RFA Fall Symposium
RFA Symposiums are offered annually in the fall in areas across the U.S. They provide informative presentations and discussion sessions on important business and marketing issues and food safety and regulatory topics affecting the refrigerated foods manufacturers and suppliers. They also include site visits and tours to companies and organizations of interest to our membership.
2024 Fall Symposium - September 16 - 18, 2024
Memphis, Tennessee
RFA's 2024 Symposium is currently SOLD OUT - WAIT LIST ONLY! Taking place in Memphis, TN on September 16-18, the 2024 Fall Symposium will include an optional add-on course covering Environmental Monitoring Programs. The official start of the Symposium will take place Monday afternoon, as usual, with expert speakers and a fun group dinner. Tuesday and Wednesday will take us on behind-the-scenes tours of various facilities in Tennessee and Mississippi. You can sign up now with the registration form included in the brochure, or online if paying by credit card. Sponsorships are available - thank you for your support! We hope you will join us! Space is limited to 56 people - that's how many people we can fit on the bus! Get your spot now and join us for one of RFA's most jam-packed, relevant, valuable events ever.
2023 Fall Symposium - September 11 - 13, 2023
St. Louis, Missouri
It was a pleasure to travel again as a group! Our 2023 Symposium was held in St. Louis, MO and was attended by 55 RFA members from all around North America. Many thanks to our Planning Committee for putting this together for us! Highlights from this year's event included tours at United Fruit & Produce Company; Deli Star Corporation's Food Discovery Center; Companion Bakery; Volpi; Eurofins EAG; and Dierbergs Central Kitchen. We also enjoyed a presentation on Traceability by Angela Fields of FDA and our annual Technical Forum, lead by RFA's Technical Director, Doug Marshall.
2019 Symposium - September 23 - 25, 2019
New Brunswick, NJ
Our 2019 Symposium was held in New Brunswick, NJ and was attended by 55 RFA members from all around North America. Many thanks to our Technical and Industry Development Committees for putting this together for us! A special thank you to David Horowitz of DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences and Robert Colvin of Certified Laboratories for organizing the tours. Highlights from this year's event included a tour of Rutgers University's Institute for Food, Nutrition & Health, and the Rutgers Food Innovation Center; a tour and taste-testing at Aquamar; a visit to Michael Foods/Jersey Pride's hard cooked egg facility; and a unique tour of the NY/NJ Port in Staten Island. We also enjoyed a presentation on home delivery for food products by Dr. Bill Hallman of Rutgers University and our annual Technical Forum, lead by RFA's Technical Director, Martin Mitchell.
2018 Symposium - September 24 - 26, 2018 Columbus, Ohio
Our 2018 Symposium was held in Columbus, Ohio and was attended by 55 RFA members from all around North America. Many thanks to our Technical and Industry Development Committees for putting this together for us! Highlights from this year's event included a tour of Ohio State University's Department of Food Science & Technology, including their Pilot Plant, Food Perception & Liking Laboratory, Food Industries Center and Meat Science Teaching Lab; visits to Kroger Bakery and Coalescence; a presentation at Mettler Toledo; an in-depth tour at Nestle Quality Assurance Center; and a tour and happy hour at Grote Company. We also enjoyed a presentation on trends by Dr. Valente Alvarez of OSU and our annual Technical Forum, lead by RFA's Technical Committee Chair, Dr. Bill Schwartz.
2017 RFA Fall Symposium - September 25 - 27, 2017Kansas City, Missouri
Our 2017 Symposium was held in Kansas City, Missouri and was attended by 65 RFA members from all around North America. Many thanks to our Technical and Industry Development Committees, and in particular John Wyatt and the team at DuPont Nutrition & Health. This was our best attended Symposium in recent history! Highlights from this year's event included a tour of DuPont Nutrition & Health, including their Emulsifier Production Facility and Application & Development Labs; visits to Kansas State University and Johnson County Community College School of Culinary Arts; a presentation at Labconco Corporation; and tours at Ensight, Weber, Inc. and Multivac. We also enjoyed presentations by Roxi Beck of The Center for Food Integrity and RFA's Technical Director Martin Mitchell's Technical & Regulatory Update.
2016 RFA Fall Symposium - September 19 - 21, 2016New Orleans, Louisiana
Our 2016 Symposium was held in New Orleans, Louisiana and was attended by nearly 50 RFA members from across the country. Many thanks to our Technical and Industry Development Committees, under the direction of Chairs Bill Schwartz, Marty Mitchell, Wes Thaller and John Bowles. What a wonderful time we had in New Orleans! Highlights of this year's event included a tour of Intralox and Commercial Food Sanitation; a visit to Eurofins Laboratories; a fun and educational visit to the Southern Food & Beverage Museum, along with a food demonstration; and wonderful tours of MMI Culinary and USDA's Southern Research Center. The event also included presentations by Ken McMillin on food industry research at LSU, Kevin Voison on the Louisiana seafood industry and Jay Campbell on retail trends.
2015 RFA Fall Symposium - September 14 - 16, 2015 Boston, Massachusetts Our 2015 Symposium was held in Boston, MA and was attended by nearly 50 RFA members from across the country. Many thanks to our Technical and Industry Development Committees, under the direction of Chairs Bill Schwartz, Marty Mitchell, Wes Thaller and John Bowles. We would like to extend a special thanks to Robin Beane and Karen Bishop-Carbone for all their hard work in helping plan our trip to Boston! Highlights of this year's event included a tour of Atlantic Capes Fisheries and one of their clam boats; a visit to Ocean Spray Cranberries; and an educational tour of Charm Sciences. The event also included presentations by Chris Flynn, President of Massachusetts Food Association; and Guy Crosby, Ph. D, Science Editor for America's Test Kitchen. Please scroll down for details on our previous Symposiums. RFA Members can access slide presentations from past RFA Symposiums at anytime in the Member Center.
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