Roya Galindo serves as NAMI’s director of regulatory services. She first began her career in 2005 when she was one of the first successful consumer safety inspector interns (CSI) to complete the internship program for the Food Safety and Inspection Service. She worked as a CSI for a few years until she was quickly promoted to an Enforcement Investigation Analysis Officer (EIAO).

After mentoring many of the EIAOs, Galindo switched gears and worked for the industry managing and refining establishment’s food safety systems. Galindo’s extensive background in industry and regulations allows her to provide the members with guidance on a wide array of subjects.

Presentation: Analyzing and Responding to FSIS Regulatory Actions

Hayriye is originally from Europe (born in Bulgaria and raised in Turkey). Hayriye has her undergraduate degree in food engineering in Turkey. She received her master’s and Ph.D. in food science at University of Kentucky, where she has specialized in food microbiology and food safety. After completing her Ph.D., she worked at University of Kentucky as an instructor. Hayriye’s previous research and practical experience includes evaluation and application of natural bioactive antimicrobials into food systems in order to eliminate foodborne pathogens, increase shelf-life and enhance food safety. She also is interested and has experience in high pressure processing (HPP) of high risk foods.

Hayriye has been a part of corporate food safety team of Smithfield Foods, packaged meats division for 2.5 years, where she manages food safety projects and provide scientific/technical support to plant operations, food safety management, and research and development functions.

Presentation: Understanding Product Risk and Appropriate Intervention and Use of Bacteriophage

Matt Henderson has worked with Land O’ Frost for the past eighteen years in multiple roles across the organization focused on food safety. As Sanitation Manager and Food Safety Manager, his job functions included managing the sanitation process, managing Listeria sampling programs, and chairing the Seek and Destroy and Facility Design Teams. In his current role as Director of Food Safety, Matt is responsible for leading the ongoing continuous improvement of food safety systems at Land O’ Frost. Matt graduated from Arkansas Tech University with a Bachelor’s degree in Agribusiness and Michigan State University with a Master’s Degree in Food Safety.

Presentation:
Intro to Sampling, Investigation, Data Analysis and Process Control
Case Study: You’ve Got a Positive? Now What? Lot and Line Segregation and Product Testing
Process Management and Preventive Controls

Steve Tsuyuki has worked in the food industry for his entire career after graduating from the University of Toronto in 1984 (BASc – Chemical Engineering and BSc - Science). Since joining Maple Leaf Foods in 2001, he has held a variety of leadership roles in QA, Operations, Six Sigma, Food Safety and Sanitation. During the 2008 Listeria product recall, he took a lead role in developing and implementing a comprehensive environmental monitoring program. In his current role, Steve provides leadership and oversight to over 20 plants ranging from poultry hatcheries, primary processing plants and RTE plants.

Presentation:
Case Study: Why Are We All Here?
Maple Leaf Food Safety Journey: A Living Example
Investigation: Aggressive Sampling and Data Analysis and Seek and Destroy De-Brief

Dr. Sarita Raengpradub Wheeler is Director of Microbiology R&D with Mérieux NutriSciences. She received her B.S. in Biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her Ph.D. in Food Science from Cornell University with emphasis on molecular microbiology and food safety. She now directs the Corporate Microbiology R&D department, focusing on new technologies and innovation, and coordinates Global Biology research activities for Mérieux NutriSciences. She previously led the Silliker Food Science Center’s Microbial ID group that focuses on DNA sequencing and microbial subtyping. In addition, she has led the technical implementation of Next Generation Sequencing capabilities and the Foodborne Virus and GMO laboratories at the Silliker Solution Center, Mérieux NutriSciences’ flagship laboratory in North America. Dr. Wheeler is a professional member of the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP), American Society for Microbiology and AOAC International and is on the Executive Committee of the AOAC Pacific Southwest Section.

Presentation: Traceback and Whole Genome Sequencing

James earned a B.S. from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and an M.S. from Michigan State University, with additional training in electro-mechanical systems. As the Director of Global Sanitation at OSI, he leads the company efforts in sanitation and hygienic design of equipment and facilities, with emphasis on food safety risk management. In this role, he develops and implements standards, training and policies to drive consistency in sanitation and hygienic design ensuring a high level of food safety for the organization. James collaborates and participates in industry associations to develop and implement best-practices and new standards.

Presentation: Sanitation Best Practices

Dr. Jeremy Adler is a Sr. Technical Support Coordinator for Ecolab. He provides technical support for the application of cleaning, sanitation, and antimicrobial products to the field sales team. Additionally, he provides in-plant support for product and process validation, regulatory compliance guidance, and remediation of microbiological food safety concerns. He also provides Sales, Marketing, and Research and Development support for commercialization of proprietary chemistries and their application systems designed to improve plant efficiencies and increase the microbiological quality of meat products and the production plant environment. Adler earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in animal science from Colorado State University, with a concentration in food microbiology and meat safety. He has authored and co-authored several peer-reviewed publications in the Journal of Food Protection and Journal of Food Science.

Presentation: Sanitation Best Practices

Matt Thomas is the Senior Director of FSQA, Big-Bird value Added-Poultry at Tyson Foods. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Animal/Poultry Science from Purdue University.

Presentation: The Process of Environmental Monitoring

Jeff Klumpyan has been with the KraftHeinz Company for 22 years. Six of those years were in plant and Corporate Quality including Regulatory, six years in plant Sanitation and six in Corporate Sanitation. Current responsibilities are USDA Sanitation Programs, Sanitary Design review, and Environmental Program support during investigation, corrective action and preventative action.

Presentation: Sanitary Design Principles