Home » Multimedia » Podcasts » Food Safety Matters » Ep. 41. Sara Mortimore: HACCP—A Practical Approach
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.
Sara Mortimer is the vice president of product safety, quality, and regulatory affairs for Land O’Lakes. Over her 30-year career, Sara has worked to ensure the safety and quality of some of the world’s biggest brands—Haagen Daaz, Green Giant, Old El Paso, Nature Valley, and many others.
Sara has co-authored a number of books on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) and food safety management. In fact, she contributed to Food Safety Magazine's Food Safety Culture eBook! She's also served on Food Control's editorial board and was a trustee of the Royal Society of Public Health for several years.
Sara has been a member of the BRC International Advisory Board for over 10 years, and she's a member of the Grocery Manufacturers Association's Executive Scientific and Regulatory Affairs Committee. Most recently, she has helped review the effectiveness of Codex HACCP and Food Hygiene principles.
In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Sara about:
The purpose of HACCP, and how it should work together as part of a comprehensive food safety management program
Critical Control Points vs. prerequisite programs
Sara's first experience writing a HACCP plan 30 years ago
Useful resources for writing a good HACCP plan
The seven principles of HACCP
Reasons why companies encounter food safety issues, even with a HAACP plan in place
The difficulties that arise when analyzing a food safety plan against varying global/international standards
The importance of maintenance as a supplemental HACCP principle
How altering a food product's formula (reduced sodium, sugar, etc.) can have massive food safety implications
Why the HACCP vs. HARPC debate doesn't really matter
Joelle Mosso, M.S., is Associate Vice President of Science Programs for Western Growers, where she works alongside growers to develop improved approaches to food safety and sustainability challenges. She is an entrepreneurial scientist with a passion for pathogenic food microbiology, risk assessment, and working toward practical solutions for the food industry. She has a background in quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA), building microbial testing laboratories, and evaluating and designing microbial diagnostic tools/approaches, as well as firsthand experience with produce and with managing food safety for complex international supply chains.
Nuno F. Soares, Ph.D., is an author, consultant, and trainer in food safety with more than 21 years of experience in the food industry as a food safety/quality (FSQ) expert and a plant manager. He is the founder of "I'm a SLO—Saving Lives Officer" initiative and the author of several books and articles on food safety, namely FSSC 22000 and ISO 22000 Blueprint and I'm a SLO—The Mindset and Framework to Develop a Positive Food Safety Culture. He works exclusively to help food safety professionals achieve a more fulfilled career by improving their knowledge, competencies, and mindset.
Beth Panko Briczinski, Ph.D. is the Senior Science Advisor for Milk Safety in the Office of Food Safety at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Casey McCue is the Conference Chair for the National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments (NCIMS) and the Director of the Division of Milk Control and Dairy Services for the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, a position he has held since 2000.
Megin Nichols, D.V.M. serves as the Deputy Division Director for the Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases at the CDC's National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases.
Brandon Carter, D.V.M. is a Food Safety Technical Advisor for Elanco Animal Health. Dr. Carter received his B.S. degree in Animal Science and his D.V.M. from Mississippi State University. He also holds an M.S. degree in Veterinary Epidemiology from West Texas A&M University. His areas of expertise are disease prevention and control for poultry, with specialized expertise in epidemiology and data analysis.
Caroline Smith DeWaal, J.D. is Senior Manager at the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN). She also serves as Deputy Chief of Party of EatSafe—Evidence and Action Towards Safe, Nutritious Food—which is a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded, five-year program running through June 2024.
Richard Pluke, Ph.D. is the Food Safety Lead and Chief of Party for GAIN's EatSafe and an international rural development professional specializing in agricultural enterprises and value chains, with over 15 years of applied development experience in South America, Asia, and Africa.
Kathleen (Kathy) Glass, Ph.D. joined the Food Research Institute (FRI) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison as a food safety researcher in 1985, where she currently serves as Associate Director. Her primary duties are to assist the food industry in assessing and developing formulation-safe foods. In addition, she trains and oversees undergraduate and graduate student independent study research, and is a regular instructor at workshops on food microbiology, preventive controls, Listeria control methods, processed meat and processed cheese safety, and dairy Hazards Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP).