Is the SQF Conference worth it?

Hello Everyone,

Long time lurker first time poster but after a few years of working in the food safety sector, I now have the ability to attend the SQF conference in Orlando this year.  I've (obviously) never been before and was wondering a few things:

1. How popular of a conference is this?  Is it going to be difficult to get into talks and actually learn and engage?

2. Is the SQF Professional Development 4 hour section worth it if you are not an auditor?  While I led the SQF audit on my own last year my boss has recently taken a new position and I am currently the most senior Food Safety member at my facility.

3. Is it worth being a conference I set up in my budget to attend every year or are there better food safety conferences?

For reference, we are a low risk food additives company that a lot of what is discussed in these conferences do not apply to us, therefore it's really difficult to find the best places to continue my learning.

Thank you in advance!

Never been to a SQF conference, but I have attended several BRC Americas as well as Food Safety Summits and International Association for Food Protection events over the years.

Some have been better than others, but I never fail to learn something or network with fellow professionals. I would highly recommend attending these sort of conferences as often (and as budgets allow) as possible.

If you are not already intimately familiar with Edition 9 of the code, I think the extra expense would be worth it for the SQF Professional Update session.

Marshall

I have been to an SQF conference before and found it to be very good.  It all depends on what topics you sit in for and listen too.  There are some great small group discussions to be had and they try to gear those toward similar style facilities so you can get the most out of it.  Now it has been some years since I have gone, so the format may have changed, but I did enjoy it and learned some good things.