How Rapid Development of Technology Has Revolutionized Food Safety

Dr. Eric W. Brown has been with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) since 1999, and has served as Director of the Division of Microbiology in the Office of Regulatory Science since 2011. Here, he oversees a group of 60 food safety microbiology researchers, students, and support scientists engaged in a multi-parameter research program to develop and apply microbiological and molecular genetic strategies for detecting, identifying, and differentiating bacterial foodborne pathogens from foods and the surrounding environment including Salmonella, Listeria, and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli. His laboratory has been instrumental in adapting next-generation sequencing technologies to augment foodborne outbreak investigations and to ensure preventive control and compliance standards at FDA, including the establishment of the GenomeTrakr whole genome sequencing network for food safety. Dr. Brown received his M.Sc. degree in Microbiology from the National Cancer Institute/Hood College joint program in the biomedical sciences in 1993 and his Ph.D. in Microbial Genetics from The George Washington University in 1998. He has conducted research in microbial evolution and genetics as a research fellow at the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and as an Assistant Professor of Microbiology at Loyola University of Chicago. He has been a member of the American Society for Microbiology since 1994 and was inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology in 2015. He has co-authored more than 300 refereed publications and book chapters, and has presented nationally and internationally on the molecular differentiation, evolutionary genetics, and ecological persistence of bacterial pathogens.

Frank Yiannas, M.P.H., is a food safety leader and food system futurist, author, professor, and former food safety executive at global brands. He also served as the Deputy Commissioner of Food Policy and Response at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from 2018 to February 2023. While at FDA, he was instrumental in creating the New Era for Smarter Food Safety blueprint and many other initiatives related to the implementation of FSMA. He has also held food safety leadership roles with Walmart and the Walt Disney Company. Additionally, he advanced global thinking on food safety culture with his pivotal 2008 book, Food Safety Culture: Creating a Behavior-Based Food Safety Management System. Mr. Yiannas has long been recognized for his role in elevating food safety standards and building food safety management systems based on science and risk.

Karen Beers is the Director of Laboratory Services for Pilgrim's. She has been with Pilgrim's since 2015. Her responsibilities include overseeing the food safety laboratory system within Pilgrim's, as well as supporting other Pilgrim's business units. Before joining Pilgrim's, Karen served as the Research and Development Laboratory Director for Safe Foods Corporation from 2005–2015. Prior to Safe Foods, Karen worked at the Tyson Corporate laboratory as an Associate Microbiologist from 1998–2005. Karen obtained her B.S. degree in Animal Science from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, with studies that included a number of microbiology and laboratory courses.

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.

Bob Ferguson is President of Strategic Consulting, Inc., a company that since 1996 has been the leading resource for market information in industrial diagnostics, focused on global microbiology markets in food and beverage safety. Bob has more than 30 years of experience in microbiology and laboratory businesses. Prior to joining Strategic Consulting, Bob was Vice President and General Manager for Becton Dickinson’s (BD) Industrial Microbiology and Microbiological Media Business. Bob serves as a member of the Food Safety Magazine editorial advisory board and is the contributing author of the Food Safety Insights column.