Registration for 2017 Global Summit of Pest Management Services for Public Health and Food Safety now open !

The second Global Summit of Pest Management Services for Public Health and Food Safety, presented by CEPA and NPMA, will be held April 3-4, 2017 at the New York Hilton Midtown.
Participants will address emerging issues and evaluate - with clients and other relevant stakeholders - which action steps are required to respond to these future needs.
As of today conference registration and room reservation are accessible via our website.
The working language at the conference will be English. We will be monitoring registrations from Europe to determine whether simultaneous translation in other key languages is necessary. 
Click below to register for Global Summit #2.

REGISTER TODAY

Check out the convenient location of the New York Hilton Midtown … walking distance from Central Park, Broadway theatres and downtown shopping. Hilton Hotel

Preliminary Programme

MONDAY, 3 APRIL

9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
FSMA Implementation and the Impact on the Global Pest Management Industry
The US Centers for Disease Control estimates that 48 million people get sick from eating contaminated food, and 3,000 people die from eating contaminated food each year.  In 2010, the U.S. Congress passed the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) that was intended to reach far beyond pest management, touching all aspects of food safety. Understanding how FSMA and its regulatory framework impacts pest management firms and the clients the pest management industry serves is important for anyone performing work in food facilities both in the U.S. around the globe.

10:15 AM – 12:15 PM
Overcoming Pest Management Challenges in Food Processing Facilities
In food processing facilities, pest management is a high-stakes endeavor.  The risk of contamination by pests or the food borne pathogens that they carry is too great to leave to chance.  In this session, get the clients’ perspective about the challenges associated with pest management in food processing facilities from expert consumers of pest management representing global food companies such as Danone and Cargill.  

1:15 PM – 2:45 PM
Challenges and Solutions in Food Distribution and Retail Facilities
Pest control in distribution and retail facilities has all of the challenges of food processing, along with the added challenge of customer-facing, “front of the house” operations. Pest prevention is not only needed to ensure food supply safety, but also critical for reputation management. This session will bring together experts from global retail giants to candidly discuss the challenges they face in their companies’ distribution and retail operations to ensure a pest free environment. 

3:00 PM – 4:30 PM
Overcoming Obstacles and Collaborating for Success in Food Facilities
Third party auditors and pest management firms have the same goals: ensuring that food facilities maintain environments free of pests and their contaminants. Despite a common goal, confusion or misunderstandings can occasionally arise. Join a panel of experts from both the pest management industry and third party audit groups to find out how these challenges can be overcome to ensure high quality pest prevention for our customers. 

4:30 PM – 5:15 PM
The Role of Industry Protocols in Food Processing Facilities: Understanding the CEPA and NPMA Standards
Standards and procedures for performing pest management in food facilities are nothing new to the pest control industry. Third party audits and benchmarked schemes are commonplace in the industry, yet both the European and North American industries have developed guidelines for pest management to supplement the existing programs. Find out why these programs have been created, and the positive impact they are having on the industry in this informative session.

TUESDAY, 4 APRIL

9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Urban Pest Management’s Role in Protecting Public Health
Food safety is only one aspect of the important role the global pest control industry has played in protecting public health - both historically and today. From mosquito-borne disease to respiratory illness, pest management professionals play an increasing important role despite mounting regulatory challenges. In this session, learn how the pest management industry can respond to the ever present public health threats caused by pests.

10:15 AM – 11:15 AM
Communicating a Compelling Public Health Message to Consumers in a Skeptical World
Although perceptions of the professional pest management industry has improved over the past few decades, some consumers fail to perceive the full public health value of pest management services.  Valuable insights will be shared in this session about how to communicate the importance of pest control with regard to public health, without unnecessary “scare tactics” that may ultimately backfire.

11:15 AM – 12:15 PM
Taking the Pulse of Pest Management Services in Health Care Facilities: Perspectives and Perceptions
Pest prevention in sensitive environments such a health care facilities require an added degree of attention to detail and “tender loving care”. The perspectives of both pest management professionals and health care environmental health professionals will be shared in this session intended to shed light on the science and art of pest control service delivery in buildings dedicated to health care.

1:15 PM – 2:30 PM
The Challenge of Managing Rodent Populations Around the Globe for Improved Public Health Outcomes
Rodents have been implicated in public health crises throughout history. Countless sums of money have been invested in eradication programs in cities around the globe, yet rodent populations remain large, impacting public health on a daily basis. Learn about the challenges associated with large scale rodent eradication programs, and how major cities are tackling the rodent issue head-on in this revealing session.

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Portugal's GROQUIFAR highly successful in promoting CEPA Certified, committing the national Pest Management industry and catching the attention of the client and stakeholder communities

Groquifar, the Portuguese national association has been fully supportive of CEPA Certified, the new European standard for Pest Management services from the very beginning.

After the European CEN standard EN16636 and its CEPA Certified® auditing protocol were launched in March 2015, Groquifar was invited by the National Quality Institute [Instituto Português da Qualidade], which is a Member of CEN, to organise and manage the working committee tasked with creating the Portuguese version of the standard.
This Committee, CT 198, brought together both governmental and non-governmental entities, as well as big and small pest management companies and all the relevant Health, Environmental, Scientific, Food, Certification and Professional Qualification organisations.
It was the first time that all the significant players of the public health and food industry sectors were seated at the same table, working for a common cause.
In November 2015, benefitting from this positive climate of collaboration, Groquifar officially launched EN16636 and its CEPA Certified auditing protocol at the biggest Portuguese Food Safety Show in Lisbon (Business to Consumer and Business to Business).
The first Certification Body in Portugal to be accredited and trained was Bureau Veritas Certification. All in all 15 auditors have been trained and more training sessions are to follow shortly. Today Groquifar works with 4 CEPA Certified endorsed CBs to service the Portuguese market. Collectively they have successfully certified 18 Portuguese pest management companies. This represents approximately 7% of the Pest Management companies operating in Portugal today. Not a bad result in just over a year for a small European country!
As soon as some of Groquifar’s members were successfully certified a CEPA Certified workshop event was organised during which the first two certified pest management companies in Portugal were invited to share their experiences. Last October, at Groquifar’s National Convention, in which almost 300 delegates participated, EN16636/CEPA Certified was starring once more. This time in a much applauded presentation by Ricardo Ferro, Executive Director of Bureau Veritas Certification Portugal.
In early 2017 a still bigger event will be scheduled in collaboration with the Portuguese Quality Association (APQ) the main objective of which is to reach clients of Pest Management companies whilst creating awareness and recognition for EN16636/CEPA Certified. To this event Groquifar will invite the national Restaurant and Hotel associations, relevant government authorities, local authorities, industry, universities and the Portuguese National Standards Institute.
Groquifar is looking forward to exchanging ideas and experiences with its European counterparts to further contribute to the success of this launch. Please contact our Secretariat if you think you can contribute a learning experience that will benefit all.

Catarina Carvalho: quimica@groquifar.pt
www.groquifar.pt
+351 912 569 290

Photo: Portuguese government representatives and Groquifar debating the merits of EN16636/CEPA Certified, the new Professional Pest Management Service standard, at the National Launch event in Lisbon last November.

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