Latam Food Safety Congress 2026 — Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco

July 15–16, 2026

Video recap

Edition overview

On July 15 and 16, 2026, Puerto Vallarta hosted a new edition of the Latam Food Safety Congress, bringing together professionals, authorities and food industry leaders from across the region for two days of top-level technical and strategic content.

The first day opened with a global analysis of food chain challenges by the FAO, followed by a special panel on GFSI's 25 years and its impact on food safety management, plus the HEB and Café El Grande success story in supplier development. Throughout the day, international specialists such as Roy Kirby (Foodsaferm), Dr. Lilia Santiago Connolly (Women in Food Safety), Ivette Figueroa (YUM USA), Mark Flanagan (Safe to Trade) and Guido Dinjens (FSSC Foundation) shared their views on industry challenges, consumer trust and sustainability, closing with Cargill's global standardization experience and Walmart's food integrity programs.

The second day combined hands-on workshops —root cause analysis, integrated pest management, internal and supplier audit criteria, and proactive food safety culture— with key updates to the FSSC 22000, SQF and BRCGS Food schemes, and a block dedicated to food crisis management with specialists such as Bill Marler and Melody Ge. Joaquín Nava, CEO of Grupo Delcen, gave a talk on the role of middle managers as drivers of change in food safety culture, ahead of the panel moderated by Frank Yiannas on quality and food safety culture success stories, and his closing keynote, which reaffirmed that the industry's real challenge goes beyond systems: building a strong food safety culture across the entire chain.

We thank every speaker, sponsor, authority and attendee who made this edition a space for learning, collaboration and top-level networking for the food safety community in Latin America.

Venue: Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco. Dates: July 15–16, 2026.

Congress highlight in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco

Congress attendees in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco

Congress audience in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco

250+

Attendees

Talks

Workshops

Speakers

Program

Day 1 — July 15

07:00
Registration and morning coffee break
08:00
Welcome in the conference room
08:30
Opening and welcome
Language: SpanishSpeaker: Joaquín Nava, CEO, Grupo Delcen
09:00
FAO: A brief analysis of global challenges in the food chain
Language: English with simultaneous interpretationSpeaker: Dr. Vittorio Fattori, Agrifood Systems and Food Safety Division, FAO
10:00
Panel: 25 years of GFSI — contributions to food safety management and future challenges
Language: SpanishSpeaker: Jorge Rivas, Itzel Castillo and Mario Guzmán, GFSI Mexico
11:00
HEB, a supplier development success story. Café el Grande: the path to GFSI-recognized schemes
Language: SpanishSpeaker: César Ortiz, Raúl Páez and Mario Guzmán, GFSI Mexico
11:15
Coffee break
11:45
Lessons and challenges for the food industry looking ahead
Language: English with simultaneous interpretationSpeaker: Roy Kirby, CEO, Foodsaferm
12:30
Broken supply chains: the immediate challenges in Latin America
Language: English with simultaneous interpretationSpeaker: Dr. Lilia Santiago Connolly, Specialist, Women in Food Safety
13:15
The essence of developing critical suppliers and the necessary shift in focus to prevent risks
Language: SpanishSpeaker: Ivette Figueroa, Latam Manager, YUM USA
14:00
Lunch on your own
15:00
Food safety at the table: trust challenges in hotel, restaurant and café chains
Language: English with simultaneous interpretationSpeaker: Mark Flanagan, CEO, Safe to Trade
15:45
Pest control professionals: the role of associations in professionalizing the sector
Language: SpanishSpeaker: Eréndira López
16:00
Building trust and driving positive impact through digital assurance and social sustainability
Language: English with simultaneous interpretationSpeaker: Guido Dinjens, CMO, FSSC Foundation
16:30
Standardization challenges in regional and global operations. The Cargill case
Language: English with simultaneous interpretationSpeaker: Luiz Ferraz, Global Audit Director, Cargill
17:15
Food integrity: building programs, developing professionals and generating trust
Language: SpanishSpeaker: Fernando Avelleyra, Walmart Global, Walmart USA
18:00
End of day

Day 2 — July 16 (workshops and parallel sessions)

07:30
Registration and morning coffee break
08:00
Invitation-only breakfast: industry chambers and associations driving common food safety agendas
Language: SpanishSpeaker: CIAJ, CANAINCA, ComeCarne, Tequila Producers Assoc., Milk Producers Assoc.
08:00
Workshop: Root cause analysis of a microbiological case
Room ALanguage: SpanishSpeaker: Gustavo González, B. Scientist Microbiology, NEOGEN
08:00
Workshop: Designing an integrated pest management program from a risk perspective
Room BLanguage: SpanishSpeaker: Lyla Aguilar
08:00
Workshop: Raising the bar on internal and supplier audit criteria
Room CLanguage: SpanishSpeaker: Francisco Mesa
08:00
Workshop: Moving toward a proactive food safety culture. From risk analysis to root cause analysis
Room DLanguage: SpanishSpeaker: Damarys del Castillo and Lilia Santiago, Latam Representatives, Women in Food Safety
09:30
FSSC 22000: lessons from version 6 and new challenges in version 7
Room ALanguage: SpanishSpeaker: Julianni Arimura, Latam Representative, FSSC Foundation
09:30
SQF: key points of the v10 update and the importance of food safety culture work
Room BLanguage: SpanishSpeaker: Luis Alberto Cruz, Representative
09:30
BRCGS: what's coming in the Food V10 standard update
Room CLanguage: SpanishSpeaker: Merce Sánchez, Representative
09:30
A global agricultural loss tool and its benefits for sustainable supply chains
Room DLanguage: SpanishSpeaker: Ninel Escobar, WWF
10:15
Coffee break
11:00
Investigation phases for critical incidents in the food chain
Language: English with simultaneous interpretationSpeaker: John Guzewich, Specialist
11:45
Recent crisis cases: the impact on business continuity from a legal perspective
Language: English with simultaneous interpretationSpeaker: Bill Marler, CEO, Marler Clark
12:30
Managing the crisis: key actions for business continuity
Language: English with simultaneous interpretationSpeaker: Melody Ge, CEO, WFS
13:15
Lunch on your own
14:30
Changing the approach to inspections and internal audits to raise the bar on prevention
Language: SpanishSpeaker: Fabianna Guglielmone, President, IAFP Argentina Affiliate
15:00
Artificial Intelligence for the Food Industry
Language: SpanishSpeaker: Luis Nava
15:15
Shaping behavior: middle managers as drivers of change in food safety culture
Language: SpanishSpeaker: Joaquín Nava, CEO, Grupo Delcen
16:00
Panel: Success stories from global companies deploying quality and food safety culture strategies
Language: English with simultaneous interpretationSpeaker: Moderated by Frank Yiannas, with Itzel Castillo, Damarys del Castillo and Sthefani Keller
17:15
Beyond systems: the challenge is building a strong food safety culture
Language: English with simultaneous interpretationSpeaker: Frank Yiannas, GFSI
18:00
Closing