Dr. David Acheson, is the founder and CEO of The Acheson Group and brings more than 30 years of medical and food safety research and experience to provide strategic advice as well as recall and crisis management support to food companies and ancillary technology companies on a global basis on all matters relating to food safety and food defense.
 
David graduated from the University of London Medical School and practiced internal medicine and infectious diseases in the United Kingdom until 1987 when he moved to the New England Medical Center and became an Associate Professor at Tufts University in Boston, studying the molecular pathogenesis of foodborne pathogens.
 
Prior to forming The Acheson Group, David served as the Chief Medical Officer at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service and then joined the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the Chief Medical Officer at the FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN). After serving as the director of CFSAN’s Office of Food Defense, Communication, and Emergency Response, David was appointed as the Assistant and then Associate Commissioner for Foods, which provided him an agency-wide leadership role for all food and feed issues and the responsibility for the development of the 2007 Food Protection Plan, which served as the basis for many of the authorities granted to FDA by the Food Safety Modernization Act.
 
From 2009 to 2013, he was a partner at Leavitt Partners where he managed Leavitt Partners Global Food Safety Solutions. 

David has published extensively and is internationally recognized both for his public health expertise in food safety and his research in infectious diseases. He is a sought-after speaker and regular guest on national news programs. He serves on a variety of boards and food safety advisory groups of several major food manufacturers.

David was previously a guest on Food Safety Matters – episodes 12 and 45.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to David [11:31] about:

• Classifying RTE foods and how consumer behavior plays a critical role
• Challenges related to messaging and marketing tactics displayed on consumer packaging and how it can interfere with food safety perception
• Consumer vs. manufacturer responsibility when foodborne illness occurs
• How food processing trends, consumer behaviors, and regulations intertwine
• Steps a company can take to determine if their product is truly RTE
• Why consistently negative swabbing results is not a good thing
• How FDA responds to positive contamination findings in a plant
• The challenges associated with drilling down traceability to the item level
• Romaine lettuce and why leafy greens are such a tricky commodity
• Salmonella and the likelihood that it may officially become an adulterant

David Acheson's Contributions to Food Safety Magazine
Managing Risks in the Global Supply Chain 
What Have We Learned about FSMA Implementation? 
Are All Salmonella Created Equal?
New Directions in Food Protection  

​Resource:
Blog: What Does Marler's Salmonella Citizen Petition Mean to You?

News Mentioned in This Episode
USA Today: Inspections, Citations, Recalls Slashed: Coronavirus is Testing America's Food Safety Net [4:17]
LGMA: Work Underway to Further Strengthen Food Safety Practices for Leafy Greens [9:19]
LeafyGreenGuidance.com 
World Food Safety Day 2020 Online Event Hosted by Nuno Soares

Chris McGarvey is the Director of the Regulatory and Compliance Team for Walker Morris LLP in the UK. He has more than 25 years of experience working in both the private and public sector, and has a track record of helping clients navigate complex legal challenges in areas of highly regulated economic activity. Chris specializes in food law and led the Food Standards Agency's (FSA's) Legal Team through Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, and supply chain challenges associated with the Ukraine conflict. Chris' typical clients are Directors, Senior Managers, and specialists, particularly food scientists, who demand quick, accessible, and accurate advice. His work often has national reach and spans all four nations of the UK.

Kye Luker serves as the Chief Product Officer at FlexXray, where he leads development of the company's innovative X-ray inspection process and technology. With more than two decades of experience in the service, consumer packaged goods (CPG), and food and beverage industries, Kye brings a wealth of knowledge in continuous improvement, quality assurance, and formulations to his role.

Richard (Rick) Stier, M.S. is a consulting food scientist who has helped food processors develop safety, quality, and sanitation programs. He believes in emphasizing the importance of how these programs can help companies increase profits. Rick comes from a family background in food science, with the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) establishing an award in his mother's name—the Humanitarian Award for Service to the Science of Food in honor of Elizabeth Fleming Stier. Rick holds degrees in food science from Rutgers University and the University of California at Davis. He is also a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Food Safety Magazine.

Claire Sand, Ph.D. is a global packaging leader with 40 years of experience in food science and packaging. As founder of Packaging Technology and Research LLC, her mission is to enable a more sustainable food system by advancing innovations that extend food shelf life and reduce waste.

Dr. Sand specializes in leading cross-functional teams, developing technology strategies, and creating implementation roadmaps for complex packaging challenges across the value chain. With over 150 publications to her credit, she is a regular contributor to leading food science and packaging publications and has held adjunct faculty positions at Michigan State University and California Polytechnic State University.

Kathleen Sanzo, J.D. is Co-Chair of Morgan Lewis' life sciences industry team. She centers her practice on regulatory and compliance issues connected to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-regulated products. She leads and counsels clients on all legal and regulatory issues concerning food, dietary supplements, and cosmetic product manufacture, approval, marketing, and distribution; food, drug, and device compliance and enforcement matters; and consumer product issues regulated by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and state enforcement agencies, among other areas. A frequent author and co-author on publications related to FDA matters, Kathleen regularly speaks on these issues at industry events. She serves as Vice Chair of the Consumer Product Regulation Committee of the American Bar Association Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice, and is a member of the Food and Drug Law Institute's Medical Products Committee.

Campbell Mitchell, M.B.A. is Head of Food Safety and Compliance for Kraft Heinz North America. He has more than 30 years of international experience in food safety, quality management, and risk mitigation. Prior to joining Kraft Heinz, Campbell served as Vice President of Quality and Safety at Fairlife LLC, a $4-billion Coca-Cola-owned dairy brand. He has also held senior leadership roles with Kerry Group and Almarai in the Middle East. Additionally, he founded a consultancy that supported Tiger Brands in Africa.