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Food Safety Matters
Food Safety Matters is a podcast for food safety professionals hosted by the Food Safety Magazine editorial team – the leading media brand in food safety for over 20 years. Each episode will feature a conversation with a food safety professional sharing their experiences and insights of the important job of safeguarding the world’s food supply.
In this special BONUS episode of Food Safety Matters, we focus on the topic of blockchain and how it can be used within the food industry.
You will learn all about what exactly blockchain is, its history, and how it can be applied to our food supply chain.
To help us better understand blockchain's use in the food sector, our editorial director, Barbara Van Renterghem, spoke with two experts from FoodLogiQ.
Katy Jones is the chief marketing officer at FoodLogiQ. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a master’s degree in data marketing communications from West Virginia University.
Charles Irizarry is the chief technology officer at FoodLogiQ. He oversees technology efforts and core company building activities at FoodLogiQ. His experience includes managing sophisticated, multi-disciplinary technology teams, having launched over 20 different platforms and products across multiple businesses and industries. With a background in distributed computing systems and cloud-based software architectures, Charles is currently focused on innovation in the areas of natural language processing, machine learning, and real-time computational networks. He has a bachelor’s degree from Florida International University in business management and marketing.
FoodLogiQ, together with a select group of customers, recently announced the launch of a Blockchain pilot. AgBiome Innovations, Subway®- Independent Purchasing Cooperative, Testo, Tyson Foods and others are partnering with FoodLogiQ to test the application of blockchain to raise transparency within their own supply chains.
In this episode, we speak to FoodLogiQ about:
The history and concept behind blockchain technology
How and why more people, companies, and industries are investing in blockchain, even if prematurely
How blockchain could potentially impact and benefit the food industry
"Public" vs. "permissioned" blockchains
FoodLogiQ's blockchain pilot
How blockchain might play a role in boosting consumer confidence in a time of many foodborne illness outbreaks and food product recalls
How food suppliers, manufacturers, and operators can prepare for blockchain
James (Jim) Jones joined the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in September 2023 as the agency's first Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods. In this position, he leads the charge in setting and advancing priorities for a proposed, unified Human Foods Program, which includes food safety, chemical safety, and nutrition activities. He currently oversees the leadership of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) and the Office of Food Policy and Response (OFPR), until the proposed Human Foods Program reorganization is implemented.
Robert (Bob) Manning, M.B.A., M.S., M.E.M., has worked in the food and beverage industry for over 25 years in various facility and senior corporate positions. He is currently CEO of Liquid, and formerly worked as Vice President of Technical Operations at Niagara Bottling. He has spent most of his time in Operations and Quality roles for large companies such as HP Hood LLC, Campbell's Soup, and Niagara Bottling, as well as consulting for major domestic and international firms.
Brittany Sambol is the Vice President of Operations at Wildtype Foods, where she is responsible for leading the scale-up of the company’s operations function, including product commercialization and manufacturing facility expansion. Prior to joining Wildtype, Brittany spent six years at Clif Bar & Company, leading in various areas including supply chain and contract manufacturing management, product innovation and scale-up, and sustainable packaging development. Earlier in her career, Brittany worked as a chemical engineer and then spent over 12 years directly leading manufacturing operations in the CPG industry.
Khyati Shah, Ph.D. is an esteemed molecular biologist with a distinguished career spanning over ten years in the development and promotion of innovative pathogen testing of products for the food and beverage industry. Serving as a global product manager for the Food and Beverage segment of the Life Sciences business of MilliporeSigma, Dr. Shah is instrumental in creating and spearheading the product roadmap for the cultured meat and alternative protein business. With MilliporeSigma's strong focus on providing research and development (R&D) to scale-up solutions in this emerging industry, Dr. Shah enables cost-effective, sustainable, and efficient supply chain solutions to bring cultured meat and seafood products to market.
Jason Richardson, Ph.D. is the Vice President of Global Quality and Food Safety of The Coca-Cola Company, a position he has held since January 2021. In this role, Jason leads a team of quality and food safety professionals who are accountable for delivering global strategic and operational leadership for the performance and progress of quality and food safety programs across the Coca-Cola system.
Brian Ronholm, M.A.,is the Director of Food Policy for Consumer Reports, where he leads advocacy efforts to advance a safe and healthy food system. He was in public service prior to joining Consumer Reports, having served as Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and before that, as a congressional staff person for Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut.
Natalie Dyenson, M.P.H. is the Chief Food Safety and Regulatory Officer for the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA). She has nearly three decades of experience in food safety that encompasses the entire produce supply chain, from farm to fork. In her role at IFPA, Natalie and her team actively work to guide the industry on food safety issues and connect with regulators and policymakers to advocate for a science-focused and risk-based approach to food safety worldwide.