HELIX Programme Technical Conference

Food safety matters: challenges for food and drink manufacturers

Join us at our annual food safety conference on Wednesday, 28 January 2026.

At this free event, you’ll hear from industry leading speakers and there’ll be great opportunities to network with delegates from food and drink processing and manufacturing businesses, academia and environmental health.

Venue: All Nations Centre, Sachville Avenue, Heath, Cardiff, CF14 3NY (www.allnationscentre.com)

Registration: 9am-4pm. Conference will start promptly at 9.30am. Teas, coffees and buffet lunch will be provided during the day.

Topics will cover:  

• Food safety incidents and challenges from a Food Standards Agency perspective
• Update on food safety standards (BRCGS and SALSA)
• Food safety and quality culture update and what drives behaviours
• A food hypersensitivity challenge with a question and answer session with two manufacturers on how they manage allergens
• Food safety practices from the retailer’s perspective
• Hygienic practices for listeria control in factories
• Importance of hygienic design (HD) with a question and answer session with two manufacturers on HD best practice

Our panel of expert speakers include:

• Sarah Aza, Head of Delivery Wales, Food Standards Agency 
• Bertrand Emond, Membership Ambassador, Culture Excellence and Professional Development Lead, Campden BRI
• Liz Preston, Food Safety Supply Manager, Asda
• Barbara Hirst, Consultant, Food and Quality, Reading Scientific Services Limited
• Sarah Hall, Certification Manager, SALSA Technologies
• John Figgins, Senior Technical Manager, BRCGS
• Professor Carol Wallace, Emeritus Professor of Food Safety Management, University of Lancashire
• Professor (Hon) Dr John Holah, Managing Director, Pendennis Food Hygiene Ltd
• Simon Burns, Process Operations Manager, ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre, Cardiff Metropolitan University and EHEDG committee member

More details and agenda to follow.

Who should attend?  Registration for this event is aimed at new and existing food and drink manufacturers based in Wales, including industry professionals who work in food safety, technical, new product development and/or auditing job roles within their organisations.

Registrations are limited to four individuals per organisation/department. If your group exceeds this limit, additional attendees may be placed on a reserve list. Should this happen, we’ll notify you by email.

Student registrations: Spaces for student attendance are limited. If you would like to register your interest, please email the marketing team at ZERO2FIVEmarketing@cardiffmet.ac.uk who will provide further information on eligibility criteria to attend.

Registration closing date: 07 January 2026

Register now

Who do we contact? For all enquiries regarding the conference please contact ZERO2FIVE@cardiffmet.ac.uk.