Bala Kottapalli, Ph.D.
Senior Director, Food Safety
T. Marzetti Company

Dr. Balasubrahmanyam (Bala) Kottapalli is the Senior Director of Food Safety at T. Marzetti, where he leads strategic initiatives in food safety, microbiology, and corporate sanitation. Previously, he served as Senior Director of Global Food Safety at Walmart, where he established a Global Food Safety Science Center of Excellence supporting both domestic and international markets. He has also held key leadership roles in food safety, microbiology, and regulatory affairs at Conagra Brands, Mondelēz International, and the Institute for Environmental Health, Inc. (IEH Laboratories).

Bala holds a Ph.D. in Food Safety and an M.S. in Cereal Science from North Dakota State University, as well as an M.S. in Applied Statistics from Penn State University. He earned his B.S. in Dairy Engineering/Technology from Osmania University in India. Bala previously served on the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) and currently serves on the editorial boards of leading scientific journals, including the Journal of Food Protection and Applied and Environmental Microbiology. With over 20 years of experience in the food industry, Bala brings proven experience in managing food safety across manufacturing, distribution centers, supply chains, and e-commerce platforms through a science-based, data-driven approach.