Bob Whitaker, Ph.D., recently retired, served as the chief science and technology officer for the Produce Marketing Association (PMA). In that role, Bob was responsible for food safety, technology, supply chain management, and sustainability. He also served on the Center for Produce Safety's Board of Directors as well as on the California Leafy Greens Technical Committee. Prior to joining PMA, Bob spent 16 years in the biotechnology arena with DNA Plant Technology Corporation as a researcher, and then as vice president of fruit and vegetable R&D. Bob's career has also included roles at NewStar Fresh Foods and its subsidiary MissionStar Processing.

Bob earned his doctorate in biology from the State University of New York at Binghamton.

Jennifer McEntire, Ph.D., is the vice president of food safety and technology at United Fresh Produce Association. Before that, she was the vice president of science operations for the Grocery Manufacturers Association. She has also had roles as vice president and chief science officer at The Acheson Group and as the senior staff scientist and director of science and technology projects for the Institute of Food Technologists. She is an advisory board member of the Global Food Traceability Center, the technical committee of the Center for Produce Safety, and she serves on the executive committee of the Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance.

Jennifer earned her Ph.D. from Rutgers University as a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Needs Fellow in food safety. 

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Bob and Jen [14:07] about:

• How United Fresh and PMA work with retailers during recalls and foodborne outbreaks
• False beliefs that contamination within the leafy greens community doesn't or can't affect other food commodities
• How outbreaks that fly under the radar and go unannounced can hurt the industry
• The use of ag water and whether it's really the true root of contamination
• Their thoughts on the Produce Safety rule as it's currently written
• What trade associations are focusing on for the future

Bob's Articles in Food Safety Magazine
Latest Research Findings Hit on Produce Safety Priorities 
Confronting Food Safety Challenges Head-On in Produce 
The Supply Chain and Food Safety Culture: Primary Production 
The Supply Chain and Food Safety Culture: Sector Leaders Sharing Their Challenges and Recommended Practices

Jen's Articles in Food Safety Magazine
Fixing FSMA's Ag Water Requirements 
Environmental Monitoring in the Era of Whole-Genome Sequencing
Building Food Safety Leaders
Product Tracing in Food Systems: Legislation vs. Reality

News Mentioned in This Episode
USDA's New Swine Slaughter Rule Hit By Another Lawsuit [2:13]
GMA Debuts as CBA [5:51]
Three Separate Romaine Lettuce Outbreaks Declared Over [10:00]

Justyce Jedlicka serves as the Food and Beverage Regulatory Liaison in North America for MilliporeSigma, where she is responsible for engaging with influencers in the food and beverage industry to align initiatives with regulatory compliance and promote best practices for food safety and quality testing methods. Justyce has been serving the food and beverage industry since 2013, and received both a B.S. degree in Chemistry and an M.B.A. degree from the University of Missouri in St. Louis. She currently serves as the Food Sciences Section Chair and Executive Board Member of the American Council of Independent Labs, and is a member of the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP), the International Society of Beverage Technologists (ISBT), and AOAC International.

Sally Powell Price is MilliporeSigma's Regulatory and Public Health Expert for Food and Beverage Safety Testing in North America. Previously, she served as Director of Lab Operations at a biotech startup in Boston and was the Food Lab Supervisor at the New York City Department of Health Public Health Laboratory. She holds a B.S. degree in Biology from Hamilton College, an M.S. degree in Microbiology and Immunology from James Cook University in Australia, and did continuing coursework in public health and foodborne disease at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. She is a member of the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO), the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL), the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP), and AOAC International.

Thomas Gremillion, J.D., M.A. is the Director of Food Policy at the Consumer Federation of America (CFA). He oversees research, analysis, advocacy, and media outreach for the group's food policy activities, and monitors food safety activities at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and in Congress, where he advocates for strong food safety protections for consumers. He also coordinates the Safe Food Coalition, a group of consumer, trade union, and foodborne illness victim organizations dedicated to reducing foodborne illness by improving government food inspection programs.

Paul Shapiro is the author of the bestselling book, Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World. He is also CEO of The Better Meat Co., a company that uses fermentation to turn microbes into alternative meat. Paul is a five-time TEDx speaker, the host of the Business for Good Podcast, and a long-time leader in food sustainability.

As an authority on food and agriculture sustainability, Paul has been interviewed by numeorous news outlets—ranging from CNN to StarTalk Radio with Neil deGrasse Tyson. He has also published hundreds of articles in publications like the Washington Post, Scientific American, FORTUNE, and academic journals. In 2023, Paul was named as a Most Admired CEO by the Sacramento Business Journal.

Johanna Velez is Vice President of Quality Assurance for Monin Americas, having joined the brand in 2002. With more than 27 years in the food industry, Johanna has a wealth of experience in leading, directing, and guiding the company’s food safety and quality programs at all Monin North America locations. She successfully led Monin to achieve Safe Quality Foods (SQF) and Organic certifications for both the Clearwater, Florida and Sparks, Nevada facilities, resulting in an "Excellent" rating for the brand’s food safety practices. Prior to Monin, Johanna spent five years at Wild Flavors (now Archer-Daniels-Midland Company) in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is a member of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), including the Florida IFT Division, as well as the Bay Area Manufacturers Association (BAMA). Johanna graduated from Louisiana State University and later attended Michigan State University to obtain her certification in Food Law and Regulations.

Carolyn Ross, Ph.D., M.Sc. is a Professor in the School of Food Science at Washington State University (WSU), Affiliate Professor in the WSU School of Medicine, and Director of the WSU Sensory Science Center. Since starting at WSU in 2004, Dr. Ross has established her lab and the WSU Sensory Science Center as a hub for graduate student training in the areas of sensory science and analytical chemistry. Specifically, the overall objectives of Dr. Ross's research and graduate education program are to understand the theoretical basis underpinning the sensory perception of foods and wines and correlate these attributes with quantifiable characteristics. Dr. Ross has also expanded her research to explore food texture perception in children. She has thrice been awarded the Institute of Food Technologists' (IFT's) Tanner Award for most‐cited article in the Journal of Food Science (in the Sensory and Food Quality section). Dr. Ross was also awarded the WSU Faculty Excellence Award for Instruction and is a Fulbright-Australia Scholar at Deakin University in Melbourne. She holds a Ph.D. in Food Science/Environmental Toxicology from Michigan State University and an M.Sc. degree in Food Science from the University of Guelph.

Lone Jespersen, Ph.D. is a published author, speaker, and the Principal and Founder of Cultivate SA, a Swiss-based organization dedicated to eradicating foodborne illness, one culture at a time. Dr. Jespersen has worked to strengthen food safety through organizational culture improvements for 20 years, since starting at Maple Leaf Foods in 2004. She chaired the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) technical working group "A Culture of Food Safety," chaired the International Association of Food Protection (IAFP) professional development group "Food Safety Culture," and was the technical author on the BSI PAS320 Practical Guide to Food Safety Culture. Dr. Jespersen holds a Ph.D. in Culture Enabled Food Safety from the University of Guelph in Canada and a master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Syd Dansk University in Denmark. She is also a visiting Professor at the University of Central Lancashire in the UK. Dr. Jespersen serves as Chair of the IFPTI Board and as Director on the STOP Foodborne Illness Board. She is also a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Food Safety Magazine and a member of the Educational Advisory Board of the Food Safety Summit.