Food Safety Magazine recently announced that Dane Bernard, M.Sc., and Reginald W. Bennett, M.Sc., will receive the magazine’s Distinguished Service Award at the 2017 annual meeting of the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP), July 9–12 in Tampa, FL.

Bernard, currently the managing director of Bold Bear Food Safety, and Bennett, senior policy analyst at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, will be presented with the award during the IAFP awards reception and banquet on Wednesday, July 12.

Bernard served as vice president of food safety and quality assurance at Keystone Foods until 2014. He was responsible for global programs on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) and food safety. Prior to joining Keystone, he was vice president of food safety for the National Food Processors Association, where he had worked since 1973. A registered specialist in food, dairy and sanitation microbiology with the American Academy of Microbiology, Bernard has done extensive testing of food processing systems, supervised research in many areas of food safety and has authored/coauthored several technical articles. He has been an instructor and lecturer on principles and applications of HACCP and has helped formulate HACCP plans for the U.S. food industry. Bernard has been invited as an expert to five International Consultations sponsored by the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization that dealt with certain aspects of HACCP, risk analysis and other food safety issues. He received an M.Sc. in food microbiology from University of Maryland, College Park.

Bennett began his career in microbiological research and policy in 1956 as a medical bacteriologist at Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA. He joined FDA in 1960 as a microbiologist in the Microbiology Division. From this point, he rose through the ranks to acting chief, Food and Cosmetic Microbiology Branch, to chief, Microbial Methods, Development Branch, and to his present position in the Office of Regulatory Science. Chief among his scientific contributions are his “methods development for the serological identification of heat-altered staphylococcal enterotoxin in canned foods” and “for development of methods to detect heat-altered staphylococcal enterotoxin and their use in ensuring food safety of canned foods.” Bennett has received numerous awards over the years. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and AOAC International, a member of the American Society for Microbiology, Institute of Food Technologists and the International Association for Food Protection. Bennett received an M.Sc. in microbiology from the University of Pittsburgh.

The Food Safety Magazine Distinguished Service Award honors individuals who best exemplify the characteristics of a dedicated food safety professional who has made a significant impact on food safety. The honored are recognized by members of the profession for their collective works in promoting and advancing science-based solutions for food safety issues.

Past recipients of the award include Larry Beuchat, Ph.D., Robert L. Buchanan, Ph.D., John N. Butts, Ph.D., Keith Ito, Allen Katsuyama, Connie Kirby, M.Sc., John W. Larkin, Ph.D., Huub Lelieveld, Barbara Masters, D.V.M., Ann Marie McNamara, Ph.D., William Sperber, Ph.D., Steve Taylor, Ph.D., David Theno, Ph.D., Bruce Tompkin, Ph.D., and Don L. Zink, Ph.D.

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