The era of electronic data capture in the foodservice industry is with us.  Numerous foodservice companies and regulators employ simple computerized inspection systems that capture a wealth of food safety data.  As that data accumulates some have called it “big data."  But data is just data unless something can be done with it.  This session looks to address the technology of data capture from the perspective of getting the right data and then looking at several case studies of what some in the industry are doing with that information.  How is inspectional data turned into classical metrics?  How might these inspectional lagging indicators be turned into food safety leading indicators?  Can we predict the probability that a foodborne illness event might be on the horizon? Each presenter will be asked to summarize at least three actionable items from their talk that any food safety professional can immediately put to use.

This session is significantly different than one on “big data” presented in 2014, Indianapolis.  In that session big data was presented more as a paradigm than a tool.  This session evolved from many in attendance that said, “great, now what do you do with that data." In addition, this session will focus on the foodservice industry where many operators are chain units with hundreds to thousands of units scattered across the country.  Any food company with multiple operations will benefit from this session by gaining insight into the means of capturing leading indicators on their own food safety system.

Presentations