Food Safety Matters

Sally Powell Price joined MilliporeSigma in 2020 as a Regulatory Expert for Food Safety Testing for North America. Previously, she served as Director of Lab Operations at a biotech startup in Boston and was a Food Lab Supervisor at the New York City Department of Health - Public Health Laboratory.  She has a bachelor’s degree in Biology, a master’s in Microbiology & Immunology, and did continuing coursework in public health and foodborne disease at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. She’s a member of the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO), American Public Health Association, Association of Public Health Laboratories, and AOAC.  Justyce Jedlicka currently serves as the Food and Beverage Regulatory Liaison in North America for MilliporeSigma. Responsible for engaging with influencers in the food and beverage industry to align initiatives to be in the highest regulatory compliance and promote best practices among testing methods promoting the safest and highest quality food, Justyce has been

Mitzi Baum joined the team at Stop Foodborne Illness as the Chief Executive Officer in May 2019. Prior to beginning her tenure at Stop, Mitzi cultivated a 23-year career at Feeding America beginning as a network services representative rising to the senior level position of managing director of food safety. Mitzi holds a Master of Science in Food Safety and a certificate in Food Law from Michigan State University. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH. Steve Mandernach is the executive director of the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO), which unites high-level regulatory officials, industry representatives, trade associations, academia, and consumer organizations. Prior to becoming executive director in 2018, Steve was the bureau chief for food and consumer safety at the Iowa Department of Inspections. He is a past president of AFDO and current co-chair of the Association’s Laws and Regulations committee. He has a J.D. from Drake University

Kerry Bridges is Vice President of Food Safety at Chipotle Mexican Grill. In this role, Kerry oversees food safety standards, quality assurance, and procedures. Kerry joined Chipotle in January of 2019 and oversees a team of individuals who are committed to enforcing Chipotle’s zero-tolerance policy and industry-leading processes, focusing on supply chain, in-restaurant practices, food prep, and employee training. Prior to joining Chipotle, Kerry oversaw supplier food safety for the world’s largest food retailer, Walmart, serving over 200 million customers around the world on a weekly basis. During her time at Walmart, Kerry’s food safety oversight included tens of thousands of Walmarts, Neighborhood Markets, and Sam’s Clubs food suppliers, in addition to researching and assessing new and emerging food safety issues and handling regulatory compliance. Prior to Walmart, Kerry’s food safety career included roles with TESCO and Jack in the Box Inc. Kerry is the past President of the International Association

Dr. Brittany Campbell is the Director of Technical Services for the National Pest Management Association (NPMA). NPMA is a global association supporting the pest management industry and its commitment to protecting public health, food, and property. Brittany earned her master’s degree in Entomology from Virginia Tech and her Ph.D. in Entomology from the University of Florida. In this episode of Food Safety Matters we speak with Brittany [20:49] about: Overview of National Pest Management Association Training and background of pest management professionals Pest Control versus integrated pest management (IPM) Common pests in food plants and the potential impacts Pest identification Controlling rodents and birds Signs you have an infestation Top three things every plant should do to prevent pest issues Advice for starting or updating your pest management program News and Resources: FDA Announces Findings from Sampling of Romaine Lettuce in Yuma, AZ [3:44] FDA Studies Effectiveness of Whole-Genome Sequencing

George Hatziemanuel is the Marketing Product Manager for Lab Weighing, covering analytical, precision, and moisture balances. Carl Joslyn is the Marketing Product Manager for Industrial products, covering bench and floor weighing products used in food and industrial applications. Carl has been with OHAUS for over 21 years developing and marketing Industrial products. Peter Will is the Marketing Product Manager for Laboratory Equipment, which includes products used in Food Safety Labs such as pH Meters, Centrifuges, and Hot Plate Stirrers.  Peter has over 15 years of experience with product development and marketing of small benchtop lab equipment.   In this BONUS episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak with George, Carl, and Peter about: OHAUS’s history with solving food processing challenges The areas of food processing where OHAUS has the strongest presence The wide range of equipment OHAUS offers How moisture analyzers can be used for food development and processing Applications for pH meters, sample pre

Lone Jespersen is a 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 lead the execution of the Maple Leaf Foods, food safety strategy and its operations learning strategy. Lone is a member of the Food Safety Magazine Editorial Advisory Board. Lone holds a Master's degree in mechanical engineering from Syd Dansk University, Denmark, a Masters and Ph.D., in food science from the University of Guelph, Canada. Dr. Jonathan Walsh is the technical applications leader for Europe, Middle East and Asia at 3M Food Safety, based in the U.K. Jonathan obtained his Ph.D. in Chromogenic media microbiology from the University of Manchester and has over 20 years working in the industry as a microbiologist. He began his car

Bonnie McClafferty is the Director of Food Safety at GAIN, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, and Chief of Party for USAID’s EatSafe: Evidence and Action Towards Safety Nutritious Food. She has more than twenty years of experience working in agricultural research and development within the institutes that make up the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) under the World Bank. Bonnie joined GAIN from HarvestPlus, where for twelve years she headed up their office on Development and Communications.  In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Bonnie [25:18] about: Overview of the EatSafe Projects Traditional markets in the developing world The role of nutrition in the definition of safe food The wild west of food safety Empowering local communities to engage in food safety Why food safety is sidelined in public talks of health and nutrition The youth movement The power of communication The UN Food Systems Summit Emerging guidelines for safe food UN sustainability go

Nuno Soares is an author, consultant, and trainer in food safety with more than 21 years of background in the food industry as a food safety/quality and plant manager. He works exclusively to help food safety professionals achieve a more fulfilled career based on improving knowledge, improving competencies, and a growth mindset. He is also the founder of the initiative "The Why of Food Safety—I'm an SLO (Saving Lives Officer)" and he’s the author of several books and articles on food safety namely Food Safety in the Seafood Industry. In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Nuno [19:46] about: Being a Saving Lives Officer for food safety Find Your Why The role of human behavior in food safety culture How to use your passion and expertise to drive food safety Empowering food employees The SLO mindset Emotion, Reason, Psychological Safety, Efficient Communication Lean HACCP The importance of continuous improvement, learning, and training Combatting waste 5S: Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize,

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we have an interesting discussion with Bill Potter, Food Safety Technical Advisor, at Elanco Animal Health about a very important topic for the poultry industry—pre-harvest intervention strategies for poultry production. Bill Potter is a poultry industry veteran, who has spent 28 years solving food safety problems in the poultry industry. Currently, Bill is the Food Safety Technical Advisor at Elanco Animal Health where he helps clients optimize their pre-harvest and plant interventions. Previously, Bill held senior food safety roles at numerous poultry processors including, George’s, ConAgra Poultry, and Advance Food Company. He has served as Chairman of the National Chicken Council Technical and Regulatory Committee and is an active member of both the Arkansas Association of Food Protection and IAFP. Bill has an undergraduate degree in Animal Science and an MBA from Texas A&M University and a master’s and Ph.D. in Poultry Science from the University of Arkansas. I

Dr. Jeff Kornacki is an industrial forensic food microbiologist. He has assisted and continues to assist many companies during environmental and product contamination concerns including FDA and USDA recalls and has made well over 850 troubleshooting related plant visits across a vast assortment of food processing industries in his career.  He is an active member of IAFP. He received the IAFP Sanitarian award in 2010. He also became an IAFP Fellow in 2017. He has published on a wide variety of food microbiology topics and is Editor/Co-Editor and Co-author of several books including “Principles of Microbiological Troubleshooting in the Industrial Food Processing Environment” (Springer, 2010), “The Microbiological Safety of Low Water Activity Foods and Spices” (Springer, 2014) and “Foodborne Pathogens: Virulence Factors and Host Susceptibility” (Springer, 2017). He is also co-writing and co-editing a book entitled, Principles of Hygienic Design for Ensuring Food Safety. Jeff obtained his Bachelor and Master of S

Catharine Young was named executive director of the New York State Center of Excellence for Food and Agriculture in March 2019. A longtime champion of agricultural and economic development, Catharine served for 20 years in the New York State Legislature representing western New York. During that time, she chaired the Senate Agriculture Committee, founded the Legislative Wine and Grape Caucus, sponsored legislation to create the New York State Council on Food Policy, and chaired the Legislative Commission on Rural Resources. She was the first woman in state history to chair the influential Senate Finance Committee. Catharine is passionate about her new role and feels that “To grow New York’s food, beverage and agriculture economy, and to help businesses expand and flourish by linking them with the incredible innovation, expertise, and resources at Cornell, is a natural extension of the work that I have done as a senator.” Jenn Smith’s role with Grow-NY draws on her background in craft beverage market developme

Donna F. Schaffner, M.Sc., is the associate director for food safety, quality assurance, and training at the Rutgers University Food Innovation Center. Donna has more than 20 years of experience as a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) specialist. She teaches FDA certificate programs in Preventive Controls for Human Foods (PCHF), Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP), general HACCP, Seafood HACCP, Better Process Control School, Food Defense, Intentional Adulteration – Vulnerability Assessments (IA-VA), and teaches microbiology and food safety classes in the U.S. and abroad. Donna holds Train the Trainer certificates for PCHF, FSVP, FSIS, and FDA HACCP, and Seafood HACCP, and Lead Instructor certificates for PCHF, FSVP, IA-VA, Seafood HACCP, and Meat & Poultry HACCP. She also serves as a Qualified Individual for Microbiology and Food Safety for HACCP and Food Safety Teams for numerous commercial food processing companies around the country, as well as a consultant for many others. Do

Dr. Noel Anderson is managing partner of Mosaic Food Advisors LLC which helps start-up companies in the food and beverage arena succeed in the marketplace. Previously, Noel spent 19 years in Research & Development at PepsiCo and 18 years at General Foods/Kraft. After receiving his BS, MS, and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Massachusetts in Food Science and Nutrition Noel stayed actively engaged with the Food Science Department. Noel served on its Industrial Advisory Board for more than 20 years, with 16 years as its Chairperson. During this time the department raised over $12 million and its Graduate Program achieved the #1 ranking in the US. He received the UMass Amherst Alumni Association's Distinguished Service Award in 2011. Noel is also very active in the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT). He currently serves as the 2020-2021 president of the 13,000 member association and was elected as an IFT Fellow in 2010. Previously Noel served as a trustee and then chair of the Board of Trustees for Fe

Dr. John W. Spink is an assistant professor in the Department of Supply Chain Management at 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. In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to John [15:28] about: Ten years later: Defining food fraud Past food fraud events What falls under the umbrella of food fraud? The role of the Global Food S

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak with Vidya Ananth about the increasing emphasis on digitalization of food safety processes and recording-keeping and what the implications are for the food industry. Vidya Ananth is VP of Food Safety at Novolyze, where she leads Food Safety and Quality and its digitalization, Application Support, and Customer Success. As you are about to hear, she is extremely knowledgeable and has some great advice and thoughts to help you move forward with digitalizing your processes. Vidya has been in the food industry for over 25 years working with General Mills, The National Food Lab, Safeway, Clorox, and Kohana Coffee - making significant contributions in the areas of food safety, quality, and regulatory affairs with her main goal to bend the curve of foodborne illness globally. Vidya has helped small and large companies build effective Food Safety and Quality systems using risk-based prevention strategies and has helped build the food safety culture within these organiz

Wendy White is the Industry Manager for Food and Beverage for Georgia Tech’s Georgia Manufacturing Extension Program (GaMEP). She serves as GaMEP’s food safety expert to Georgia food businesses by providing educational outreach and aiding the improvement of food safety and quality systems.  Before joining academia in 2019, Wendy spent the first 17 years of her career in food manufacturing and distribution, most recently as a Corporate Director of Food Safety & Quality for Golden State Foods. Wendy received her BS in Biology at the University of Georgia and stayed to complete her MS in Food Science under the tutelage of Dr. Larry Beuchat. She has been a member of the IAFP since 2001 and has been deeply involved with many Professional Development Groups over the years.  In 2011, she was honored to receive the IAFP President’s Recognition Award from Dr. Lee-Ann Jakus. Wendy has presented at many industry conferences over the years and has published articles in the Journal of Food Protection and Food Safety

Ryk Lues, Ph.D., holds the positions of Professor of Food Safety and Director of the Centre for Applied Food Sustainability and Biotechnology (CAFSaB) at the Central University of Technology, Free State, South Africa. His main field of specialization involves social-behavioral aspects that impact food safety and organizational food safety culture. He serves on several national regulatory and legal advisory teams, acts as an expert witness, and has held the office of vice president of the South African Association of Food Science and Technology (SAAFoST). He is a National Research Foundation of South Africa-rated scientist. In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Ryk Lues [17:38] about: Evolution of food safety in Africa The 2017–2018 listeriosis outbreak in South Africa Realizing that food safety has a face and a name Consumer awareness of food safety The role of science in food safety A closer look at food regulations in Africa Making food safety culture more tangible The importance of risk mit

In this BONUS episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Leonard Mongiello (business development and sales manager) from the Industrial Fumigant Company (IFC) about best practices for keeping birds out of your facilities. In this BONUS episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to IFC about: Why birds at a food processing facility considered a problem Solutions available to control or exclude birds from your facility The cost of effective bird control methods and projects What can be done about bird droppings on the ground and surfaces Sponsored by: IFC    

Dr. Frank Busta is the director emeritus of the Food Protection & Defense Institute (formerly the National Center for Food Protection and Defense NCFPD) and professor emeritus of food microbiology at the University of Minnesota. He was named as the first director of the Food Protection & Defense Institute in 2004. Previously, he held faculty positions at the University of Minnesota, North Carolina State University, and the University of Florida. He served as chair of the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition from 1984 to 1987 at the University of Florida and head of the Department of Food Science & Nutrition, University of Minnesota, from 1987 to 1997. Dr. Busta’s research areas are in food safety, growth, and survival of microorganisms after environmental stress in food, microbial ecology, and food defense. He has published more than 125 refereed research papers. He has served as Chief Technology Advisor on a UNDP project in China on agri-processing within the WTO framework. He retired i

Dr. Michele Sayles has over 21 years of experience in Food Safety, Quality, and Food Microbiology. As I mentioned, Michele’s current role is Executive Director of Food Safety and Quality for Diamond Pet Foods.  Prior to joining Diamond, Michele was responsible for the Global Food Safety and Microbiology Program at Hill’s Pet Nutrition.  She has also held key Food Safety and Quality positions across various industries.  She was the Sr. Corporate Quality Assurance & Food Safety Manager for the Sara Lee Corporation; the Director of HACCP and Food Safety for Seaboard Foods; and Director of Pork Safety for the National Pork Board. Michele holds a Ph.D. in Food Microbiology from Oklahoma State University, a Master of Science degree from Kansas State University, and a Bachelor of Science degree from California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo.  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 hi