Julie Kuruc, Ph.D.
Leads the Food Safety Center of Excellence Food Safety Continuous Improvement Team
PepsiCo

Julie Kuruc, Ph.D., obtained her B.S. in Microbiology and M.S. in Food Science at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities before starting her career as a R&D microbiologist supporting research exploring new process technologies for PepsiCo’s Tropicana, Naked Juice, and Gatorade business divisions. After a few years in industry, she returned to academia to obtain her Ph.D. in Food Safety at North Dakota State University. After graduation she rejoined PepsiCo as part of the North America Foods R&D food safety team where she was responsible for ensuring food safety of Quaker innovation and renovation projects. Julie then went on to lead the R&D Food Safety & Quality Assurance – Performance & Intelligence team for Frito-Lay and Quaker. Today she leads PepsiCo’s Food Safety Center of Excellence food safety continuous improvement team which proactively identifies food safety risks, mitigates those risks, and creates a continuous improvement glidepath for processes and food safety programs within PepsiCo’s North American foods facilities.