2018 Clean Label Conference
Presentation: Microbial Control in Clean Label Products: Pathogens are the Easy Part
Speaker: Peter Taormina, Ph.D., President, Etna Consulting Group
Peter J. Taormina, Ph.D. is President of Etna Consulting Group, a company that provides solutions and strategies for enhancing and maintaining effective food safety and quality systems. Key focus areas are HACCP and Food Safety Plan development, regulatory support, environmental monitoring programs, microbiology, food and beverage product formulation for shelf life and pathogen control, and validations. Dr. Taormina has helped food and beverage processors and ingredient companies develop and commercialize clean-label meat & poultry products, beverages, sauces and condiments, and prepared meals.
Peter has previously held food safety and quality related positions at Smithfield Foods, The Coca-Cola Company, The University of Georgia, and Castellini Company, and has advanced the safety, quality, and regulatory compliance of a wide variety of food products in the marketplace. He is a past recipient of the Harold Barnum Industry Award from the International Association for Food Protection and the Scientific Achievement Award from the North American Meat Institute. Peter earned his B.S. in Biology from Valdosta State University, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the Department of Food Science and Technology and Center for Food Safety, University of Georgia.
He frequently presents on subject of food safety microbiology and has published 22 peer-reviewed journal articles and several book chapters on food safety microbiology. He has written over 200 process authority letters for food and beverage products, and designed over 150 challenge studies to validate the safety and quality of food. He has volunteered in various capacities for organizations and associations that advance the safety and quality of food. :
2018 Clean Label Conference
Presentation Title: Microbial Control in Clean Label Products: Pathogens are the Easy Part
Description:
Clean label products have been produced long enough that there now exists scientifically-validated processing techniques and formulated ingredients for control of foodborne bacterial pathogens of concern. However, shelf life and control of spoilage microorganisms such as lactic acid bacteria, yeasts, and molds typically do not receive sufficient scrutiny and validation prior to launching clean label products. Hence, an all too common outcome for clean label products is spoilage in the marketplace. Attendees of this session will learn the technical limitations of clean label food preservation as well as what companies should be doing to assure shelf life attainment.
