Food Safety Experts

A safe food supply is essential for feeding the world’s growing population. Ecolab has unrivaled expertise in GMP food safety to help prevent foodborne illness throughout the food supply chain, including the farm and animal health, food and beverage manufacturing, foodservice and food retail industries.


Food Safety

Our Key Focus Areas Include:
Cleaning, disinfection and sanitation • Emerging food safety trends
Foodborne illness prevention strategies • Food code
Food safety culture • Microbiological and allergen hazards
Regulatory compliance • Food safety and sanitation training
Vice president and food safety expert Lisa Robinson

Lisa R. Robinson is vice president of Global Food Safety and Public Health within the Research, Development & Engineering function of Ecolab Inc., the global leader in water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services that protect people and vital resources.

In this role, Lisa leads a global network of divisionally aligned food safety and public health team members and is responsible for the functional leadership of the company’s food safety and public health strategies.

Lisa Robinson is a recognized industry expert in food safety and public health protocols and strategies. She joined Ecolab in 2019, following nine years at SunOpta, Inc., where she most recently served as vice president of Food Safety and Quality Assurance. Lisa Robinson previously held positions in food safety and quality assurance at Target Corporation, Pepsi Bottling Group, General Mills, Inc. and Schreiber Foods, Inc.

Lisa Robinson has a master’s degree in Food Safety and a bachelor’s degree in Food Science from Michigan State University.

 

Director and food safety expert Dr. Elaine Black

Mandy is a Director of Global Food Safety and Public Health at Ecolab. She provides insights on regulatory and industry trends and is responsible for helping customers mitigate brand risks in the areas of food safety, guest experience, public health, workplace safety and sustainability. Mandy has over 20 years of experience in restaurant and supply chain food safety, quality assurance and procurement leadership at leading foodservice brands. She is also an active member of multiple organizations including the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO), holds a committee chair position with the Conference for Food Protection (CFP), serves on the steering committee for Partners with a Common Purpose (PwCP) and is on the board of the National Environmental Health Association Business Industry Affiliates, (NEHA BIA).

Erin Mertz headshot

Erin is a Director on the Global Food Safety and Public Health team at Ecolab, a global leader in water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services. She provides insights on regulatory and industry trends, engages with internal businesses on food safety and public health-related innovation and programs, and provides customer technical support and consultation in the areas of food safety, public health, and sustainability.

Erin has over 18 years of experience in microbiology, regulated product development in the foodservice and healthcare markets, and technical support and troubleshooting in food processing environments. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology from the University of Wisconsin in La Crosse, is HACCP certified, and is a Preventative Control Qualified Individual (PCQI). She is also a member of the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) and the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA).

 

Food & Beverage

Ecolab’s food and beverage industry experts understand how to effectively manage the risk of food contamination and foodborne illness to help dairy processors and food and beverage manufacturers enhance operational efficiency, GMP food safety and product quality.

Senior RD&E program leader and food safety expert Dr. Jeremy Adler

Dr. Jeremy Adler is a senior research, development and engineering program leader supporting the food and beverage industry. He works to deploy food safety and quality management solutions and provides technical support for the application of cleaning, sanitation and antimicrobial solutions to prevent foodborne illness. He also provides in-plant support for product and process validation, regulatory compliance and remediation of microbiological food safety concerns.

Dr. Adler has authored or co-authored several peer-reviewed articles in leading food industry journals. 

Dr. Adler has a bachelor’s degree in Microbiology, a master’s degree in Reproductive Physiology and a Ph.D. in Food Microbiology and Meat Science from Colorado State University.

Food safety expert Dr. John Hanlin

Dr. John Hanlin supports strategic public health initiatives for Ecolab. His subject matter expertise in food safety and public health provides the foundation for an enterprise-wide view of infection prevention and contamination control issues.

Dr. Hanlin is a member of the Institute of Food Technologists and the International Association for Food Protection.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology and Microbiology from the University of Edinburgh, an MBA from Temple University and a Ph.D. in Biology and Microbiology from Syracuse University.

Rick Stokes Headshot

Rick Stokes is the Area Technical Support Manager for Food Safety and Digital Consulting in the Food and Beverage division of Ecolab. He works with customers to enhance their performance in areas of Quality, Food Safety, Thermal Process, Sanitary Design and Sanitation using first-hand experience gained with some of the world’s best food safety and sanitation programs.

Rick is a leader in the technical support group focused on troubleshooting some of our customer’s biggest challenges in food safety, chemical safety and sanitation effectiveness. He has written several articles and a book chapter for food industry publications and industry guidelines. He is a prominent speaker and advocate for sanitation and food safety topics across food and beverage through collaboration with many industry, academic and regulatory industry groups.

Rick has a BS degree in Microbiology and a Master of Business Administration. He is currently pursuing a second master’s degree in food safety.

Foodservice

Ecolab’s food safety experts provide on-site guidance to help full service, casual and quick service restaurants maintain food safety and compliance as well as actionable insights to improve service and training to help prevent foodborne illness. Our expertise spans both back of house and front of house operations.

Food safety expert Amanda Bakken

Amanda Bakken develops surface hygiene solutions for a wide range of markets, including foodservice, and is a subject matter expert on disinfection products and applications. She supports food safety initiatives, quality manufacturing and product development and commercialization.

Bakken is an author on several patents, and regularly speaks on cleaning and disinfection practices, environmental hygiene and outbreak prevention and recovery.

Bakken has a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

RD&E program leader and food safety expert Gina Owens

Gina Owen is an Ecolab Research, Development and Engineering program leader and leads a team of chemists and engineers responsible for the development and innovation of surface and hand hygiene programs and produce wash innovations. She also provides customer consultation on food code interpretation, operational recommendations to help customers practice food safe procedures and foodborne illness and disaster response.

Owen is a registered environmental health specialist / registered sanitarian and has bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Senior Manager and food safety expert Mandy Sedlak

Mandy is a Director of Global Food Safety and Public Health at Ecolab. She provides insights on regulatory and industry trends and is responsible for helping customers mitigate brand risks in the areas of food safety, guest experience, public health, workplace safety and sustainability. Mandy has over 20 years of experience in restaurant and supply chain food safety, quality assurance and procurement leadership at leading foodservice brands. She is also an active member of multiple organizations including the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO), holds a committee chair position with the Conference for Food Protection (CFP), serves on the steering committee for Partners with a Common Purpose (PwCP) and is on the board of the National Environmental Health Association Business Industry Affiliates, (NEHA BIA).

Food safety consultant Dr. Anna Starobin

Dr. Babekir provides guidance and consultation to the food industry, particularly quick service restaurants and food retail, on microbiological evaluation, food safety programs, equipment hygiene design, risk assessment & data analytics, and produce safety.

She developed analytical approaches to enhance food safety monitoring programs and improve compliance. She has published research on foodborne parasites and risk assessment tools. Prior to Ecolab, Dr. Babekir gained experience on international food safety regulations and the Codex Alimentarius.

Dr. Babekir has a doctorate in Veterinary Medicine, a master’s degree in in Microbiology, a master’s degree in in Quality Assurance and a Ph.D. in Applied Science and Technology from NC A&T State University. In addition, she has the Microsoft Professional Data Scientist certification.

Food Retail

Our food retail experts understand grocery, convenience or big-box store food operations and help improve food safety compliance and deliver profitable growth, and often serve as an extension of our customers’ food safety teams.

Consultant and food safety expert Dr. Jill Hollingsworth

Dr. Hollingsworth provides guidance and consulting services to the food industry, with a focus on food retail operations and regulatory compliance.

Prior to Ecolab, Dr. Hollingsworth founded the U.S. Safe Quality Food Institute (SQFI), one of the world’s largest supplier certification programs. She also developed the Safe Mark food safety training program for retailers, which certifies over 30,000 food handlers annually and trains thousands more in food safety best practices.

Dr. Hollingsworth has a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science and a doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Georgia.

Director of customer success and food safety expert Sima Hussein

Sima Hussein is director of customer success for the EcoSure division of Ecolab. She leads the account and professional services teams who manage audit development, implementation, data analytics and insights for industry customers.

Hussein is a certified professional in food safety and a trusted industry subject matter expert, with more than 20 years of food safety and audit services experience. She is a member of the National Registry of Food Safety Professionals, International Association of Food Professionals and the Conference for Food Protection.

Hussein has a bachelor’s degree in Food Science from the University of Maryland.

Manager of Food Safety and Audit Development and food safety expert Natalie Seymour

Natalie Seymour is manager of Food Safety and Audit Development for Ecolab’s Food Retail division and supports food safety audits as well as the Ecolab Science Certified program and the Food Safety Culture Assessment Program.

Seymour has a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in Food Science from North Carolina State University.


Expert Perspectives

Customers at a dining table in a restaurant
Food Safety: Your Secret Ingredient for Delighted Guests
Two workers in the restaurant's back of house
The Next Level in Food Safety: From Simply Compliant to Total Commitment
Foodservice worker wiping down a table.
Setting SMART Goals to Build a Strong Food Safety Culture