Maple Leaf Foods Appoints New Food Safety Chief
Maple Leaf Foods, the Canadian food manufacturer at the forefront of the recent listeria outbreak in Canada with products that also were shipped to the United States, has hired a new food safety chief.
Effective January, Dr. Randall Huffman, president of the American Meat Institute (AMI) Foundation, will be the new Chief Food Safety Office for the Toronto-based company. AMI is the oldest and largest trade association in the United States representing more than 600 meat-processing firms and industry suppliers globally.
"Dr. Huffman brings vast scientific and industry knowledge and experience to Maple Leaf in global food safety best practices," said Michael McCain, President and CEO. "He will drive continuous improvement in our protocols, assets and human resource strategies that will reflect the latest research and highest standards globally."
Contaminated deli meats from Maple Foods Toronto plant were linked to 20 deaths this year, resulting in a massive nationwide meat recall, according to a report in the Toronto Star. An investigation found that it was likely two meat slicers at the plant that were tainted with the deadly bacterium, Listeria monocytogenes.
During the investigation, the meat plant was shut down for a month. Last month, Maple Leaf Foods posted a third-quarter loss of $12.9 million due to the financial impact of the deadly listerosis outbreak, according to the report.
As President of the AMI Foundation, Huffman led the Food Safety Initiative, which in the past eight years has funded over 60 food safety research projects. He also worked with federal agencies to increase support of food safety research; represented AMI on numerous issues related to food safety; and managed a range of research related to nutrition, diet and health issues.
Huffman also served as a primary technical and scientific resource to the industry on food safety and quality, according to a statement released by Maples Foods. Prior to joining AMI, he held a number of senior roles related to food safety, quality assurance and product development in the food industry.
As Chief Food Safety Officer, Huffman will have overall responsibility for leading Maple Leaf's food safety and quality programs, which will involve identifying and assessing global best practices, technologies, ingredients and resources that support Maple Leaf's leadership in food safety and quality assurance, according to McCain.
He will also support the establishment of a Food Safety Advisory Council, a team of experts who will increase the Company's access to global knowledge and expertise in
areas of food safety, microbiology and public education, according to Maple Foods executives.
Maple Leaf Foods, with annual sales of approximately %5.2 billion, employs approximately 23,500 people at its operations in Canada and the United States and the United Kingdom.