Meet the Food Safety Leadership Team

Meet FoodHandler’s Food Safety Leadership Team:

Jeannie Sneed, PhD, RD

Dr. Sneed has been an educator and researcher in foodservice operations and food safety for over 30 years. She retired as a professor and administrator from Kansas State University where she also served as a research professor for the Center of Excellence for Food Safety Research in Child Nutrition Programs funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. NSF International awarded her the Lifetime Achievement Award for Food Safety Education and Research in 2007. She holds a PhD in foodservice management with a minor in organizational behavior from The Ohio State University.

Catherine Strohbehn, PhD, RD, CP-FS

Dr. Strohbehn has been an educator and researcher in the areas of foodservice management and food safety since 1986. She is certified by the National Environmental Health Association as a professional in food safety. She is professor emeritus (August 2018) and extension specialist at Iowa State University where she also oversees the Food Safety Project website. She has developed many extension programs and materials in areas such as general food safety, buying local produce, and school nutrition operations. In 2010, she was recognized by NSF International with the Educator Award in 2010. She holds a PhD from Iowa State University.

Both Dr. Sneed and Dr. Strohbehn are registered dietitians with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and are registered ServSafe® instructors with the National Restaurant Association. They have received nearly $10 million in Federal, state, and private sources for research and education projects, with the majority focused on improving food safety in retail settings. They worked together at Iowa State University on several research and education projects focusing on food safety in schools, assisted living facilities, restaurants, and child care.

Contact them with any questions or comments at foodsafety@foodhandler.com

  • Alphabet Soup

The Alphabet Soup of Hepatitis and Why it Should Concern Foodservice Operators.

Late in July, I was made aware that World Hepatitis Day was on July 28th.  I do have to be honest – similar to most of you reading this, I was surprised there was such a thing.  After doing a bit of research, I discovered July 28th was named as such to recognize the birthday of Dr. Baruch Blumberg, who first discovered the hepatitis B virus in 1967 and then two years later developed the first hepatitis B vaccine.  Each year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization recognize the day to help raise awareness about hepatitis, which impacts over 300 million across the globe and causes more than one million deaths a year.

  • Food Traceability

Food Traceability in Foodservice Operations: An Essential, and Soon-to-be Required, Component of your Food Safety Plan

In June, I discussed the importance of having a solid food defense plan, and I provided you some resources for developing or strengthening your food defense plan. As I was writing those blogs, my mind kept turning toward food traceability. While they are distinctly different concepts, food traceability goes hand-in-hand with a food defense program. I would argue for your food defense plan to be effective, you must have an effective internal food traceability program, where you can trace the product back to the supplier (backward traceability), but also be able to trace the product from the supplier to the guest who was served the product (forward traceability).