Update: Food Events Are Cancelled or Postponed Due to Coronavirus Outbreak
Food shows worldwide are affected by the COVID-19 outbreak and more organizers are postponing events, some already announcing new dates for later this year.
Bakery China
The event was postponed to July 21-24 at NECC, Shanghai. “To ensure the health and safety of exhibitors and visitors must be our priority. Given the further analysis of the current situation and precautionary restrictions causing travel challenging to our overseas exhibitors and buyers, we must reconsider our plans and decided to postpone Bakery China 2020 to July 21-24 at NECC, Shanghai. We are appreciated to have your kind understanding and support to Bakery China,” the organizers say.
Free From Functional & Health Ingredients
The organizers of the Free From Functional & Health Ingredients (FFFHI) and Free From Packaging (FFP) have confirmed today that the events, which were planned to take place at the RAI Amsterdam from June, 24-25, will be postponed to November, 24-25, 2020, following the global escalation of COVID-19.
Speaking about the announcement, Ronald Holman, event director, said: “The health and safety of our growing Free From community is our number one priority. While it is disappointing to postpone, we believe it is in the best interests of all involved – from our exhibitors and visitors to our staff, show sponsors and partners. This is not a decision we have made lightly, but with careful consideration of the needs of the wider community that make this event such a success”.
Sweets & Snacks Expo
The Sweets & Snacks Expo, originally scheduled for May 18-21, 2020, in Chicago, USA, has been canceled. “We are extremely disappointed not to be able to offer the experience, inspiration, insights and connections so many in our community have come to rely on in association with the event, but the health and welfare of our community is our top priority,” the National Confectioners Association (NCA), the organizer of the event, announced.
Pastryland Bake Sale and Pastry Plus Conference
The team at International Culinary Center has been diligently monitoring updates surrounding COVID-19, and with the rising concerns, they have made the proactive decision to postpone the Pastryland Bake Sale and Pastry Plus Conference scheduled for March 28 and 29, to the weekend of June 13 and 14, 2020, respectively. “We are taking this step to help protect all attendees and the establishments that they belong to, as we work in an industry that must continuously strive for safe and clean environments imperative for food preparation and our pastry chefs. We urge everyone to follow public health guidelines in order to preserve the welfare of our industry and ourselves,” the organizers say.
Int’l Pizza Expo and Int’l Artisan Bakery Expo
After closely monitoring the risk and impact of COVID-19 on a daily basis, and speaking at length with members of our community, Int’l Pizza Expo and Int’l Artisan Bakery Expo, which had been scheduled for March 31- April 2, 2020, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, has been postponed to June. The two events will now take place Friday, June 26 through Sunday, June 28, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
IBAKTECH
The 13th international trade fair for bakery, patisserie machinery, ice cream, chocolate and technologies IBAKTECH announced that the 2020 edition will be postponed. The new date of IBAKTECH will be announced soon, the organizers said. Turkish authorities decided to postpone all of the exhibitions to be organised between March, 16, to April, 30. Decision has been taken in the scope of “force majeure” related with the new type of Coronavirus.
ALIMENTARIA
Fira de Barcelona has decided to postpone the joint Alimentaria and Hostelco trade shows, initially scheduled from April, 20-23, at the Gran Via venue, Barcelona, Spain, until September, 14-17. Given the current international situation, this measure has been adopted with the purpose of guaranteeing a successful trade shows for all exhibitors and visitors from numerous countries around the world, the organizers said.
European Cold Chain Conference
At the advice of the GCCA European Advisory Committee, GCCA leadership has made the difficult decision to reschedule the European Cold Chain Conference that was planned March, 18-20, in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The event is not cancelled and will be held at a later date in 2020.
VITAFOODS
In light of the ongoing COVID-19 health situation, the organizers have taken the decision to postpone Vitafoods Europe 2020 until September, 1-3, 2020. This conclusion is not one that has been reached easily. Located in Geneva, Switzerland, the annual show offers the platform to network, learn and forge long-term collaborations within the health and nutrition industry, source innovative quality ingredients and products, discover product development solutions and meet technical experts and thought leaders.
SNAXPO
The organizer SNAC International has made the difficult decision to cancel its annual main event, SNAXPO 2020, scheduled for March 22-24 in Charlotte, North Carolina, the USA. In the coming days and weeks, the organizers will be investigating all possible options, including rescheduling the event in 2020.
SNAXPO is the most comprehensive convention devoted exclusively to the international snack industry, bringing together the entire supply chain under one roof. “We are committed to serving the needs of the snack industry and its supply chain and will stay in close contact as we have more information to share,” the organizers said in an announcement.
MECATHERM’ s Seminar
The “Seminar Patisserie: health and clean label trends for long shelf life and frozen products”, which was supposed to take place on March 18 and 19, is now postponed to June 17-18, 2020 in Barembach, France, at MECATHERM’s headquarters.
Natural Products Expo West
Natural Products Expo West in March 2020 is officially postponed; a new date will be announced by mid-April. Expo West is produced by New Hope Network and is co-located at the Anaheim Convention Center with Fresh Ideas Organic Marketplace. New Hope Network is supporting the healthy lifestyle products industry with solutions for the complete supply chain from manufacturers, retailers/distributors, service providers and ingredient suppliers. The network offers a robust portfolio of content, events, data, research, and consultative services.
Fred Linder, group president of New Hope Network, said: “As with all our events, it was the intention here at Expo West in Anaheim, to follow official guidance from local authorities and to listen to the voices of the community we serve and support, in order to maximize the health of the industry.”
CFIA Rennes
GL Events, organizer of CFIA Rennes, announced that its 2020 edition, initially scheduled for March 10-12, has been postponed to May 26-28, 2020 at Parc des Expo Rennes Aéroport. “As a safety measure in the face of the local health situation, it seems the postponement of the 2020 edition of the CFIA is the wisest decision. The welfare of our 1,600 exhibitors, our co-workers, partners, and companies and our public is our only priority. It is a difficult decision to make but the conditions were not met today for this event to take place with confidence,” the organizers announced.
FHA-Food & Beverage
Informa Markets is postponing the inaugural FHA-Food & Beverage event to a later date due to global travel concerns and the spill-over effects on the F&B industry in light of the latest developments regarding the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation. The event was originally scheduled to take place from March 31 – April 3 at Singapore Expo.
ProWine Asia (Singapore) 2020, held alongside FHA-Food & Beverage, will also be postponed.
Martyn Cox, event director, Hospitality, Food & Beverage – Singapore, Informa Markets, said: “The situation is still evolving and we see this decision to postpone FHA-Food & Beverage and ProWine Asia (Singapore) 2020 as being in the best interests of our event attendees, partners, and staff. Our focus now is to provide our exhibitors, event partners and registered visitors with the support they require as a result of this decision. We will continue to work in partnership with the relevant government authorities and agencies and take all further measures in accordance with the latest advisories published by the Singapore Ministry of Health (MOH), the Ministry of Manpower and the Singapore Tourism Board.”
INTERNORGA
Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH (HMC) has announced the postponing of the INTERNORGA 2020 exhibition amid growing concern about the increasing number of Coronavirus COVID-19 infections.
HMC’s decision is consistent with the recommendations issued by the Federal Government’s Emergency Task Force to base risk assessments for large gatherings on the guidelines of the Robert Koch Institute, the government’s public health center. Furthermore, numerous exhibitors have already withdrawn their registrations. The postponement also applies to all conferences and accompanying events scheduled in conjunction with INTERNORGA.
GastroPan International Exhibition
Due to the unforeseen situation generated by the occurrence of the COVID-19 virus in Romania and other countries in Europe, after consultations held by the organizers with exhibitors, visitors and partners, GastroPan International Exhibition has been rescheduled for June, 21-23. The 12th edition of the GastroPan International Exhibition was supposed to be held at Expo Arad in Western Romania, in March 2020, with over 150 exhibitors from several countries and about 20,000 specialist visitors from the baking, confectionery, hospitality and food service industry.
interpack
interpack 2020 was canceled and the new dates announced are February, 25 – March, 3, 2021.
The avid interest taken by exhibitors in the run-up to interpack 2017 that brought the world’s biggest and most important trade fair of the packaging sector and related process industries record attendance of 2,865 companies, was followed by trade fair days from May, 4 to 10, with high spirits and further records: 74% of the approximately 170,500 visitors travelled to Düsseldorf from abroad – three quarters of them were decision-makers.
Modern Bakery Moscow
Modern Bakery Moscow 2020 was canceled and the organizers announced the dates for the event next year: March, 23-26, 2021, at IEC “Expocentre” Moscow, Russia. The international trade fair for bakery and confectionery market is the only exhibition in Russian & CIS, that covers the whole cycle of production and sale of confectionery and bakery products.