Beyond the Binder: Digital Management of Food Safety

Andrew Thomson is the Director of Think ST Solutions in Adelaide, Australia. With over 23 years of field experience, he has accumulated a wealth of expertise and formal qualifications. Andrew began his career as an Environmental Health Officer and Food Industry Teacher, and has since evolved into leadership roles within the foodservice industry. He holds qualifications as a teacher and lead auditor, among others. He has presented at conferences in Australia and New Zealand and contributed as an author to Food Safety Magazine and Westwick-Farrow Media. He is also a member of the Australian Institute of Training and Development.

Matthew Wilson, Ph.D. is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Agriculture, Food, and Wine at the University of Adelaide in Australia. He has a diverse research background in food quality and preservation, horticulture, new crop development, plant physiology, and sustainability. Dr. Wilson has over 10 years of experience exploring the intersection between the environmental conditions influencing primary production and the resulting influences on food chemistry and sensory perception. This has led to an acute understanding of the factors determining food quality, as measured by microbiological, instrumental, and human based means. As an education specialist, Matt teaches into the Food and Nutrition Science program and is part of the Haide College teaching team. He teaches and assists with the development and delivery of several undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

Ben Chapman, Ph.D. is Head of the Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences, Professor, and Director of the Safe Plates Food Safety Extension and Research Program at North Carolina State University. With the goal of reducing foodborne illness, his group researches food handling and food safety systems, designs and implements food safety strategies, and evaluates messages and media from farm-to-fork. Since February 2020, Dr. Chapman has been providing guidance to the food sector on issues related to food safety and COVID-19. He is the Co-Chair of the STOP Foodborne Illness Board of Directors, an advocacy group for individuals affected by foodborne pathogens. Dr. Chapman also co-hosts two podcasts, Food Safety Talk and Risky or Not, and is active on social media.

Adrienne Blume is Editorial Director of Food Safety Magazine, a BNP Media brand. She has 18+ years of experience in B2B technical media, including the food safety and quality (FSQ) and energy technology sectors. She manages the editorial content for Food Safety Magazine and its podcast, Food Safety Matters, and also serves on the Educational Advisory Board for the annual Food Safety Summit. She keeps a pulse on trends, issues, and regulatory developments in FSQA by attending and moderating sessions at food industry and food safety conferences worldwide. Previously in her career, Ms. Blume launched and led two energy technology publications (H2Tech and Gas Processing & LNG) and a podcast (H2TechTalk) as Editor-in-Chief at Gulf Energy Information in Houston, Texas. She also worked as Managing Editor at Hydrocarbon Publishing Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She speaks and moderates at technical conferences around the world and is published in several industry journals. Ms. Blume holds an M.A. degree in English and Publishing from Rosemont College in Rosemont, Pennsylvania, as well as B.A. degrees (hons) in English and Anthropology from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri.