Food Safety Matters

In this BONUS episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to two experts from Phoseon. Theresa Thompson is an application scientist for Phoseon's Life Science Group. Jay Pasquantonio is the strategy director for Phoseon's Life Science Group. Theresa and Jay discuss the use of ultraviolet light-emitting diode (UV LED) technology to reduce pathogens in food.   In this BONUS episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Phoseon about: Phoseon's use of UV LED disinfection systems to reduce and control foodborne pathogens from food products and contact surfaces The potential to use UV LED to treat beverages, produce, packaging, and various surfaces The overall benefits of using UV light, particularly in food processing Environments and instances that are ideal (and not ideal) for Phoseon's food safety applications Why traditional or more aggressive methods to eliminate pathogens may not be desirable The risks of purchasing UV LED equipment and systems from commercial market sellers Worker safety when using UV LED ligh

Oscar Garrison is the senior vice president of food safety regulatory affairs at United Egg Producers. Previously, he was the director of food safety with the Georgia Department of Agriculture. As a past president of the Association of Food and Drug Officials, Oscar led the national organization's efforts to promote an integrated food safety system by working with federal, state, and local regulatory agencies and industry. Oscar earned his B.Sc. in Forensic Science and Technology from Jacksonville State University. In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Oscar [20:25] about: How his background in forensic science led him to an unexpected career in food safety The most challenging aspects of being a state regulator How state regulatory bodies work with federal and local agencies to investigate foodborne illness outbreaks Why having specialized staff and maintaining those staff members are crucial at the state regulatory level How state regulators can help educate small and independent producers I

Dr. Laura Gieraltowski leads the Foodborne Outbreak Response Team in the Outbreak Response and Prevention Branch at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, GA. She leads the team that helps coordinate the national network of epidemiologists and other public health officials who investigate outbreaks of foodborne and other enteric illnesses. ​Laura is a graduate of CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service Program. She received a Ph.D. in epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and has a Masters of Public Health degree in behavioral health sciences from Emory University Rollins School of Public Health. She has worked at the CDC since 2009 and has been involved in numerous multistate outbreak investigations leading to the identification and recall of food products. In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Laura [14:39] about: CDC's role in foodborne outbreak investigations How CDC works with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and th

Theodora Morille-Hinds is the vice president of global quality food safety for The Kellogg Company. She is also the 2019 recipient of Food Safety Magazine's Distinguished Service Award. Stacey Popham is the head of food safety and quality for the Americas region of Barry Callebaut. Dr. Mindy Brashears is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety. Tim Stubbs is the vice president of product research and food safety for the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Theo [13:18] about: The greatest day-to-day challenges in her current role at Kellogg Partnerships with Michigan State University, University of Georgia, and more Celebrating women and girls in science How she unexpectedly got into food science Advice to young women who may be thinking about a science-related career We speak to Stacey [27:59] about: The first-ever World Food Safety Day and how it prompted Barry Callebaut to initiate monthly Food Safety Friday meetings wi

Cindy Jiang is senior director, Global Food and Packaging Safety, Global Supply Chain & Sustainability, for McDonald’s Corporation. Her responsibilities include leading global supplier quality management systems and programs, establishing science-based food safety standards and policies, managing food-related emerging issues, and providing guidance on nutrition information, accuracy, and consistency. She has been the lead for the McDonald’s Food Safety Advisory Council since 2002, a forum for sharing food safety knowledge and best practices among leading suppliers and external experts. Cindy has been actively involved with industry and government collaboration on food safety. She has served on the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) Board since 2008 and is currently a member of the Board of Advisors at the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Cindy began her career with the McDonald’s Corporation after receiving a M.Sc. in food science and nutrition from

Joan Menke-Schaenzer is the chief quality officer at Van Drunen Farms and FutureCeuticals. There, she is responsible for the safety and quality of the company's vegetable and herb growing and processing plants—both conventional and organic—as well as their nutraceutical ingredient business.  Joan's career has also included food safety and quality roles in manufacturing, foodservice, and retail. She's led McDonalds' global supply chain, safety, and compliance organization. She spearheaded food safety and quality at ConAgra, Walmart, and Kraft as well. Joan served on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Food Advisory Committee and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control's Board of Scientific Counselors Food Safety Modernization Act Implementation Working Group. Joan earned her B.Sc. in food science from the University of Wisconsin—Madison.   In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Joan [17:09] about: Challenges she's experienced across the supply chain at various levels of the food industry The im

Dr. Robert (Bob) Powitz is the principal and technical director of R.W.Powitz & Associates. There, he specializes in forensic sanitation services to industry, law firms, insurance companies, and government agencies. Bob has dedicated his career to food safety having worked for over 54 years to study, develop, and implement the most effective sanitation practices. Bob has served as director of environmental health and safety and biological safety officer at Wayne State University where he also held the title of Adjunct Associate Professor in the College of Engineering. He also served as director of biological safety and environment for the U.S. Department of Agriculture as well as health director for five different towns in Connecticut.  He is currently the public health consultant for the Bucks County, PA, Department of Corrections. Bob received his undergraduate education in agronomy and plant pathology from the State University of New York and the University of Georgia. He holds a M.Sc. in Public Healt

Dr. Robert (Bob) Powitz is the principal and technical director of R.W.Powitz & Associates. There, he specializes in forensic sanitation services to industry, law firms, insurance companies, and government agencies. Bob has dedicated his career to food safety having worked for over 54 years to study, develop, and implement the most effective sanitation practices. Bob has served as director of environmental health and safety and biological safety officer at Wayne State University where he also held the title of Adjunct Associate Professor in the College of Engineering. He also served as director of biological safety and environment for the U.S. Department of Agriculture as well as health director for five different towns in Connecticut.  He is currently the public health consultant for the Bucks County, PA, Department of Corrections. Bob received his undergraduate education in agronomy and plant pathology from the State University of New York and the University of Georgia. He holds a M.Sc. in Public Healt

In this BONUS episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Jerry Heath (staff entomologist) and Sharon Dobush (director of technical services) from the Industrial Fumigant Company (IFC) about how to set up and utilize a pest management program that is compliant with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and that also works well with a food processor's existing Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points or Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls plan. In this BONUS episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to IFC about: FSMA's impact on how pest management fits into a company's overall food safety plan The main challenge that pest management clients want to address and learn more about Changes in how auditors now approach their inspection methods with new regulations in place Steps that a food company will need to take in order to implement or overhaul their pest program Mapping tools and how they help companies to better pinpoint the cause and/or source of an infestation How the trend of going c

Jeff Farber is the director of the Canadian Research Institute for Food Safety and head of the University of Guelph's Food Safety and Quality Assurance M.Sc. program.  Farber's most well-known work is a 1991 review paper on Listeria monocytogenes. He's also authored an estimated 50 other papers on Listeria research and risk assessment. Farber worked at Health Canada for a number of years as a research scientist, research division chief, associate director, and director of microbial food safety. His research interests at Health Canada centered around mycotoxins, Listeria monocytogenes, and Cronobacter sakazakii. He also played a large role in developing many of the food safety policies that are currently in place in Health Canada. Jeff is the former President of the International Association of Food Protection. He also serves on the International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods, the New York Academy of Sciences Committee on Food Safety, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's External A

At the 21st annual Food Safety Summit in Rosemont, IL, editorial director Barbara VanRenterghem sat down with four food safety pros for real-time insight on the Summit sessions, topics, trends, and more. Craig Henry is a food safety consultant with Intro Inc. There, he specializes in U.S. food safety program development and review for federal regulatory compliance such as the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). He is a lead instructor for FSMA Preventive Control Qualified Individual training for human food. He also led the contracting team delivering technical content for FSMA human food guidance to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Prior to this role, Craig's previous roles were with Decernis, Deloitte and Touche, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, Koch Foods, Foster Farms, and Cargill, among others.  Gary Ades is president of G&L Consulting Group LLC. He is also a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Food Safety Magazine. Paul Kiecker is the Deputy Administrator for the U.S. Departmen

In this BONUS episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Fredrik Johansson, manager of separators at Tetra Pak. In this chat, Fredrik discusses dairy separation, its history, challenges, best practices, and how dairy industry clients can increase efficiency and find higher profits while maintaining the highest possible food safety standards.  In this BONUS episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Fredrik about: A brief history of Tetra Pak The process of cold milk separation, and how it differs from hot milk separation AirTight Technology and its benefits Helping clients to meet their sustainability goals EnCapt Technology New innovations coming to Tetra Pak Resources Centrifugal Separation Processing Insights - Separation Archives  Separators and Sustainability: How the Right Equipment can Reduce the Dairy Industry's Climate Impact Presenting Sponsor

Craig Wilson is the vice president, general merchandising manager of quality assurance/food safety, non-foods quality assurance, environmental services/HAZMAT and merchandise services for Costco Wholesale Corporation. Prior to joining Costco, Craig worked as a special projects director for Frigoscandia Equipment Food Safety Systems for over 24 years. During his time there, Craig published numerous research papers in the areas of food safety and food processing. He holds many patents, the most notable for steam pasteurization of food. He was the recipient of the Gia/Matek, Global Excellence in Food Safety Award. Craig currently serves on the Global Food Safety Initiative Board, the Center for Produce Safety Board, the Center for Food Integrity Board, and the STOP Foodborne Illness Board. In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Craig [17:47] about: How Costco handles employee food safety training Costco's four-legged approach to food safety How Costco approaches food safety and varying regulatory

Lone Jespersen is principal of Cultivate, an organization dedicated to helping food manufacturers globally make safe, great tasting food through cultural effectiveness. Lone has significant experience with food manufacturing, having previously spent 11 years with Maple Leaf Foods. Following the tragic event in 2008 when Maple Leaf products claimed 23 Canadian lives, Lone lead the execution of the Maple Leaf Foods, food safety strategy, and its operations learning strategy.  Prior to that, Lone worked for Woodbridge Foam as the engineering and operations manager responsible for the safety and quality of automobile safety products. Lone holds a Master's degree in mechanical engineering from Syd Dansk University, Denmark, and a Master's of food science and a Ph.D. from the University of Guelph, Canada. Mike Robach is chairman of the GFSI board. Up until August 2018, he served as the vice president, corporate food safety, quality, & regulatory for Cargill based in Minneapolis, MN. Prior to joining Cargill, he

Dr. David Acheson, is the founder and CEO of The Acheson Group and brings more than 30 years of medical and food safety research and experience to provide strategic advice as well as recall and crisis management support to food companies and ancillary technology companies on a global basis on all matters relating to food safety and food defense.   David graduated from the University of London Medical School and practiced internal medicine and infectious diseases in the United Kingdom until 1987 when he moved to the New England Medical Center and became an Associate Professor at Tufts University in Boston, studying the molecular pathogenesis of foodborne pathogens.   Prior to forming The Acheson Group, David served as the Chief Medical Officer at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service and then joined the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the Chief Medical Officer at the FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN). After serving as the director of CFSAN’s Off

Jeremy Zenlea is the director of corporate food safety at Cumberland Farms, Inc. In this role, he oversees all aspects of food safety, including regulatory compliance, retail and commissary food safety operations, and supply chain integrity. Jeremy has worked with a variety of different product categories, including refrigerated, high-risk ready-to-eat foods (meat, poultry, pork, and fresh-cut produce), chocolate, and confectionaries. Due to his diverse background, Jeremy has gained a wide range of knowledge of different food products and is an expert in constructing, implementing, and managing complex food safety and food defense systems for large domestic and international food manufacturers. He is an active member of both the Institute of Food Technologists and the International Association for Food Protection, and enjoys lecturing on food safety at local universities and mentoring other food safety professionals in his spare time. Jeremy received a B.Sc. from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and a

Samuel Godefroy is a professor of risk analysis and regulatory policies in the Department of Food Science at the University of Laval in Quebec, Canada. Currently, he leads the development of a Food Risk Analysis and Regulatory Excellence Platform, hosted by the Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods at the university. Samuel previously led the strategic development of the World Bank’s Global Food Safety Partnership. He's also held senior food regulatory positions at the executive level with Health Canada for over 10 years. Samuel served as vice chair of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/World Health Organization Codex Alimentarius Commission from 2011 to 2014. He also serves as a strategic and operational advisor to international food safety capacity building initiatives focused on regulatory enhancement, implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and FAO. Samuel received his Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Pierre and Marie Curie in Paris. In this

This BONUS episode of Food Safety Matters is all about Michigan State University's Food Processing and Innovation Center (FPIC). The Center, the first of its kind in the U.S., will be Michigan's leading independent commercial food development, processing, packaging, and research facility. Here, mid- to large-size food companies have access to a real-time production environment to support the creation of new food products. In this interview, Matt Birbeck (FPIC) and Gerry Broski (Neogen) go into great detail about how the FPIC can help food companies with their research and development efforts. In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Matt (FPIC) and Gerry (Neogen) about: Why the creation of the FPIC was necessary FPIC's purpose within the food industry Advantages, benefits, and services for clients who use the FPIC How the partnership between the FPIC, MSU, and Neogen works Why mid- and large-size food companies are ideal clients for the FPIC Food product categories that the FPIC can accommodate A

Joe Stout is the founder of Commercial Food Sanitation, a consulting firm that provides food safety and sanitation solutions to food processing plants. Before that, Joe spent nearly 30 years at Kraft Foods. While there, he held a variety of positions related to operations, quality, and sanitation, ultimately leading to his role as Kraft's director of global product protection, sanitation, and hygienic design. In this role at Kraft, Joe had global responsibility for plant cleaning controls and processes, allergen and pathogen control programs, pest control, and hygienic design for facilities and equipment used in more than 200 Kraft plants. Joe also managed the Global Product Protection Group, assuring global support for internal and external plants. Joe led the American Meat Institute’s (AMI) Equipment Design Task Force and has led Listeria Intervention training for AMI and the American Frozen Food Institute. He is the current leader of the Grocery Manufacturers Association’s Sanitary Design Working Group. He

Sara Mortimer is the vice president of product safety, quality, and regulatory affairs for Land O’Lakes. Over her 30-year career, Sara has worked to ensure the safety and quality of some of the world’s biggest brands—Haagen Daaz, Green Giant, Old El Paso, Nature Valley, and many others. Sara has co-authored a number of books on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) and food safety management. In fact, she contributed to Food Safety Magazine's Food Safety Culture eBook! She's also served on Food Control's editorial board and was a trustee of the Royal Society of Public Health for several years.  Sara has been a member of the BRC International Advisory Board for over 10 years, and she's a member of the Grocery Manufacturers Association's Executive Scientific and Regulatory Affairs Committee. Most recently, she has helped review the effectiveness of Codex HACCP and Food Hygiene principles.   In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Sara about: The purpose of HACCP, and how it should wo