Ep. 57. Sanjay Gummalla: AFFI’s Food Safety Innovations

Sanjay Gummalla is the vice president of regulatory and technical affairs at the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI), where he recently led the effort to launch the organization's Food Safety Zone online tool released earlier this year. 

Previously, Sanjay was the vice president of product development at Zentis North America. Before that, he spent time at Givaudan where he served as the lead scientist for food and dairy processing and was responsible for conducting research to establish impact, performance, and stability of new ingredients and technologies. He also spent time in dairy flavor development at Cargill. Sanjay earned his Ph.D. in nutrition and food sciences at Utah State University in 2000 and was a post-doctoral researcher at the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Sanjay [17:59] about:

• Sanjay's career and background
• The history of AFFI and the organization's recent 75th anniversary
• AFFI's science-based and risk-based approach to food safety, and their focus on preventing and controlling Listeria monocytogenes in frozen foods
• The Food Safety Zone, AFFI's Listeria control program, and how it was developed and implemented
• Sanitation control, environmental monitoring, and other areas, templates, and resources covered or offered within the program
• AFFI's efforts to advance food safety via scientific research, developing best practices, training, and education for the supply chain, retailers, foodservice workers, and consumers
• Collaboration in food safety without the worry of competition 
• AFFI's partnership with Merieux NutriSciences
• The Alliance for Listeriosis Prevention
• AFFI's Frozen Food Foundation
• Consumer confusion about cooking instructions and what 'ready-to-eat' really means, and working with regulatory agencies to get consistent messaging out to the public
• Balancing convenience, taste, and safety of frozen foods
• Misconceptions about the nutritional benefits of frozen foods vs. fresh foods
• Plans to expand the Food Safety Zone and focus on other pathogens besides Listeria

Resources Mentioned: AFFI Food Safety Zone online tool Alliance for Listeriosis Prevention AFFI Frozen Food Foundation FrozenAdvantage.org 

News Mentioned in This Episode New Food Allergen Labeling Coming to the UK [5:13] Trade Group Pushes to Remove Coconut from FDA's Food Allergen List [6:51] USDA Modernizes Swine Slaughter Inspection for the First Time in 50 Years [10:44]  Keep Up with Food Safety Magazine Follow Us on Twitter @FoodSafetyMag and on Facebook  Subscribe to our magazine and our biweekly eNewsletter

We Want to Hear From You! Please share your comments, questions, and suggestions. Tell us about yourself—we'd love to hear about your food safety challenges and successes. We want to get to you know you! Here are a few ways to be in touch with us.

• Email us at podcast@foodsafetymagazine.com
• Record a voice memo on your phone and email it to us at podcast@foodsafetymagazine.com