Tuesday 21 & Wednesday 22 July 2026

FIELD TRIP MONDAY 20 JULY

Brought to you by the Fresh Produce Safety Centre (FPSC), the IFPSS returned to Sydney in July 2026 with a dynamic, solutions-focused programme designed for growers, packers, researchers, regulators, food safety professionals and industry leaders committed to strengthening fresh produce safety across the supply chain.

This year, the bar was raised with not one, but two international keynote speakers!

Dr Elizabeth (Betsy) Bihn

Produce Safety Alliance (USA)

Betsy is a Senior Extension Associate in the Department of Food Science at Cornell University and Director of both the Produce Safety Alliance and the National Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) Program. Her work focuses on irrigation water quality and reducing microbial risks in fresh produce through practical research and collaborative education across the produce industry.

D'Arcie Rice

British Leafy Salads Association (UK)

D’Arcie is a Technical Manager with extensive experience in the fresh produce industry, specialising in balancing rigorous food safety standards with strong commercial acumen. With a strong focus on regulatory compliance, risk management, and product integrity, she works closely with a diverse range of stakeholders to ensure food safety from field to fork while supporting sustainable business growth.

Together, they brought international insights, practical experience and forward-thinking perspectives that challenged and inspired delegates.

Betsy spoke of the importance of empowering people to improve food safety culture and said it was the responsibility of industry to help all participants understand and implement best practice.

“People can cause contamination, but the good news is they can also prevent it,” she said

“It’s important to understand we’re putting this demand on farmers and we need to help them get there in a way that’s accessible.

“Empowering people to optimise their involvement and contribution is the smart thing to do. It’s good for food safety, it’s good for business and good for people.”

D'Arcie shared some of the lessons the British leafy salads industry took from a 2024 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) outbreak.

She highlighted the need for effective collaboration between growers and food safety authorities and some of the steps the industry was taking to drive better practice.

“Food safety is everybody’s responsibility on farm,” said Rice. “Ultimately people in the industry have to demonstrate that food safety is consistently important and that it doesn’t change as operations change. Talk about it, make it accessible, make it fun and make people buy into it.”

They also led two interactive workshops that encouraged delegates to collaborate, share experiences and develop practical solutions they can take back to their own businesses. Some of the key takeaways were that food safety is central to the success of growers and the fresh produce industry and outbreaks attributed to fresh produce can have lasting health impacts on ill people and can lead to reduced consumption of that product for many years afterwards.

The combination of high-quality keynote speakers, interactive workshops, industry case studies and collaborative networking reinforced the event’s reputation as Australia and New Zealand's leading forum dedicated to fresh produce food safety.

Dates for 2027 will be announced soon.