Food Safety Matters

As we wrap up 2020, the Food Safety Matters team, along with Bob Ferguson of Strategic Consulting Inc., sat down to discuss the biggest moments in food safety this year, and what we have to look forward to as we move into 2021. Topics discussed in this episode: Food business disruptions: Changes to the supply chain and transportation challenges Keeping food personnel safe Implications for food safety Emergency preparedness Sanitation New Era of Smarter Food Safety The future of remote audits: Implications and innovations Recalls and outbreaks: What the numbers may mean Presenting Sponsor Michigan State University Michigan State University Online Food Safety Program  Online MS in Food Safety Program Curriculum: Online MS in Food Safety Program Keep Up with Food Safety Magazine Follow Us on Twitter @FoodSafetyMag and on Facebook  Subscribe to our magazine and our biweekly eNewsletter We Want to Hear From You! Please share your comments, questions, and suggestions. Tell us about yourself—we'd love to hear

Sally Powell Price joined MilliporeSigma earlier this year as a Regulatory Expert for Food Safety. Previously, Sally served as the Director of Lab Operations at a biotech startup in Boston supporting regulatory & R&D operations. Prior to that role, she was the Food Lab Supervisor at the New York City Department of Health, Public  Health Laboratory. Sally is a member of the Association of Food and Drug Officials, American Public Health Association, Association of Public Health Laboratories, and AOAC. She has a B.Sc. degree in biology from Hamilton College, and a M.Sc. in microbiology & immunology from James Cook University in Australia, and continuing coursework in public health and foodborne disease at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. Justyce Jedlicka currently serves in the newly created role of the Food and Beverage Regulatory Liaison in North America for MilliporeSigma. She is responsible for engaging with influencers in the food and beverage industry to align initiatives to be in the h

Tamara Mullin is currently the Director of Safety for FOODWORKS where she oversees food safety procedures and builds upon them to create food safety programs, training, and compliances. Before this, she was the FOODWORKS District Manager. Tamara obtained her degree from the Pennsylvania Institute of Culinary Arts in 1993. Tamara has been working in corporate dining since 1997. She has managed multiple corporate kitchens, rolled out café concepts, and created menus with recipes focused on customer needs. ​In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Tamara [10:15] about: The history of FOODWORKS How FOODWORKS helps local communities Amenities for their restaurant and host partners How FOODWORKS interfaces with health departments FOODWORKS locations across the country Leveraging resources to help small businesses Impact of COVID on the process Partnership opportunities and how to get started Food code challenges Sharing food safety “tricks of the trade” Incorporating food safety training Standards for

In this BONUS episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Sharon Dobesh (director of technical services) and Leonard Mongiello (business development and sales manager) from the Industrial Fumigant Company (IFC) about controlling birds and rodents. Specifically, how to keep them where they belong—away from your buildings, out of your docks and processing areas. In this BONUS episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to IFC about: • Most common bird and rodent pests in facilities • Exclusion methods for keeping birds off and out of facilities • Exclusion methods for keeping rodents out of facilities • Threats associated with bird and rodent presence at facilities • Facilities that could be at higher risk for pests • Signs and symptoms that help you identify pests • Conducting visual inspections • Adequate vs. proactive pest management • Pest prevention Resources IFC Resources ​ Presenting Sponsor IFC

Nevin Perera is the research & development manager for PerkinElmer where he and his team have developed a range of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) including Solus One Salmonella, Solus One Listeria, and Solus One Escherichia coli. Nevin’s career started at the University of Birmingham in the UK, where he was studying for a B.Sc. (Hons) in microbiology before transitioning to a M.Sc. in toxicology and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry. He was researching the regulation of phospholipase C in yeast under different environmental and chemical stresses. He continued his academic career in the Department of Cell Signalling and Immunology, University of Dundee, carrying out postdoctoral research on the regulation of the tumor suppressor gene PTEN, finishing with 10 peer-reviewed publications. Upon leaving academia, Nevin focused his career on ELISA and lateral flow device development, doing outstanding work at Merck Millipore, Mediawatch Plc., and now PerkinElmer. In this BONUS episode of Food Safety Matters,

Dr. Scott Brooks is the Senior Vice President of Food Safety and Quality Assurance for Tyson Foods. Previously, Scott held similar food safety, quality, and regulatory executive positions at Kraft Heinz, PepsiCo, and Yum! Brands after serving as a Public Health Officer in the Air Force. His Doctorate is in Veterinary Medicine with Master’s degrees in both Food Microbiology and Preventive Veterinary Medicine. He served on the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods and is a Past-President of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine. In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Scott [18:29] about: The centralized corporate structure of Tyson Foods Initial assumptions about the pandemic  The challenge in keeping 120,000 team members safe and healthy How Tyson got its hands on PPE for their employees Facility changes as a result of the pandemic Sanitation challenges The creation of a cross-functional group consisting of occupational health and safety and food safe

Adam Joelsson is Director of Technology and Head of Research and Development at Invisible Sentinel Inc. Having a background in microbiology and molecular biology, Adam joined Invisible Sentinel in 2008 as part of the founding team and has been integral in the development and commercialization of both Veriflow® and veriPRO® molecular diagnostic platforms. As part of the Invisible Sentinel technical team, Adam has overseen the R&D technical transfer and commercial launches of over a dozen rapid assay systems for a wide range of industrial applications, including food safety as well as beverage and food quality. Vik Dutta has been a Senior Staff Scientist at bioMérieux for over 4 years. Prior to that, he was employed as a Senior Microbiologist at CDC. He has earned his doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from MAFSU and received his Ph.D. in Microbiology from North Carolina State University. Vik has been working in various aspects of food safety for over 15 years, with specific expertise in molecular biology an

Hugo Gutierrez is the Global Food Safety and Quality Officer for Kerry. He has 25 years of experience in leading global, virtual, and multicultural quality, food safety, and regulatory teams. In his current position, he is responsible for developing and executing a long-term strategy to transform their quality, food safety, and employee safety into world-class systems. Prior to his position at Kerry, he served as Vice President of Quality and Regulatory at Hershey Corporation, Director of International Quality and Regulatory Operations for General Mills, and held QA-related positions with Cadbury Schweppes USA, Pfizer in Canada, and Adams (Warner-Lambert) in Colombia.  Gutierrez holds a B.Sc. in Industrial Engineering from Javeriana University and an M.B.A. from Icesi University, both in his home country of Colombia. He speaks fluent Spanish, French, English, and basic Portuguese. In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Hugo [28:09] about: How food safety culture and behavior are fundamental part

Dr. John W. Spink is an assistant professor in the Department of Supply Chain Management in the Eli Broad Business College at Michigan State University (MSU). Previously, he was an assistant professor in the School of Criminal Justice in the College of Social Science at MSU and in the College of Veterinary Medicine. His leadership positions include product fraud-related activities with ISO 22000, GFSI, and the U.S. Pharmacopeia. Global activities include engagements with the European Commission, INTERPOL, Codex Alimentarius, and WHO/FAO, and he served as an advisor on food fraud to the Chinese National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment. He also spent 11 years at the Chevron Corporation, and was an independent consultant, before earning a Ph.D. in packaging/anti-counterfeit strategies at MSU in 2009. John was previously featured in Ep. 5 of Food Safety Matters In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to John [28:14] about: Educating about concepts of food safety and food fraud as key business con

Dr. Randy Huffman joined Maple Leaf Foods in 2009 and is currently Chief Food Safety and Sustainability Officer at the company.  This role encompasses Food Safety and Quality, Occupational Health, Safety and Security, Environmental Sustainability and Compliance, Animal Care, and Corporate Engineering.   Randy also leads the company's Food Safety Advisory Council, a team of external experts with the mandate to increase Maple Leaf's access to global knowledge and expertise in food safety, including best practices, regulatory compliance, microbiology, and fostering a food safety culture. Prior to joining Maple Leaf Foods, Dr. Huffman served as President of the American Meat Institute (AMI) Foundation, as well as Senior Vice President Scientific Affairs for 9 years at AMI.  Randy was previously featured in Ep. 33 of Food Safety Matters. In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Randy [34:40] about: Maple Leaf's initial response to COVID Fighting Complacency Commemorating the 11th Anniversary of the 2

Bob Gravani is Professor Emeritus of food science and Director Emeritus of the National Good Agricultural Practices Program at Cornell University. There's he's been actively engaged in extension and outreach, teaching, and research activities. His food safety career spans 40 years and includes work with all sectors of the food system. He has developed innovative programs for constituents in production agriculture, food processing, food retailing, and foodservice, as well as for regulatory agencies and consumers. Bob earned his bachelor's degree in food science from Rutgers University as well as his master's and Ph.D. degrees in food science from Cornell University. He is a Past President of the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) and is an IAFP Fellow. In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Bob [16:30] about: His work with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets How research, science, and technology have changed the food safety arena How the idea of food safety

Hal King, Ph.D., is a recognized leader in public health. He's worked in government, industry, and education. Currently, Hal is the managing partner at Active Food Safety, a new advisory services and digital products company. He is also the founder and CEO of Public Health Innovations, a public health strategy and design company. In addition, Hal serves as an associate professor of public health at the University of Georgia. As a public health professional, Hal has investigated foodborne and other disease outbreaks at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And, he's performed federally funded research on the causation and prevention of infectious diseases at Emory University School of Medicine. Hal also worked in the prevention of intentional adulteration of foods and food defense for the Army Force Health Protection. Another one of his prior roles was as the director of food and product safety at Chick-fil-A. There, he designed and led the company's food safety management program for 11 years.

Lone Jespersen is the principal at 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 led the execution of Maple Leaf's food strategy and its operations learning strategy. She holds a master's degree in mechanical engineering from Syd Dansk University (Denmark), and an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in food science from the University of Guelph (Canada).   Marie Tanner joined the Dairy Farmers of America in 2017. She is currently the senior vice president of food safety and quality. Prior to that, Marie was the global chief food safety and quality, health, safety, and environment management at Kerry. Before Kerry, Marie held various quality leadership roles at PepsiCo and Godiva (Ulker). Marie holds an M.Sc. in food science from Rutgers

This episode features a panel of the Food Safety Preventive Control Alliance (FSPCA)'s lead instructors. They discuss virtual food safety training in the age of COVID. Connie Landis Fisk is a northwest regional extension associate for the Produce Safety Alliance (PSA). PSA has a temporary policy allowing its trainers to deliver their Grower Training Course remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Connie offers a weekly office hour to share tips and answer questions about using Zoom for those remote trainings. Amanda Evans-Lara is a principle food safety consultant and compliance specialist with HACCP Mentor, a website that provides tools, tips, and training to help food businesses comply with global, customer, and regulatory Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) and food safety requirements. She has over 28 years of experience working with Australian and international food businesses. Amanda is an FSPCA lead instructor for Preventive Controls for Human Food and Intentional Adulteration Vulnerabi

In this BONUS episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak—for the third time—to Sharon Dobesh (director of technical services) and Jerry Heath (staff entomologist) from the Industrial Fumigant Company (IFC) about insect growth regulators (IGR) and how these compounds can benefit a pest control management plan. In this BONUS episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to IFC about: The benefits of fogging and aerosol applications How toxicity, safety, and warning labels have evolved IGRs and how these compounds can keep insects from taking over a food facility Fixed or remote fogging application systems Re-entry guidelines after a fogging application Tips for preparing for a pest control analysis The importance of proactive pest control vs. reactive Resources IFC Resources ​ Presenting Sponsor: IFC

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 Consumer Brands Association's (formerly, the Grocery Manufacturers

John G. Keogh is a strategist, advisor, and management science researcher with 30 years of executive leadership roles as director, vice president, and senior vice president in global supply chain management, information technology, technology consulting, and supply chain standards. Currently, he is managing principal at Toronto-based, niche advisory, and research firm Shantalla Inc. He holds a post-graduate diploma in Management, an MBA in Management, and a Master of Science in Business and Management Research in Transparency and Trust in the Food Chain. He is currently completing doctoral research focused on transparency and trust in global food chains at Henley Business School, University of Reading, using the lenses of agency theory, signaling theory, and transactional cost theory. Carl or ’’C.J.” Unis is a Systems Engineer with expertise in Continuity of Operations, Continuity of Government, devolution, infrastructure, supply chain logistics, and emergency management. He has a Master’s Degree in Systems

John G. Keogh is a strategist, advisor, and management science researcher with 30 years of executive leadership roles as director, vice president, and senior vice president in global supply chain management, information technology, technology consulting, and supply chain standards. Currently, he is managing principal at Toronto-based, niche advisory, and research firm Shantalla Inc. He holds a post-graduate diploma in Management, an MBA in Management, and a Master of Science in Business and Management Research in Transparency and Trust in the Food Chain. He is currently completing doctoral research focused on transparency and trust in global food chains at Henley Business School, University of Reading, using the lenses of agency theory, signaling theory, and transactional cost theory. Carl or ’’C.J.” Unis is a Systems Engineer with expertise in Continuity of Operations, Continuity of Government, devolution, infrastructure, supply chain logistics, and emergency management. He has a Master’s Degree in Systems

In this BONUS episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Paul Barnhill, chief technology officer and head engineer at Meritech, the leader in automated employee hygiene. He has over 28 years of experience working with professionals in food manufacturing, healthcare, and foodservice. He understands the challenges these industries face when creating hygiene programs and how to overcome these obstacles through education and automated technologies. Paul often speaks on best practices in hand hygiene, footwear sanitation, and the science behind pathogen removal. Helping food processing and packaging facilities produce safe and healthy products through hygiene excellence is a passion for him. Prior to joining Meritech, Paul worked at Medtronic, Inc. a leader in cardiovascular equipment and implantable devices, in their hemostasis division as a mechanical designer within the R&D department. Paul earned his accreditation degree from the American Institute for Design & Drafting.  In this BONUS episode of Fo

Keith Warriner, Ph.D., is a professor of food science at the University of Guelph. He is also the food science graduate coordinator of the department’s Master of Science and Ph.D. food science programs. After completing his Ph.D. in microbial physiology at the University College of Wales, he worked for the Department of Medicine at the University of Manchester where he studied biosensors. He also attended the University of Nottingham as a research fellow in food microbiology, working with fresh produce. He joined the Department of Food Science at the University of Guelph in 2002 and was promoted to full professor in 2011. He is the former president of the Ontario Food Protection Association, a member of the International Association of Food Protection, is an associate editor of the Canadian Journal of Microbiology, and is on the editorial board for Applied & Environmental Microbiology and International Journal of Food Microbiology. ​Keith's research revolves around food safety and food microbiology, al