Name: Food Safety Culture in Restaurants and Grocery Stores: Beyond Theoretical
Start: 2023-06-20T14:00:00-04:00
End: 2024-06-20T00:00:00-04:00

The Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) surveyed leading restaurant, grocery, and convenience store brands to understand the current state of food safety culture and Food Safety Management Systems (FSMSs). The resulting data set was rich, and novel understandings emerged that illuminated best practices and opportunities to improve. Speaker Mick Miklos was the lead consultant for AFDO on this project and coordinated the survey on AFDO's behalf.

In this webinar, this expert panel will focus on the restaurant and grocery store perspectives. Food safety thought leaders representing those stakeholder groups will stimulate attendees to ponder how their brands are either superior to or deficient from the behaviors revealed by their colleagues in the survey. Attendees will walk away with actual strategies to immediately improve food safety culture at their organizations.

From this webinar, attendees will learn:

The current state of food safety culture and FSMSs in restaurants and grocery stores, as surveyed by AFDO
How their own brands might be either superior to or deficient from the behaviors revealed by their colleagues
Strategies to immediately improve food safety culture at their organizations

Speakers:

Al Baroudi, Ph.D, Vice President of Quality Assurance and Food Safety, The Cheesecake Factory. Dr. Al Baroudi is a premier food scientist who lectures around the globe on food safety and has been a keynote speaker at many conferences and meetings. He has conducted workshops, published whitepapers, and introduced HACCP programs to developing countries on behalf of the U.S. government. He has also appeared on several TV and radio talk shows as a food safety expert, and has authored many food safety articles in various food magazines. In 2008, Dr. Baroudi joined The Cheesecake Factory as Vice President of Quality Assurance and Food Safety. Prior to his work at The Cheesecake Factory, he had experience with Borden Foods, Vons/Safeway Supermarkets, Harry & David, Yum! Brands, and the Food Safety Institute International (FSI). He is also a member of the Educational Advisory Board (EAB) of the Food Safety Summit. Dr. Baroudi holds a Ph.D. in Food Processing and Technology/Regulatory Affairs from the Ohio State University and an M.S. degree in Food Science and Technology/Microbiology from the University of California–Davis.

Jeff Edelen, Vice President of Retail Food Safety, Whole Foods. Jeff Edelen is the Vice President of Retail Food Safety at Whole Foods Market in Austin, Texas, where he leads a talented team of food safety professionals dedicated to customer obsession and Team Member growth, while focusing on the company’s mission to “nourish our people and our planet.” Jeff is passionate about food safety culture, engagement, and accountability working together to provide an exceptional work and shopping experience. Jeff previously held positions at Amazon as Senior Manager, Food Safety and enjoyed a 25-year career at The Kroger Co. in various roles including store management, merchandising, operations, and Senior Manager, Food Safety and Regulatory Compliance. He also served on many committees in the state of Kentucky including Chairman, Food Safety Task Force; and Vice President, President-elect, and President of the Kentucky Association of Milk, Food, and Environmental Sanitarians. He is also a member of the International Association of Food Protection (IAFP). Jeff holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from University of Louisville. He is also a Certified Professional in Food Safety through the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA).

Mark (Mick) Miklos, CP-FS, Advisory Partner, Active Food Safety LLC. Mick is a Partner at Active Food Safety LLC, a consultancy that helps develop effective food safety management programs and tactical tools for food businesses. Prior to joining Active Food Safety in 2020, Mr. Miklos spent seven years at the National Restaurant Association where, as Director, he was responsible for the Association's food safety and quality assurance programming. Prior to the National Restaurant Association, he worked for 18 years with Waffle House Inc. as Vice President of Food Safety and Training, responsible for food safety solutions and implementation at over 1,600 locations in 26 states. He has been active with the Conference for Food Protection (CFP), has served on several National Environmental Health Association (NEHA), National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), and AFDO committees, and was a charter member of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Restaurant Food Safety Partnership workgroup. Mr. Miklos holds bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of South Carolina and is a Certified Professional in Food Safety (CP-FS) through NEHA.

Moderator: Adrienne Blume, Editorial Director, Food Safety Magazine

Sponsored By: