hilton in Downtown Des Moines (101 East Locust Street, Des Moines, Iowa, 50309) on May 7. You must be present for the entire eight-hour course to earn the certificate for the course. The course costs $20 per person and includes lunch and snacks.
Register before April 22.
WHO WOULD BENEFIT: This course is designed for food safety and quality professionals working with ready-to-eat foods, including produce, dairy, and meat operations, as well as meat retail and deli environments. QA managers, food safety coordinators, sanitation leaders, plant supervisors, auditors, and technical staff responsible for sampling, verification, and corrective actions as well as consultants and extension professionals advising food businesses will benefit most. Participants will gain practical, decision-focused skills to design and strengthen EMP systems that effectively control environmental pathogen risks.
Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.
This work is supported by the Food Safety Outreach Program [grant no. 2018-70020-28877; grant no. 2021-70020-35732; and grant no. 2024-70020-42954] from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.