Dr. Scott Brooks is the owner of River Run Consulting, LLC, providing food safety, quality, scientific and regulatory affairs services for food and beverage companies in manufacturing, food service and retail. He is the former senior vice president of Quality, Food Safety, Scientific and Regulatory Affairs for Kraft Foods. Scott joined Kraft from PepsiCo, where he held the position of vice president of Global Food Safety, Scientific & Regulatory Affairs, and Quality Policy. He joined PepsiCo from Yum! Brands where he was Director of Global Food Safety and Quality Assurance. Scott also held senior quality, food safety and regulatory positions at Food Safety Net Services and at E&J Gallo. He started his career in food safety and quality with the U.S. Air Force as a public health officer and director of Air Force food safety programs.
Scott has a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Texas A&M University, as well as a Master’s degree in Food Science/Microbiology and a Master’s degree in Preventive Veterinary Medicine/Epidemiology, both from the University of California-Davis. He has served on numerous scientific boards and food industry advisory committees and was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to serve on the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods. Scott is Board Certified in Veterinary Preventive Medicine and is currently the Past President of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine where he influences national farm-to-table food safety policy and systems with colleagues from government, academia and industry.
In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Scott Brooks about:
His evolution from veterinary medicine to food safety
How Dave Theno influenced his career pathway
His time in the Air Force, including his food safety and bioterrorism responsibilities as a public health officer
Working with Yum Brands, the parent company of Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut
How the industry's focus on food safety changed after 9/11
Challenges food companies are faced with while balancing new regulations with ongoing requirements
Tips to prepare for food plant inspections
Advice on how to advocate for more (or better) food safety resources
Top challenges facing the food safety industry
Differences between food safety at the corporate level vs. at the plant level
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Joseph Corby worked for the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets for 37 years, ultimately retiring in 2008 as the director of the Division of Food Safety and Inspection. He is currently the executive director of the Association of Food & Drug Officials (AFDO), and he serves on the Board of Directors for the International Food Protection Training Institute (IFPTI) and the Partnership for Food Safety Education. He is also an Instructor for IFPTI, Louisiana State University, and the University of Tennessee. He has been an outspoken advocate for the advancement of a nationally integrated food safety system and continues to work with numerous groups and associations in support of this cause.
In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Joe Corby about:
The role of AFDO, its history, accomplishments, government relationships, and resources the organization offers to the industry.
AFDO involvement with creating an integrated food safety system in the U.S.
AFDO's Directory of State and Local Officials, an interactive tool the industry can use to find the proper contacts when a problem occurs
Increased focus on manufactured foods now that FSMA is in place
FDA's recent adoption of a more education-based approach to their compliance regulations
What if you could easily trend all food safety and quality data across your operations? Monitor performance and process control in real time? Efficiently track, measure, and report yield, waste, and operational KPIs? Quickly see your supplier performance and risks? You can with SafetyChain Analytics. Part of SafetyChain’s integrated Food Safety & Quality Management solution offerings, this powerful management tool delivers the visibility, knowledge, and control to better manage operations. SafetyChain Analytics transforms food safety and quality records into real-time data intelligence that improves everyday business decisions, operational performance, and your bottom line.
About Don Schaffner
Dr. Donald W. Schaffner is Distinguished Professor and Extension Specialist in Food Science at Rutgers University. He has published over 150 peer reviews papers on a variety of topics including handwashing, cross-contamination, quantitative microbial risk assessment and predictive food microbiology. Dr. Schaffner has served on a variety of national and international expert committees, including service to U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization. He is active in several scientific associations including the International Association for Food Protection where he is a past-president. He holds a B.S. in Food Science from Cornell University and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Food Science and Technology from the University of Georgia. Don co-hosts a podcast—Food Safety Talk—on microbial food safety.
Would you like to tell us what you think about Food Safety Matters so far? Do you have a suggestion on who we should interview? Are there hot topics you'd like us to cover? Email us at podcast@foodsafetymagazine.com.
Steve L. Taylor, Ph.D. currently serves as a professor in the Department of Food Science & Technology and founder and co-director of the Food Allergy Research & Resource Program (FARRP) at the University of Nebraska. Dr. Taylor received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in food science and technology from Oregon State University and his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of California - Davis. Dr. Taylor maintains an active research program in the area of food allergies.
Dr. Taylor initiated his professional interest in food allergies and sensitivities in 1980. His primary research interests involve the development of methods for the detection of residues of allergenic foods, the determination of the minimal eliciting doses for specific allergenic foods and their use in quantitative risk assessment, the assessment of the allergenicity of ingredients derived from allergenic sources, and the assessment of the allergenicity of foods produced through agricultural biotechnology. Dr. Taylor is heavily involved in outreach to the food industry on food allergies and sensitivities and has helped countless companies on a wide range of allergen-related topics.
In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Steve Taylor about:
Why the number of food allergen recalls in the U.S. appears to be climbing
How U.S. regulations continue to lag behind in terms of setting allergy thresholds
The discrepancy between consumer allergy management and the U.S. healthcare system
The development of allergies in infants vs. adults, and how food allergies are less common outside the U.S.
Why allergy avoidance is not always the best treatment for consumers with perceived food allergies
Immunotherapies, mass spectrometry, and other forms of allergy treatment currently undergoing research
His industry work and ongoing research with detection methods, and his involvement with Food Allergy Research & Education, and FARRP at the University of Nebraska
Thoughts on how the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could help alleviate problems related to food allergens and product labeling
The correlation between gluten-free foods and food allergens
Whether or not food processors should have dedicated processing lines for foods made with allergenic ingredients
Food Allergen Handbook and Best Practices for Food Allergen Validation & Verification Request
These food allergen handbooks were created in collaboration with the University of Nebraska’s Food Allergy Research and Resource Program (FARRP) to help companies understand and develop food allergen controls. Topics covered include:
Food Allergen Handbook
Why test for food allergens?
Testing methods and how they work
Sampling guidelines
Best Practices for Food Allergen Validation & Verification
Lone Jespersen is a principal at Cultivate, an organization dedicated to helping food manufacturers globally make safe, great tasting food through cultural effectiveness. Lone has significant experience with food manufacturing, having previously spent 11 years with Maple Leaf Foods. Following the tragic event in 2008 when Maple Leaf products claimed 23 Canadian lives, Lone lead the execution of the Maple Leaf Foods, food safety strategy and its operations learning strategy.
Prior to that, Lone worked for Woodbridge Foam as the engineering and operations manager responsible for the safety and quality of automobile safety products. Lone holds a Master's degree in mechanical engineering from Syd Dansk University, Denmark, a Master of food science from the University of Guelph, Canada and is presently pursuing her Ph.D. on Culture Enabled Food Safety with Dr. Mansel Griffiths at the University of Guelph, Canada.
Lone currently serves as chair of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) technical working group on Food Safety Culture, a group dedicated to characterizing and quantifying food safety culture across the global food industry from farm to fork.
In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Lone Jespersen about:
Her time at Maple Leaf Foods when a Listeria monocytogenes outbreak claimed the lives of 23 Canadians.
Moving forward and how Maple Leaf Foods transformed their entire food safety approach.
The elaborate 4-tier food safety program implemented at Maple Leaf Foods.
Elevating the importance of food safety culture within a business.
How trade associations can help to enforce the impact that food safety really has.
Her involvement with the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI).
The Food Safety Magazine 2017 series on food safety culture and how every sector within the food industry can benefit from reading the series.
Roka Bioscience has partnered with Primus Laboratories and Azzule Systems to deliver another impactful, practical and free webinar on June 28th at 2:00 PM EST.
Food Safety Pixels to Pictures: Sharpening the Food Safety Picture with Actionable Data, this webinar will provide a step by step review of the importance of building a foundation with accurate data, a trusted lab partner, as well as how data management solutions can bring all the data into focus. It will also include a real-world application to show how this is being used to navigate the new regulatory landscape.
Larry Keener has a long record of involvement, both nationally and internationally, with food industry issues. He is the current vice president and co-chair of the Austrian-based Global Harmonization Initiative, an organization founded in 2004 to promote harmonization of food safety legislation and regulations. He is president and chief executive officer of Seattle-based International Product Safety Consultants, Inc.—a global leader in providing food safety and food technology solutions to the food processing industry for a broad client base of Fortune 500 food companies, academic research institutes, and government agencies. Also, Larry has written and published more than 100 scientific papers and numerous book chapters on food safety, microbiology, and process validation. He is a frequently invited speaker to the food industry, business and scientific conferences, workshops, and seminars.
Larry is an internationally regarded microbiologist and process authority in the food industry, and frequently works with food companies in this capacity to communicate the processor's regulatory responsibilities, assess risk and adequacy of controls for entire processing operations from raw materials receipt to finished product storage and distribution, and provide advice and direction with regard to regulatory impact and food safety risk that changes in operations might cause. As such, his areas of expertise range from applied food microbiology and sanitation methods, the development and application of thermal and non-thermal processing and preservation technologies, including high-pressure processing, microwave and pulsed electric field, high-powered ultrasound and design and implementation of food safety management and control systems and strategies.
Finally, Food Safety Magazine is proud to have Larry as a member of our editorial advisory board.
In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Larry Keener about:
His leadership role with the Global Harmonization Initiative
Four cutting-edge technologies in food processing
How regulatory agencies react to new food processing and manufacturing technologies
What it's like working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Food Safety Inspection Service when presenting new food processing methods and technologies
How many of you are in manufacturing? Understanding your role in making food safe
Acceptance of hygienic facility design
Larry's thoughts on the possibility of reduced government funding for food safety initiatives
David M. Theno, Ph.D., is currently CEO of Gray Dog Partners, Inc., a Del Mar, a California-based technical consulting business specializing in food safety, food manufacturing, restaurant operations, supply chain management and strategic planning.
Theno is most widely known for the role he assumed with Jack in the Box (JIB) after the fast-food chain experienced a tragic and massive foodborne illness outbreak in 1993. He joined the team as JIB's senior vice president and chief food safety officer, developing a comprehensive Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points plan for the chain, as well as a finished product testing protocol that initially irked his former meat industry colleagues.
Theno also held previous food safety and quality management roles with Foster Farms, Kellogg’s, Armour Food Company and Peter Eckrich & Sons, Inc. He holds a B.Sc. in zoology and science journalism from Iowa State University and earned both M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in food microbiology and animal sciences from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
We regret to share that Dave Theno passed away unexpectedly as a result of a swimming accident on June 20, 2017. Dave's generous offer to have listeners call him was 100% genuine -- and an example of the important role of mentor that he so completely embodied. You can read more about how the industry remembered Dave Theno in the tribute in our August/September 2017 issue.
