Lone Jespersen is the 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 led the execution of Maple Leaf's food strategy and its operations learning strategy. She holds a master's degree in mechanical engineering from Syd Dansk University (Denmark), and an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in food science from the University of Guelph (Canada).  

Marie Tanner joined the Dairy Farmers of America in 2017. She is currently the senior vice president of food safety and quality. Prior to that, Marie was the global chief food safety and quality, health, safety, and environment management at Kerry. Before Kerry, Marie held various quality leadership roles at PepsiCo and Godiva (Ulker). Marie holds an M.Sc. in food science from Rutgers University. She formally served on the board of SSAFE, a global nonprofit working to integrate food safety, animal health, and plant health across food supply chains. 

Neil Coole is the director of food and retail supply chain at BSI Americas. In 2015, Neil joined BRC Global Standards to head up their global key account strategy, engaging key industry brand owners, manufacturers, and retailers to understand their requirements from a risk solutions perspective. He was the subject matter expert on BRC Global Standards' new strategy on food safety and quality culture excellence, working with manufacturers on how to embed a culture of food safety and training food manufacturers, brand owners, and suppliers on the important topic of food safety and quality culture excellence. 

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to the panel [11:46] about:

• Organizational culture and how it influences food safety
• How a company's culture is created from the top down 
• How food safety culture can and should give an organization a competitive edge
• COVID's impact on food safety culture
• Why the idea of "implementing" a food safety culture is problematic
• Some wrong ways to go about creating change within an organization's culture
• Diversity and inclusion, and how they play a role in changing a company's culture
• How to begin undoing a history of complacency within a company's current culture
• Tips for improving and sustaining a positive culture

Food Safety Culture Articles 
Supply Chain and Food Safety Culture - Feb/March 2017 
The Supply Chain and Food Safety Culture: Primary Production - April/May 2017 
The Supply Chain and Food Safety Culture: Distribution - June/July 2017 
The Supply Chain and Food Safety Culture: Processing - Aug/Sep 2017  
The Supply Chain and Food Safety Culture: Foodservice - Oct/Nov 2017  
The Supply Chain and Food Safety Culture: Retail - Dec/Jan 2018 
Supply Chain and Food Safety Culture: Sector Leaders Sharing Their Challenges and Recommended Practices - Feb/March 2018

Resources
Cultivate Maturity Model
BSI - Cultivate Food Safety Culture Postcard 
BSI - COVID-19 Safe Working Guidelines 
BSI - Workplace Hygiene Solutions Brochure 
BSI - Workplace Hygiene Solutions Video
BSI - UK's National Standards Body - COVID-19 Response 

News Mentioned in This Episode
EU's Draft Amendment of Hygiene Legislation Includes Focus on Food Safety Culture [2:07] - see official draft regulation document 
FDA Announces the Voluntary Phase-Out of by Industry of Certain PFAS Used in Food Packaging [3:46] | The Growing Challenge of Safe Water Use for Food Processing Operations
UMASS Food Scientist Secures Grant to Develop New Method for Cleaning Peanut Butter Off Food Processing Equipment [7:42] 

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.

Takashi Nakamura, Ph.D. has served as Vice President of Food Safety for Fresh Del Monte since 2019. Previously, he worked in various senior research and development roles at Bumble Bee Foods and Bacardi, was the Vice President of Global Product Formulation and Worldwide Research and Development/Scientific Affairs at Herbalife, and was the Category Technical Leader for Portable Wholesome Snacking and Frozen Breakfast at Kellogg's. Dr. Nakamura serves on the Center for Produce Safety (CPS) Technical Committee and the Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA) Food Safety Committee, and has represented Fresh Del Monte with the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA). He is an active member of the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP). He received a Ph.D. in Engineering from Purdue University and an M.B.A. degree from the University of North Florida. 

José Emilio Esteban, D.V.M. was sworn in as the U.S. Under Secretary for Food Safety on January 4, 2023. In this role, he leads the Office of Food Safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), overseeing the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), which has regulatory oversight for ensuring that meat, poultry, and egg products are safe, wholesome, and properly labeled.

Sandra Eskin, J.D. was appointed U.S. Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety on March 24, 2021. In this role, she leads the Office of Food Safety at USDA, overseeing FSIS.

Prior to joining USDA, Mrs. Eskin was the Project Director for Food Safety at The Pew Charitable Trusts in Washington, D.C., a position she held since November 2009. She also served from 2008–2009 as the Deputy Director of the Produce Safety Project, a Pew-funded initiative at Georgetown University.