Home » Multimedia » Podcasts » Food Safety Matters » Ep. 29. Sean Leighton: Where Business and Food Safety Meet
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.
Sean Leighton is the vice president of food safety and quality for Cargill, based in Wayzata, MN. In August 2018, Sean will be moving into the role of vice president corporate food safety, quality and regulatory for Cargill when Mike Robach retires.
Prior to joining Cargill, Sean worked for over 13 years at The Coca-Cola Company in various roles across quality, food safety, and environmental sustainability. He worked in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.
Sean has a B.Sc. in Bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Master of Science degree in Food Science from the University of Minnesota, and an MBA from Emory University.
Sean sits on the advisory board of many organizations, including the International Association for Food Protection's Journal of Food Protection, The Center for Food Safety (University of Georgia), the Grocery Manufacturers Association's Science & Education Foundation, and the Food Fraud Think Tank (Michigan State University).
Sean is also a member of the Food Safety Magazine Editorial Advisory Board.
In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Sean about:
Food safety vs. food quality culture
The difference between making safety decisions vs. quality decisions
How food safety and quality are sometimes at odds with other corporate departments and their business goals
Making the case for food safety when cost-benefit is at play
Building a food safety culture with the younger, millennial workforce, and dealing with quick turnover rates
Sean's thoughts on today's biggest food safety challenges
Connecting the dots between food safety, technology, finance, and all other parts of a business
How earning an MBA has shaped his career path
His mentors and influencers over the years
What he believes is the next big opportunity for food safety
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.