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 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 and molecular assay development. He has authored or co-authored over 20 peer-reviewed articles/book chapters. Vik has been awarded a patent on improving isothermal detection technology and has been recognized many times for his contributions to food safety.

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In this BONUS episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Michele Sayles, Ph.D. and Vik Dutta, Ph.D. about:

• Diamond Pet’s commitment to food safety
• Essential components of Diamond Pet’s environmental monitoring program
• How bioMerieux has helped Diamond Pet improved its environmental monitoring program
• Challenges faced improving an environmental monitoring program
• Communicating with upper management about food safety
• What to evaluate when looking for new solutions

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