Salmonella continues to be one of the most challenging food safety issues facing the beef industry. In this webinar, Dr. Tatum Katz of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center and Dr. Nikki Shariat of the University of Georgia will share what a deep dive into decades of outbreak data, geographic trends, and modern genomic tools reveals about what’s really driving Salmonella risk today.

RTE manufacturers face the constant challenge of controlling Listeria monocytogenes to produce safes products. This intimate workshop provides a comprehensive understanding of Listeria control, sanitation, sanitary design, environmental monitoring, investigations, corrective actions, and critical information to effectively navigate regulatory issues and standards. Attendees will engage in hands-on exercises, including a critical thinking exercise focused on ‘seek and destroy’ scenarios.

Shiga-toxic E. coli remains one of the most complex and costly challenges in the meat industry. As new serogroups emerge and detection technologies evolve, processors continue to refine their strategies for identifying pathogenic E. coli with greater accuracy, speed, and confidence. This webinar will be your status update on where we are today in rapid testing, and what challenges we are facing in detection and confirmation of Shiga-toxigenic E. coli.

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Consumer demand in the meat case continues to evolve rapidly, shaped by shifting preferences in health, convenience, and value. Some categories are heating up—driven by protein power, premium cuts, and ready-to-cook solutions—while others are cooling off as shoppers rethink plant-based alternatives, “diet” positioning, and complicated meal prep.