This year's Plant Operations Conference will focus on two of the most important facets of plant management — the regulations that dictate how you operate your plant and the technologies at provide opportunities for efficiencies and new products.

The range of subjects covered at Plant Ops — from microfiltration technologies to dealing with labor unions to labeling regulations — will provide you and your operations staff with strong ideas on how to improve your dairy operation.

Technologies & Regulations Covered:

• New Shelf Life Technologies
• New Labeling Regulations & Opportunities
• Dealing with Labor Unions
• FDA & OSHA Priorities for 2004
• Biosecurity Update
• New Developments in Microbial Testing
• The Latest on Membrane Filtration
• And much more!

PROGRAM AGENDA

DAY ONE: May 4, 2004
8:00am - 8:30am	Registration
8:30am - 8:45am	Introduction & Overview
8:45am - 11:00am	An Update on Extended Shelf Life Technologies New Regulations — International and Domestic Flexible Systems for ESL/Aseptic Processing New Technologies for Extended Shelf Life Dairy Products Learn about the latest technologies in packaging and ingredients that can prolong the shelf life of dairy foods. We will explore the opportunities and challenges for using modified atmosphere, oxygen scavengers, antimycotics, approved food additives, as well as new packaging technologies. The international, U.S. and state regulatory positions and views regarding the use of these technologies will also be explored. Speakers: Chris Loss, Senior Graduate Student, Cornell University Food Science John Faraghan, Product Manager, Antimicrobials N.A., Danisco USA Charles Sizer Ph.D, Research Professor of Food Process Engineering, National Center for Food Safety and Technology
11:00am - 11:15am	Break
11:15am - 12:00pm	Bringing Your Label into Compliance Low-Carb Dairy Weight Loss Trans Fats Allergens With so many labeling issues occurring at the same time, it is important to address them together in order to reduce the number of label changes and minimize the cost to your operation. Learn about labeling carbohydrate claims, trans fat, allergens and dairy weight loss claims and how these label changes can impact your operation. Speaker: Michelle Albee Matto, Manager, Regulatory Affairs, International Dairy Foods Association
12:00pm - 1:00pm	Group Luncheon
1:00pm - 2:15pm	Dealing with Labor Unions — A Management Panel As the pressure to cut cost increases, and the costs of labor and benefits escalate, difficulties with employees and/or unions are inevitable. The past year was not an easy one for dairy and labor and that trend is likely to continue. This panel has been through the battles and has the scars — learn from their experiences. Moderators: Mark Dreux, Esq., Arent, Fox , Kintner, Plotkin Kahn, PLLC Allen G. Siegel, Arent, Fox , Kintner, Plotkin Kahn, PLLC Ray Silvey, President, Ray Silvey & Associates Industry Panelists: TBD
2:15pm - 3:15pm	OSHA Issues for 2004 Your Rights During an OSHA Inspection OSHA Enforcement Trends PSM Problems & Successes Learn from one of the nation's top OSHA defense attorneys about hot OSHA issues including enforcement trends and your rights during inspections. Begin to understand what OSHA expects when it issues a performance based standard, such as OSHA Process Safety Management, and the problems that can arise. Speaker: Mark Dreux, Esq., Arent, Fox , Kintner, Plotkin Kahn, PLLC
3:15pm - 3:30pm	Break
3:30pm - 4:30pm	OSHA Issues for 2004 — Continued
4:30pm - 4:45pm	Presentation of IDFA Dairy Industry Safety Awards This is the first year that IDFA has recognized the diligent efforts and successes of many in the dairy processing industry who achieved excellent worker safety results for calendar 2003 based upon their DART rates. Presenters: David Crowley, Environmental Health & Safety Director, H.P. Hood, Inc. Clay Detlefsen, Vice President & Counsel, International Dairy Foods Association
4:45pm - 5:45pm	Reception
Day Two — May 5, 2004
8:30am - 9:45am	Biosecurity Planning for Dairy Plants FDA has finally issued all four of the mandatory regulations stemming from the Bioterrorism Preparedness Act of 2002. Get an overview of what is and will be required and how these regulations will impact your business. Speaker: Larry Stringer, Director of State Programs Central Region, Office of Regulatory Affairs, FDA
9:45am - 10:00am	Break
10:00am - 11:15am	Disaster Recovery Planning It is recognized that continuity and disaster recovery planning are critical activities for the survival of an organization. Putting together a plan that anticipates the unexpected is no easy matter, but a necessary activity for continuance of operations should an unfortunate event occur. Speakers: Rich Ellefson, Vice President of Food Technology & Quality Assurance, Wells' Dairy, Inc. Patrick Boyle, Quality Assurance Manager, Readington Farms, Inc.
11:15am - 12:00pm	Rapid Detection Micro-Testing How can you assure quick and accurate testing of microbial parameters in dairy foods? This session will review current and emerging microbiological challenges and the various new rapid analytical methods available for the laboratory to determine bacteria count, shelf life prediction and pathogen testing. Speaker: Wendy McMahon, M.S., Research Manager, Silliker Laboratories
12:00pm - 1:00pm	Group Luncheon
1:00pm - 1:30pm	Managing Quality through a Contamination Controlled Environment Learn about the next generation of garments currently used in the pharmaceutical industry and applications for dairy processor. Speaker: Jan Eudy, Corporate Quality Assurance Manager, Cintas Corporation
1:30pm - 2:15pm	Understanding FDA Compliance & Enforcement Why are you seeing so many FDA investigators inspecting your plant and taking product samples? Learn about all the FDA inspection and product sampling programs that might result in an FDA inspection of your plant and what your rights and responsibilities are as well as the FDA inspector's rights, responsibilities and restrictions, program by program. Speaker: Joe Baca, Director of the Division of Compliance, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, FDA
2:15pm - 2:30pm	Break
2:30pm - 4:15pm	Filtration Facts Filtration Facts What are the existing reasons and new advantages to incorporating membrane filtration technology into your processing system? Get an overview of the types of membrane filtration units being used internationally and in the US for milk, milk component and whey fractionation to improve processing efficiencies and/or isolate specific milk components. Learn advantages and limitations, what products can be made using filtration systems on the farm and processing plants and how these new ingredients perform in dairy foods to improve cheese yield, reduce lactose levels and carbohydrates and increase protein content in dairy foods. New Equipment & Processes Speaker: Karen Smith, Whey Separation Technologist, University of Wisconsin, Dairy Center Research The Industry Environment: Speakers: Robert Fassenbender, Technical Director, T.C. Jacoby & Company, Inc. RJ Twiford, Sales Engineer, GEA Filtration The Regulatory Environment Speakers: Ken Vorgurt, U.S. Department of Agriculture Allen Sayler, Director, Regulatory Affairs, International Dairy Foods Association
4:30pm	Adjourn

HOW TO REGISTER

The conference is priced at $795 for members and $995 for nonmembers. To register:

• Click here to download the registration form (.pdf)

  Send the form by fax (202/331-7820) or mail to IDFA.
  Mailing address: IDFA, 1250 H Street NW, Suite 900, Washington, DC 20005
  Attn: IDFA Registration

If you have questions about your registration, contact Tanika Manning at tmanning@idfa.org, 202/220-3557.

HOTEL AND TRAVEL INFORMATION

IDFA's Plant Operations Conference will be held at the Wyndham Chicago, 633 North St. Clair Chicago, Illinois 60611. To make your reservation, and receive the special group rate of $159 single/double, please call the hotel directly at 312-573-0300. The hotel cut off date is April 3, 2004. The rooms are available on a first come, first serve basis, and so please make your plans today.

EWA Travel in Washington, D.C., is the official travel agency for IDFA's Plant Operations Conference. Registrants are welcome to use EWA's services to arrange their travel to the workshop. United Airlines offers 10% off unrestricted fares and 5% off all other fares; all rules and restrictions apply. You may call the following toll-free numbers for reservations:

EWA Travel:	1-800-368-4055
United Airlines:	1-800-521-4041 (Star File Number: 509DJ)