Home » Multimedia » Podcasts » Food Safety Matters » Ep. 31. Dane Bernard: Taking the Lead on HACCP
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.
Dane Bernard is currently the managing director of Bold Bear Food Safety where he offers consulting services. Prior to that, he served as the vice president of food safety and quality assurance at Keystone Foods until 2014. That role also included responsibilities over global programs on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) and food safety. Before that, Dane was the vice president of food safety for the National Food Processors Association (NFPA)—formerly the National Canners Association—an organization he joined in 1973.
Dane is a registered specialist in food, dairy, and sanitation microbiology with the American Academy of Microbiology. He has also done extensive testing of food processing systems, supervised research in many areas of food safety, and has authored/co-authored many technical articles. Dane has been an instructor and lecturer on principles and applications of HACCP and has helped to formulate HACCP plans for the U.S. food industry. He’s has been invited as an expert to five International Consultations—sponsored by the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization—that dealt with certain aspects of HACCP, risk analysis, and other food safety issues.
Dane received an M.Sc. in Food Microbiology from University of Maryland, College Park. Finally, Dane received the Food Safety Magazine Distinguished Service Award in 2017.
In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Dane about:
How he got started in the field of food microbiology so early
His 28 years with the National Food Processors Association
Working in the U.S. Army as a food inspector
His thoughts on the shift from HAACP to HARPC (Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls)
How HACCP regulations originated and evolved over the years
The importance of soft skills and learning to work with other divisions within a single organization
His time at Keystone Foods
What it takes to be a good, effective manager
The challenge of getting management to approve additional resources for food safety
Why he hasn't totally and officially retired yet
Where he thinks the food safety needs to focus in the near future
We also speak with Hilary Thesmar (Food Marketing Institute) and Marianne Gravely (U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service) and about:
The processes that retailers use to minimize cross-contamination and keep consumers safe from allergens
The importance of accurate labeling and making sure that every food product only contains ingredients listed on the label
Food allergen labels and what is not required for meat and poultry products regulated by FSIS
The complexities of allergen labeling for ingredients within a supply chain
Allergen labels that are—and are not—required for some food products
Messaging efforts that FMI and FSIS have in place for their respective audiences
About Hilary Thesmar
In her role as the chief food and product safety officer and senior vice president of food safety programs for the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), Dr. Thesmar provides leadership for all safety programs for FMI’s retail and wholesale members and provides support for members on food safety training programs, FSMA training, recall plans and management, crisis management, research, and overall safety and sanitation programs. Dr. Thesmar has a Ph.D. in food technology from Clemson University, an M.Sc. in human nutrition from Winthrop University, a B.Sc. in food science from Clemson, and she is a Registered Dietitian. She has over a decade of experience in scientific and regulatory affairs with food trade associations.
About Marianne Gravely
Marianne joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Meat and Poultry Hotline staff in 1988. As the senior technical information specialist, she provides consumers with safe food handling guidance daily through phone, live chat, and email inquiries and is one of the persons behind the USDA virtual representative “Ask Karen” answering food safety questions. She also researches and writes materials for the Food Safety Inspection Service website, and handles media inquiries. Marianne has a Bachelor of Science degree in home economics with an emphasis on foods and nutrition from Hood College in Frederick, MD. She received her M.Sc. in human nutrition and foods from Virginia Tech.
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.