Request Expert / Similar Expert
Click “request expert” for a free initial screening call with this expert or a similar expert regarding your expert consulting needs
Summary
This Fractional Food Safety & Regulatory Consultant is a distinguished figure in the food industry, celebrated for his extensive strategic experience that spans across various sectors including conventional, natural, organic, functional, and specialty foods, as well as human and animal nutritional dietary supplements. He has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to revolutionizing the world of foods by offering consumers superior differentiated choices. This Fractional Food Safety & Regulatory Consultants expertise in food safety, quality assurance, ingredients, and defense is paralleled by his deep knowledge in natural standards, regulatory issues and educational initiatives. His ability to convert creative brainstorming into tangible successful programs and teams is lauded as one of his unique strengths. He has had successes with start-ups, mid-range companies, and large multinationals and is co-owner of a startup in Missouri. This Fractional Food Safety & Regulatory Consultant effectively communicates technical and regulatory issues and operations issues to nontechnical team members, intellectual property experts and regulatory attorneys. He leads groups to innovative solutions to difficult problems. His wholistic view and attention to details is often looked to for collaborative projects and especially developing a culture of food safety and Team Building.
Highlights
- 35+ Years of Professional Food Safety
- Broad Range of Food and Nutritional Supplement Experience
- Business Execution, Especially for Startups
- Process Analysis Sanitary/Hygienic Design
- Team Building/Culture Creator
- Expert at Development and implementation of Food Safety and Quality Programs
- Regulatory Experience in Multiple Product Categories
- Contract Manufacturing, Ingredients
- HACCP, PCQI, SQF Practitioner
- Regulatory Liaison (FDA, USDA, local health departments)
Relevant Accomplishments
Company / Industry Experience Director, Food Safety and Quality –Missouri Prime Beef Packers – December 2020 – July 2021
Pleasant Hope, MO
Developed, managed and implemented industry leading food safety, quality, food defense programs to re-open a 750 head per day beef harvest and fabrication facility. Developed and implemented all prerequisite programs including but not limited to Animal Welfare, Pest Control, Sanitation, labels, specifications, environmental monitoring, pathogen testing, antimicrobial interventions. Gained all label approvals, developed relationships with customers resulting in immediate supplier approval status. Developed Food Safety System that resulted in no positive pathogen results and significantly reduced liability and recall insurance rates. Implemented rapid diagnostic programs, web based food safety and regulatory program, hired and trained food safety and quality staff. Collaborated with plant leadership to develop and implement all programs developing a complete culture of food safety.
Third party audits and results were as follows:
Good Manufacturing Practice (FSNS) 100%
Safe Quality Foods (FSNS) 96%
Humane Handling (Plant and Transportation) 100%
Certified Humane 100%
N60 Pathogen Sampling 100%
Specified Risk Materials (SRM) 100%
All customer audits and additional audits were passed with no findings.
VP Food Safety and Quality/Partner – Republic Foods –October 2019- Current
Lone Jack, MO
Developed, managed and implemented industry leading food safety, quality, food defense programs to re-open a 750 head per day beef harvest and fabrication facility. Developed and implemented all prerequisite programs including but not limited to Animal Welfare, Pest Control, Sanitation, labels, specifications, environmental monitoring, pathogen testing, antimicrobial interventions. Gained all label approvals, developed relationships with customers resulting in immediate supplier approval status.
VP Food Safety and Quality/Partner – Iowa Food Group –October 2018- October 2019
Cherokee Iowa
Developed, managed and implemented industry leading food safety, quality, food defense programs to re-open a 300k square foot multi-species further processing facility. Developed and implemented all prerequisite programs including but not limited to Animal Welfare, Pest Control, Sanitation, labels, specifications, environmental monitoring, pathogen testing, antimicrobial interventions. Gained all label approvals, developed relationships with customers resulting in immediate supplier approval status.
Regional Director – Specialty Meat & Seafood Companies (SSMC/SSSC), Corporate Boxed Beef & Bulk Ground Beef and European Imports -2011-2018
Sysco Corporation, Houston, TX
Developed and managed support/evaluation programs and inspection/audit procedures to ensure compliance of Sysco Branded products to specifications in the Sysco Specialty Meat Company (SSMC), Sysco Specialty Seafood Company (SSSC) and fresh Beef categories. Participated with SSMC/SSSC and Sysco Merchandising Services (SMS) Business Center personnel in the ongoing development, improvement and support of new and existing Sysco Branded products in the SSMC/SSSC and fresh Beef categories. Managed Quality Assurance execution of source supplier approval, product sourcing functions and integration with all product sourcing activities for SSMC/SSSC and fresh Beef categories.
Responsibilities:
Integrated SSMC/SSSC QA FTE’s and Plant Mangers to implement all applicable SSMC/SSSC Food Safety HACCP and pre-requisite programs such as Supplier Approval, Recall & Trace Ability, Sanitation SSOP’s, GMP’s, Foreign Material Control, Pest Control, Chemical Control, and Food Defense. Integrated SSMC/SSSC QA FTEs and Plant Operations Management to implement all applicable Food Safety and Quality Assurance programs for the category, and provide feedback and direction to Plant QA FTEs to ensure effective execution. Performed and trained others to complete Initial Facility Audits and Routine Audits of potential Sysco Branded suppliers and Raw Material providers to SSMC/SSSC in the category. Completed Annual Audits of all brand and Co-Packing facilities. Initiated routine product and packaging evaluations of Sysco Branded SSMC/SSSC and Beef products, approved Sysco brand suppliers, and/or approved Raw Material providers for the SSMC/SSSC and evaluate results to benchmark for improvement. Completed routine plant visits to the Sysco Branded Suppliers and SSMC/SSSCs and their Co-Packers to evaluate Sysco Brand products, verify compliance to established SOP’s for Food Safety & Quality Programs, develop and improve Food Safety & Quality Programs. Supported SSMC/SSSCs during CFIA, FDA and/or USDA Regulatory Inspections (ex. CFIA/FSIS Daily Inspections, CFIA Verification Audits, FSIS FSAs, FDA Seafood Audits, NSSP Audits, etc.), MUA Customer Audits and/or Inspections and SQF Audits. Supported category products through technical services support to customers, prospective customers and academic/industry support entities. Participated in the development of potential new products in the category. Executed annual evaluations of category products to benchmark for quality and establish improvement objectives. Provides written and/or verbal feedback to SSMC/SSSC Plant QA FTE and Plant Managers for areas of improvement and supports training and development of Plant QA FTE technical and/or interpersonal skills. Completed any other essential job functions as assigned by supervisor. Managed, directed and developed food safety and quality programs for 30 company-owned meat, poultry, and seafood further processors and European Imports Division across North America and the Bahamas. Lead company-owned processing facilities toward achieving GFSI certification at all locations. Traveled to conduct routine on-site food safety audits and assessments of suppliers and company-owned establishments, to include animal welfare requirements, of slaughter and further processing establishments. Collaborated with sales during customer presentations. Lead and assisted routine sensory evaluations of meat, poultry, seafood, and other food products. Maintained database of required documentation for a global network of suppliers and co-packers. Developed Food Defense programs, Rapid Laboratory programs, Raw material and finished product specifications. Served as the regulatory liaison for Sysco-owned specialty meat companies across North America and the Bahamas. Conducted food safety and animal welfare training and outreach presentations for internal staff, suppliers, and other interested parties. Lead in the development and implementation of animal welfare programs and policies as they pertained to red meat animal products.
Senior Food Safety and Defense Officer – 2008 – 2011
Headquarters, US Army Veterinary Command, San Antonio, TX
Coordinates, standardizes and supervises food defense programs at over 700 US and overseas communities. Responsible for developing policies, training and implementation of military food defense programs. Act as liaison with academia and other federal, state and local agencies. Responsibility included food safety, quality, and protection of Department of Defense food purchases exceeding $13.5 billion. Managed and executed the risk based inspection of more than 4500 retail food facilities including one of the world’s largest grocery chains (Defense Commissary Agency), name brand fast food restaurants such as Burger King, Popeye’s, Baskin Robbins, Charlie’s, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, etc.) retail food outlets, military restaurants, clubs, food storage warehouses and depots) and supply chains. Performed countless food vulnerability assessments, developing successful mitigation strategies for installations and special events (up to 63k personnel) hosting dignitaries to include the President of the United States Founding member of U.S. Army Veterinary Command’s Food Defense Program
Assisted in securing $1.4 million in additional funding for food defense program management First food defense auditor assigned to Department of Defense (DoD) multidisciplinary antiterrorism and force protection higher headquarters assessment teams Regularly performed internal and external food safety and defense assessment of both partners and customers Developed the adopted methodology to process and collect data to assess the ability and efficacy of a military installation to execute food protection programs, many with populations of more than 30K personnel supporting 250k and property valued in the billions of dollars. Prepared and presented executive-level program status briefings, presentations and reports. Developed and implemented the adopted food vulnerability assessment methodology and auditor training/credentialing program Co-developed and trained the DoD adopted food safety and defense auditing handbook, standard and associated appendices Recommended cost-effective vulnerability mitigation measures to protect military personnel and families from “all-hazard” threats in resource-constrained environments at 140 military installations worldwide Contributed expertise to creation and revision of multiple DOD and Army Regulations and SOPs pertaining to public health and food defense operations/programs. Developed programs and databases for reporting systemic food protection and trend tracking issues. Developed the adopted food defense “workbook” for military installation food vulnerability assessors. This standardized and allowed direct comparison and trend tracking based on established benchmarks of findings between installations and similar food activities. Trained and credentialed more than 390 military Installation Food Defense Program Managers
Senior Instructor and Writer JUN 2007 – 2011
Army Medical Department Center and School San Antonio, TX
Senior Instructor and curriculum writer, Department of Veterinary Science, Academy of Health Sciences; Primary instructor/writer of food safety, food defense, food protection, auditing for allergens, threat, criticality, and vulnerability assessment (CARVER, MSHARPP, CARVER+Shock, etc) as part of risk management, plan/program development and emerging technologies for all military occupational specialty, leadership and functional courses. I served as an advisor for food safety and defense to the Branch Chief and Veterinary Service Director. Developed Food Defense policy and doctrine for Department of Defense Veterinary Service Activity (the DoD executive agent for veterinary programs). Trained and advised instructors in food safety and defense as well as various food science topics. He developed programs of instruction, course curriculum and practical exercises for Veterinary Corps Officer and Enlisted courses. Researched, developed and reviewed instructional materials for technical accuracy. He was designated as the subject matter expert in food defense and risk based vulnerability assessment for the Army Veterinary Service and frequently sought out as an instructor, assessor, lecturer and contributor. He regularly performed training and status briefings to multi-disciplinary executive, mid management and basic level food safety and defense courses to Army Veterinarians, Food Safety Officers and Food Inspection Personnel, Preventive Medicine, Antiterrorism, Force Protection personnel and Military Dieticians. Developed, food safety and defense curricula, lesson plans, programs of instruction (POI), hands-on testing, and scenario based practical exercises as the Department of Defense subject matter expert. More than 1500 students taught to date. Assisted in developing Food Safety and Quality laboratory screening tables adopted by the DoD.
Instructor, Michigan State University JUN 2007 – 2015
Currently teaching Michigan State University’s Graduate level food safety and defense courses to MS, MPH, DVM and PhD candidates in the College of Veterinary Medicine
Chief, Food Safety, Defense and Quality Assurance JUN 2003 – JUN 2006
Northern Europe Veterinary Detachment Darmstadt Germany
Directed, managed and executed food safety and defense programs. Directed and managed auditing teams for more than 140 commercial food suppliers in 22 European and African countries providing more than 2 billion dollars of subsistence to the Department of Defense annually. Directed and credentialed food safety and defense auditors, quality auditing teams, and regulatory inspectors in three European countries. Served as Liaison between the DoD and federal food safety partners (USDA, FDA, industry, academia, etc.) Worked with contracting agencies to select and approve commercial food suppliers. Responsible for all food safety, defense and regulatory activities at internal name brand production facilities serving military activities in Europe including: a Culligan bottled water facility, one large commercial bakery, a central meat processing facility, one ice cream dairy (Baskin Robbins). Lead Auditor for more than 300 commercial food safety and defense audits involving all commodities and all phases of production/processing from farm to fork. Developed the adopted DOD Dairy HACCP/PMO equivalency standard for European milk pasteurization systems. Provided insight and vision for the adopted rapid laboratory diagnostic capability at military installations and during commercial audits. Served as the liaison with Veterinary Laboratory Europe (ISO 17025) co-developing the adopted commercial laboratory audit/assessment program. Conducted hundreds of food safety and defense assessments and regulatory inspections of retail food operations. Primary subject matter expert for foodborne illness investigations. Directed product Quality Auditing Teams Initiated rapid diagnostic surveillance laboratories capability in Iceland, the United Kingdom and Germany to be used in product monitoring. This “rule out or refer” ability assisted in limiting products (and cost) for further testing at central ISO 17025 laboratory. Performed analysis of internal and external laboratory results to determine compliance (food safety, quality, pathogen monitoring) and tasked personnel for additional samples or directed audits
Customer 1 Performed gap assessment of Supplement Company against SQF. Developed and implemented food safety and quality programs resulting in SQF Certification.
Customer 2: Composed USDA HACCP Plans for Beef, Pork, Poultry and Siluriform. Composed and implemented all food safety and quality programs. Eliminated regulatory non-compliances through CAPA.
Customer 3: Performed site visits to a low acid canned food (LACF) and aseptic fill plant to discover and eliminate sources of lactobacillus contamination in products. Performed supplier audit identifying sources of contamination that were eliminated by improving the quality of raw materials for the customer. Developed specifications for customers to reduce wide swings in raw materials. Developed and implemented FDA HACCP Plans and supporting pre-requisite programs.
Customer 4: Implemented Foreign Supplier Verification Program for meat and produce items for import to the USA. Provided guidance on packaging and oxygen scavengers use in the food industry.
Customer 5: As Subject matter Expert prepared beef plant for annual Food Safety Assessment (USDA FSIS FSA). Developed programs for processor and distributor to remain compliant with California Prop 12 (Animal Welfare Compliance -Eggs. Poultry, Veal and Pork). Performed first FDA audit for multiple seafood commodities with no findings. Designed and Performed temperature correlation study to support HACCP Decision making logic. Appealed regulatory noncompliance at multiple levels resulting in all appeals being granted. Submitted label approvals with multiple claims. Performed food defense risk assessment resulting in all vulnerabilities being mitigated to an acceptable level ultimately reducing the customers annual liability insurance rate by 25%.
Customer 6: Composed Version 9 SQF Modules 2, 7, 9, 11 for customer resulting in an excellent score of 95/100. Worked as a liaison between customer and chemical supplier to develop and validate more effective antimicrobial intervention. Composed and implemented Certified Humane programs that received 100% score. Composed and implemented supplier approval programs.
Customer 7: Composed pre-requisite programs necessary to become approved suppliers to multiple companies. Performed all FSMA required food safety assessments for FDA LACF and spice bottling facility. All pre-requisite programs are authored and implemented. Resulted in 99.5 on third party GFSI audit.
Customer 8: Authored all food safety, quality, defense and prerequisite programs for USDA RTE Facility. Implemented XRAY, Metal Detection, Allergen control program preventing recalls of multiple days production. Developed SOPs for receiving, shipping, production, Cooking and Cooling (App A and B) with validation.
Customer 9: Performed full risk assessment of (Failed 3rd party GFSI Audit). Composed and implemented all corrective and preventive actions. Composed all programs (required and pre-requisite) with complete implementation. Re-audit completed with a score of 99.8. Resulted in very large national retail distribution contract.
Customer 10: Very Large Multiunit customer (40+ manufacturing sites) requested 2nd party internal audit. Identified and corrected multiple discrepancies eliminating all findings between customer (Co-manufacturing) and (SQF) audits.
Customer 11: With Raw material inspection program and statistical process control Decreased raw material costs 19%, Eliminated 19.5% Waste. Decreased man hours per unit produced and overall overtime reworking items.
Customer 12: Developed and managed industry leading food safety and quality programs for customers where I reduced risk (food safety, customer compliance, technical services and regulatory). Developed and implemented Export program from the USA to EU, Mexico, Peru, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Egypt for multiple customers.
Roles
- Owner, Rockyfjord Food Safety Consulting
- Food Safety and Quality Director, Missouri Prime Beef, start up
- Co-founder, Vice President, Republic Foods, start up
- Chief Quality Officer, Iowa Food Group , start up
- Director, Food Safety and Quality, Sysco Specialty Companies
- Senior Food Safety Officer, US Army Veterinary Corps
Request Expert / Similar Expert
Click “request expert” for a free initial screening call with this expert or a similar expert regarding your expert consulting needs
