SPEAKERS
The Bigger Picture: Business Lessons from the Movies, TV & Popular Culture
Now, more than ever, successful businesses need to have compelling stories that they can share with their customers, employees and business partners. A strong narrative gives a business a backbone upon which to frame its value proposition and differential advantages … without which, in a time of cutthroat competition, no business can thrive.
In this presentation, based on the soon-to-be published “The Bigger Picture: Business Lessons from the Movies, TV & Popular Culture,” co-authored with Kevin Coupe, Michael Sansolo cites examples ranging from movies such as The Princess Bride, The Post and The Big Sick, plus TV shows ranging from “Downton Abbey” to “Billions,” plus the novels of Ace Atkins and Michael Connelly - all to illustrate how to create and tell an effective story and create metaphors that can help drive your business forward. Entertaining and engaging, this presentation will change the way people think about the way they approach branding, customer service, and the nature of leadership.

Michael Sansolo
Retail Food Industry Consultant
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Taste and Smell Loss in the Post-COVID Era: The Changing
Face of Flavor Perception
Sudden onset of taste and smell loss was clearly established early in the pandemic as a distinct, early symptom of COVID-19 infection. While many recover these senses relatively quickly, extended sensory impairment occurs in a significant proportion of people - even in those who had generally mild symptoms otherwise. Ongoing smell and taste distortions and hallucinations have a great adverse effect on quality of life. Data are rapidly evolving, but there is reason to foresee a dramatic and extended shift in flavor perception in the millions of people affected. The impact on the consumer population will be to extend the range of sensitivity downward, increasing the need for product personalization.

Nancy E. Rawson, Ph.D.
Associate Director and Vice President, Monell Chemical Senses Center
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Challenging Flavor Claims – A Litigation Update
The flavor of finished food products continues to be an important driver in consumer buying decisions. Therefore, the descriptions of the nature and flavor of a finished food or beverage product, both in terms of pictorial and text elements on the product’s front packaging, are critical. And consumer class action attorneys have taken notice. In this session, we will investigate the evolution of food claim litigation to its current focus on flavor claims. We will explore the types of flavor claim litigation beyond vanilla product labeling cases to understand the trajectory of the litigation landscape.

Joanna Drake
General Counsel, FEMA
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Open Channels: Working Together to Address Supply Chain
Impacts - COVID-19 and Beyond
The Open Channel Forum facilitates transparency in business relationships by exploring topical issues, confronting challenges, and discussing best practices among stakeholders in the flavor industry. At the 2021 Fall Symposium Open Channel, the Chairs of the Consumer Product Companies and Regulatory Affairs Committees will address the unique challenges arising from raw material shortages and supply chain disruptions due to COVID-19.
Miriam Maxwell, Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc.
FEMA Consumer Product Companies Committee Chair
Vince Rinaldi, PepsiCo
FEMA Consumer Product Companies Committee Past Chair
Randy Knecht, MANE Inc.
FEMA Regulatory Affairs Committee Chair
Victoria Alvarez Saveedra, Virginia Dare
FEMA Regulatory Affairs Committee Vice Chair
Chemical, Physicochemical and Sensory Dimensions of the
Flavor of Distilled Spirits
Flavor perception of a distilled spirit is a multidimensional and complex experience, encompassing the sensory impacts of the aromatic, taste and somatosensory components perceived in the mouth. Understanding these perceptions and the components responsible for them is essential for the development, maintenance and improvement of product quality and consistency. Sensory-directed analysis techniques have enabled researchers to deconstruct the aroma profiles of some spirits, but the complex chemistry and physicochemical characteristics that drive the sensory experience are still unknown. This talk will present a current perspective on the flavor chemistry and sensory perception of distilled spirits and the effects of ethanol on perceived aroma, taste and mouthfeel properties.

Keith Cadwallader, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Food Science & Human Nutrition, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
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COMMITTEE SPEAKERS
Worldwide Supply Chain Shortages and Their Impact on the Food Industry
International supply chain issues are causing disruptions and creating a ripple effect on the food industry. Tom Madrecki will discuss the perfect storm of events that created shortages, some of the impacts and what we might be able to expect in 2022.

Tom Madrecki
Vice President, Supply Chain and Logistics, Consumer Brands Association
Madagascar Vanilla Policy Developments and Implications
for Farmer Livelihoods
Recent studies from Fairtrade on costs of living and farm economics have helped SVI members better understand what producers need to earn at least the equivalent of a living wage for growing vanilla. This session will share these living income findings as well as discuss recent changes in vanilla sector policy in Madagascar and the implications for sustainability and livelihood work.

Don Seville
Sustainable Vanilla Initiative
Overview of the Toxicology Testing used for GHS
Human Health Hazard Labeling
The Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) identifies the potential hazards or risks to human health resulting from exposure to chemical(s). While there are subtle differences in how hazards are classified from one region to another region, the overall classification scheme remains consistent throughout the world. This presentation will provide an overview of the types of toxicology testing that are used for human health hazard classification and labeling in the eighth revised edition of GHS.

Christopher Choi, Ph.D., DABT, ERT
Vice President of Corporate Safety & Regulatory Affairs, Takasago International Corp. (USA)
The Psychology of Food Choices
Consumer food choices are influenced by multiple factors that go well beyond what is on the package label. In this presentation, we will discuss the personal and social psychology behind how consumers choose the foods they buy and consume and why they reject others that are safe, wholesome, and nutritious.

William K. Hallman, Ph.D.
Professor/Chair, Department of Human Ecology, Rutgers University – School of Environmental and Biological Sciences
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