By Mike Richman

The annual SQF Unites event, which took place March 9–12 at the historic Union Station hotel in St. Louis, MO, proved that the food safety community is as strong and, yes, united as ever. Among more than 800 food safety professionals, manufacturers, retailers, and certification experts was a three-person contingent from Exemplar Global—Executive Managing Director Adam Bannon, Director of Product and Quality Assurance Wendy Edwards, and me.

After an enjoyable icebreaker the first evening, SQF Unites opened with a bang on Tuesday, March 10. Gigi Vita, Chief Food Safety Assessment Officer and Senior Vice President of SQFI, had a insightful and engaging conversation with Ben Chapman, Ph.D., a professor and the department head of the agricultural and human sciences at North Carolina State University. Gigi and Ben explored how academia is helping develop the next generation of food safety professionals and presented insights into what the latest science says about best practices for protecting the safety of our food.

Later in the opening session, Adam Bannon proudly presented the SQF Excellence Awards, sponsored by Exemplar Global. The well-deserving winners were Brian Shelton of EAGLE Certification Group (Excellence in SQF Auditing) and Emily Wagner of Landmark Snacks (Excellence in SQF Practitioner Leadership).

There were several extremely well-attended working sessions covering the newly released Edition 10 of the SQF Code. Attendees had detailed questions and offered pertinent perspectives and feedback, leaving everyone with a better understanding of how Edition 10 will support food safety protocols throughout the industry.

Among these breakouts was “Will the Real Practitioner Please Stand Up,” hosted by Tammie Van Buren, SQFI’s Compliance Manager. The speakers were Penny Vyskocil, Head of Compliance at Global Foods International, Christina Ramsey, Technical Certification Specialist at EAGLE Certification Group, and Wendy Edwards. This expert panel really dug into what Edition 10 says about the critical role of the SQF practitioner, and also made sure to address questions about the Certified SQF Practitioner credential offered by SQFI and administered by Exemplar Global.

When we and the other attendees at SQF Unites weren’t enjoying the presentations and technical sessions, we were cruising the exhibit hall filled with dozens of high-profile organizations providing training, certification, software, and equipment for those in the food industry.

All in all, SQF Unites 2026 was a fantastic experience packed with opportunities to learn, network, and advance in food safety careers. Exemplar Global is proud to be a partner of SQFI, and we look forward to the opportunity to continue these conversations throughout the year and into SQF Unites 2027. We hope to see you there!

About the author

Mike Richman is Exemplar Global’s Manager of Communications and Content.