Upon entering various organizations, scenarios often unfold where operational efficiency falls short. Quality lapses in production, a surge in customer grievances, or perpetual crisis management seem to be the norm rather than the exception. Conversations with technical teams unveil a paradox: highly knowledgeable individuals in food science grappling with persistent challenges. Yet, amidst these hurdles, lay simple solutions to alleviate their burdens and ensure smoother operations.
Throughout the career journey, encounters with leaders of varying calibers yield valuable lessons. Through extensive reading and formal education in management consulting, fundamental principles have been distilled that underscore effective leadership. The first principle emphasizes a leader’s legacy—ensuring a thriving business that evolves and improves even in their absence. The second principle underscores the importance of understanding one’s team—recognizing their backgrounds, passions, and limitations, and providing an environment conducive to their success and growth.
As a member of the Certified Group and Food Safety Net Services, EAS clients have access to world-renowned testing laboratories that meet your organization’s sophisticated needs. In this column, you’ll hear about their capabilities, environmental challenges and more. We hope you’ll enjoy a look “under the microscope.”
In the past, advancing in a hospitality or food-related career meant taking an entry-level position and working your way up the ladder. Fast forward, the world is changing, and anyone, from a small restaurant employee to a senior food quality control officer, can gain a career edge and boost their overall human capital value by obtaining the proper food industry certification. Here, we explore several popular and essential food safety certifications that professionals in this industry need.
Seven Important Food Qualifications and Certifications You Should Consider
Whether you need to advance your career or simply are looking to meet employer regulations, these food safety certifications will help you gain a competitive advantage in the job market and increase your overall employee value:
FSPCA Preventive Controls
Microbiology and Food Safety 101 Course
The BRCGS Food – Issue 9 Sites Training and Internal Auditing
EAS Senior Consultant Jeb Hunter will join the Healthcare Distribution Alliance 2024 Traceability Seminar happening August 26-28 in Washington, DC, for a special panel on “What to Expect When They’re Inspecting: FDA Inspections on DSCSA Compliance.” HDA’s annual Traceability Seminar brings together healthcare supply chain leaders to learn more about upcoming DSCSA implementation milestones as well as innovative approaches and lessons learned as distributors, manufacturers and dispensers implement serialization and traceability technologies to further preserve the safety and security of the healthcare supply chain.
CHPA’s RSQ brings together leaders from industry, regulatory authorities, and academia across the consumer healthcare landscape to focus on the self-care space. The RSQ agenda offers something for everyone with key regulatory, scientific, and product quality sessions over the course of two days. Hear from FDA, USP, industry, and academia on some of the timeliest topics affecting the consumer healthcare marketplace.
Join EAS Senior Director Lisa El-Shall for a special Breakout Session on Hot Topics in Quality Assurance September 17 at 2:30pm. This session will cover the use of rapid microbiology detection technology in quality assurance and recent changes and new programs at FDA that impact the self-care industry. Visit CHPA to learn more: https://www.chpa.org/events-education/regulatory-scientific-quality-conference
Food Safety Magazine eDigest Exclusive Feature | Ensuring personnel are qualified for the position they hold is not only essential to manufacturing quality, compliant finished goods; it is part of the law by which those items are regulated. Food industry regulations point to three main categories to ensure qualification: education, experience, and training.
💡 Learn more in the latest FSM eDigest exclusive feature by EAS Consulting Group Senior Consultant Jeb Hunter: View (free subscription required).
EAS independent consultant John Bailey will speak at the Naturally Kiawah Symposium happening October 8-11, 2024, in Kiawah Island, SC, on regulation updates, MoCRA, product testing, PFAS, and more. Visit https://www.scconline.org/CarolinaSCC/Naturally-Kiawah for more information.
Submit Your Questions to the EAS Team Today!
Do you have a regulatory question or concern? Are you interested in seeing a particular topic covered in a future issue of eNews? We want to hear from you! Use the EAS Contact Us form to send a note or question to our team any time.
Get Notified When Trainings Are Scheduled
Are you looking for training in a particular industry or regulatory topic? Review our list of available topics and sign up to be notified when your course of interest is scheduled next.
We’re Hiring Independent Contractors!
EAS is always interested in broadening our industry experience and expanding our independent consultant team. If you’re interested in joining EAS as a 1099 contract employee, please email your CV to Dean Cirotta at dcirotta@easconsultinggroup.com.
Consultant Corner
EAS offers over 150 independent consultants strategically located around the globe whose expertise provide core value for clients.
Eiman Raouf is an accomplished food science leader with a big-picture understanding of the industry spanning product development, manufacturing, quality, food safety, operations, sustainability, and regulatory compliance developed over a 23-year career. Eiman has a history of enabling growth for innovative food brands by implementing GMPs, developing unique, cutting-edge products, and rolling out effective quality/food safety strategies and systems, repeatedly improving performance.
Eiman is passionate about food industry trends including regenerative agriculture, reduction in meat consumption, and resource optimization, and advanced from entry-level R&D technician to key Director/VP roles at well-known food companies, launching 30+ new products over the course of their career. Eiman also liaised extensively with various big chain retailers, CFIA and FDA.
Tim Ahern is a Food Safety and Compliance Consultant from Cumberland, Maryland. Tim started his career in the food industry in 1993 and has worked in the industry from 1993 to present day. Over the last 30 years, he has worked in production ascending from supervisory role to Plant Manager. Over the last 15 years his managing roles have been mainly in the Food Safety and Compliance sector of food processing. He attended Penn State University while working as Director of Food Safety at the largest Kosher Processing Plant in the country and amassed numerous Food Safety and Compliance Certifications. Over the last 6 years, he was able to transition from managing to owning and operating a successful Food Safety and Compliance Consulting firm.
Tim’s list of skills and experience include: United States Court Certified HACCP Expert, High Risk RTE Processing, Poultry Processing, industrial type engineering for cost analysis and efficiencies, pet food, raw and fully cooked, FDA FSPs, creating and implementing programs to comply with GFSI standards, in plant validations, and interventions to ensure processors attain and maintain the highest levels of food safety and compliance to all local, federal, and state regulations. His hobbies are fishing, playing guitar, and golfing.
.jpg?upscale=true&width=720&upscale=true&name=Featured-Image-Half-How-to-Build-an-Achieving-Team-(Raouf).jpg)
.jpg?upscale=true&width=720&upscale=true&name=Featured-Image-Half-Most-Important-Food-Qualifications-and-Certifications-(FSNS).jpg)
.jpg?upscale=true&width=1120&upscale=true&name=Featured-Image-Half-HDA-2024-Traceability-Seminar-(Hunter).jpg)
.jpg?upscale=true&width=1120&upscale=true&name=Featured-Image-Half-2024-CHPA-RSQ-(El-Shall).jpg)
.jpg?upscale=true&width=1120&upscale=true&name=Featured-Image-Half-Perpetual-Pillars-of-People-(FSM-Hunter).jpg)
.jpg?upscale=true&width=1120&upscale=true&name=Featured-Image-Half-Naturally-Kiawah-Symposium(Bailey).jpg)
