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NSF Food Safety Leadership Awards presented at Food Safety Summit
NSF International has announced the 2009 recipients of its Food Safety Leadership Awards at the Food Safety Summit in Washington DC.
NSF’s Food Safety Leadership Awards programme, now in its sixth year, recognises the extraordinary efforts of individuals and organisations that have demonstrated outstanding dedication and achievement in food safety.
Kristen Holt – NSF senior vice president, Food Safety and Quality – presented each winner with their award.
Dr Phillip Minerich of Hormel Foods Corporation was awarded the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award in Packaging & Distribution’. For more than 32 years, he has worked within food production, committed to improving the safety of our food supply. Because of Dr Minerich’s contributions, public health and food regulation agencies have more effective methods for contamination detection.
Carletta Ooton accepted the award for Systems Improvement (Water) on behalf of The Coca-Cola Company. To ensure a higher standard of water, the company has moved beyond end-of-pipe treatment to modern risk management frameworks. The company is also striving to improve source water management practices across its expansive bottling system.
Eileen Staples accepted the award for Systems Improvement (Community) on behalf of Greenville County Schools Food and Nutrition Services in South Carolina. Greenville County School Food and Nutrition Services implemented a HACCP programme in 86 schools and 12 satellite locations in the face of budget constraints, limited time and the challenge of training 650 employees across various locations.
Dr Carl Winter from the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of California, accepted the Education & Training award. Over the past decade, Dr Winter has developed a unique musical approach to spread food safety messages through the project, ‘Improving Food Safety Education through the Use of Music-Based Curricula’.
Steve Robinson of Dole Fresh Vegetables accepted the Systems Improvement award. Steve Robinson is responsible for creating a groundbreaking food safety application that tracks food from its origins to shelf, which was found to reduce the amount of time it takes to trace a specific lot to its origin.
Although Joseph Reardon of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services was unable to attend the awards ceremony, he received the Systems Improvement award. Joseph Reardon successfully directed the Castleberry Recall, the first public health recall in over 30 years, where clostridium botulinum was identified as a causative agent between canned product and foodborne illness.
“We’re honoured to recognise such a remarkable group of individuals and organisations this year,” said Kristen Holt. “It’s these and past winners that have made this awards programme such a success. On behalf of NSF, I would also like to thank our expert panel of jurors for their help in recognising outstanding achievement in foodservice safety.”
Source: NSF
*NSF is the sponsor, with Trucost, of the ‘Best environmental initiative’ in the 2009 Beverage Innovation Awards. Click here for more information about the awards.
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