rom John Starkey, President, US Poultry & Egg Association
U.S. Poultry and Egg has had several questions regarding the status of IPPE 2021. Currently, more than 1,000 exhibitors have committed to being in Atlanta, Jan. 26-28, 2021, at the Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) – a number that is typical for this time of year. They are looking forward to the opportunity to offer timely, important, and efficient ways for producers and processors to continue operations to feed our world, even during this pandemic.
I’m very pleased that the GWCC was the first convention facility in the nation to obtain the Global BioRisk Advisory Council (GBAC) STAR certification. Essentially, the GBAC STARTM program establishes requirements for facilities on work practices, protocols, procedures and systems to control risks associated with infectious agents, such as the virus causing COVID-19 (gbac.issa.com). In our own industry’s vernacular, this is analogous to a HACCP program to mitigate biorisk. Similarly, our primary exhibit contractor, as well as our registration company, our hotel partners and other vendors are also evaluating and implementing similar safety protocols. Delta, our airline partner, and other airlines have additionally adopted biorisk mitigation practices in accordance with appropriate health authority guidelines. Finally, IPPE itself is considering a wide range of options, from a greater emphasis on pre-mailing badges to remote registration areas, and many other steps to minimize biorisk.
So, together with our partners and vendors, we are 100% committed to planning and executing a safe and successful IPPE 2021. However, we do have to acknowledge none of us possesses a crystal ball to know if there will be governmental or industry-driven restrictions in place that impact IPPE 2021. Certainly, we all have seen the fluidity of requirements and best practices these last few months. We will keenly monitor such developments over the next few months, and keep our members, exhibitors and industries up to date on any changes pertaining to IPPE 2021.
