Our Instructors

Dr. Mansour Samadpour
Cofounder & CEO

Dr. Mansour Samadpour received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Washington. After completing his Ph.D and post-doctoral studies, Dr. Samadpour became an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Health at the University of Washington. In 2001, together with Dalia Alfi, he started the Institute for Environmental Health (IEH) Laboratories and Consulting Group. Dr. Samadpour is an expert in the epidemiology and pathogenesis of foodborne and waterborne pathogens, the transport of microbes in the environment and food production systems, molecular epidemiology, and the design and implementation of proactive food safety systems. As the head of our research and development team at IEH, a senior author on over 75 peer-reviewed scientific publications, and the inventor of over 30 patents, Dr. Samadpour continues to push the field of food safety forward. He has played a leading role in developing pathogen detection programs for food safety management and has been sought out for his expertise in most of the major U.S. outbreaks over the last three decades.

Email: ms@iehinc.com

Dr. Mansour Samadpour

Cofounder & CEO

Dr. Margaret Hardin
Vice President, Technical Services

Dr. Margaret Hardin joined IEH as the Vice President of Technical Services for IEH in 2010. Dr. Hardin’s expertise is in food safety, food shelf-life, sanitation, sanitary design, food microbiology, process control, process validation, environmental testing, and HACCP. Dr. Hardin earned her Ph.D. in Food Microbiology from Texas A&M, her M.S. in Meat Science & Food Microbiology from the University of Georgia, her B.S. in Agricultural Education from North Carolina State University, and her B.S. in Animal Science- Meats from the University of Florida. Before joining IEH, Margaret was an Associate Professor in Food Microbiology at Texas A&M University, where she taught courses in Food Microbiology and HACCP, and developed and taught a class in Applied Microbiology, Sanitation and Sanitary Design. Prior to her career in academia she was employed for over 13 years in various positions in the meat industry, including Director of Food Safety with Sara Lee Foods, Director of Food Safety with Smithfield, and Director of Food Safety and Quality Assurance with Boar’s Head. She also worked as Director of Pork Safety with the National Pork Producers Council and as a research scientist and HACCP instructor with the National Food Processors Association.

Email: mh@iehinc.com

Dr. Margaret Hardin

Vice President
Technical Services

Dr. Donald Zink
President, Food & Regulatory Compliance

Dr. Donald Zink leads the food safety and food processing consulting group at IEH. He received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Biophysics and his M.S. in Microbiology from Texas A&M University, and his B.S. from Abilene Christian University. Prior to working at IEH, Dr. Zink worked for the U.S. FDA as the Chief Scientist for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. At IEH, he is focused on helping clients avoid food contamination from bacterial pathogens. Dr. Zink assists clients with broader issues related to food safety such as: process validation, allergen control, and chemical contamination. He is an expert in the microbiological and chemical safety of processed foods and fresh produce. He has extensive experience on low acid canned food thermal processing, aseptic processing, ice cream production, chocolate and confectionery products, infant formula production, beverage production, fermented and acidified foods, frozen and refrigerated food production, and baked goods production.

Email: don.zink@iehinc.com

Dr. Donald Zink

President
Food & Regulatory Compliance

Dr. Robert Brackett
Senior Vice President and Dean, IEH Academy

Dr. Robert Brackett leads the industry training team under the IEH Academy. He received his Ph.D. in Food Microbiology, his M.S. in Food Microbiology, and his B.S. in Bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin. Prior to joining IEH, Dr. Brackett served as IIT Vice President and Executive Director of the Institute of Food Safety and Health at Illinois Institute of Technology, and Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific and Regulatory Officer for the Washington, DC based Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) now under the name, Consumer Brands Association. Prior to serving at GMA, Dr. Brackett worked for the U.S. FDA as the Director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, as well as several other executive positions within FDA. Earlier in his career, Dr. Brackett spent 19 years in academia at North Carolina State University where he served as Food Safety Specialist and as Professor at the University of Georgia, where he conducted research on foodborne pathogens. At IEH, he is focused on developing and executing training programs that will enable the food industry to produce safer and higher quality products. Dr. Brackett is an expert on the microbiological and chemical safety of processed foods and fresh produce. He has over 40 years of experience on factors that affect the growth and survival of foodborne pathogens in both fresh and processed foods and ingredients. In addition, he has extensive experience in developing and providing training for both regulatory and private sector personnel, both internationally and in the U.S.

Email: Robert.Brackett@iehinc.com

Dr. Robert Brackett

Senior Vice President
Dean, IEH Academy

Dr. Sergio Sanchez
Vice President, Analytical Services

Dr. Sergio Sanchez is a chemist with 28 years of experience in the areas of laboratory analytical testing, product inspection and audits. Dr. Sanchez received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico. Prior to joining IEH, Dr. Sanchez launched and managed the global food safety business line for Inspectorate. His work included the design, installation, method development, accreditation, technical support and operational management of a global network of food testing laboratories and GFSI audit services. Dr. Sanchez also served as technical liaison to government agencies in charge of food safety regulations in Asia, Latin America, the European Union and the US, including active participation in the FDA’s Shrimp Pilot Program.

Email: ss@iehinc.com

Dr. Sergio Sanchez

Vice President
Analytical Services

Dr. Mohammad Koohmaraie
President, Meat Division

Dr. Koohmaraie joined IEH as the Chief Executive Officer of the Meat Division in 2008. He received his Ph.D. in Meat Science and Muscular Biology from Oregon State University, his M.S. in Meat Science from Texas A&M at Kingsville, and his B.S. in Animal Science from Pahlavi University. Throughout his career, Dr. Koohmaraie has focused his research efforts on the biological mechanisms regulating meat tenderness. Starting with the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in the Northwest, Dr. Koohmaraie has been heavily involved in leading and conducting research projects to help the meat industry eliminate E. coli O157:H7 from the red meat supply. After 24 years as a USDA scientist, Dr. Koohmaraie left the public sector to pursue his passion in the area of beef safety and quality in the private sector. Throughout his impressive career Dr. Koohmaraie has received numerous awards such as the Agricultural Research Service’s Scientist of the Year Award in 1992 and 2001, the Agricultural Research Service’s technology transfer awards in 2004 and 2008, and the USDA Secretary Award in 1995 and 2001. In 2012, Dr. Koohmaraie was inducted of the Meat Industry Hall of Fame. Dr. Koohmaraie has published over 400 scientific publications and has given over 300 invited talks to U.S. and International Organizations. Dr. Koohmaraie is an ISI Highly Cited Scientist.

Email: mk@iehinc.com

Dr. Mohammad Koohmaraie

President
Meat Division

Dr. Michael De La Zerda
Vice President, Tech & Regulatory Support

Dr. Michael De La Zerda received his Ph.D., M.S., and B.S. in Animal Science from Texas A&M University. Dr. De La Zerda has extensive on-site experience at food production facilities. Examples of his on-site expertise include: broccoli, ready-to-eat, nut production, the processing of nuts, onions, sprouts, chocolate, bread, and fish. Each of these opportunities has provided numerous experiences in consulting, HACCP plan development and revision, personnel training, validation of process control and microbial interventions, and detailed regulatory activity assistance (Noncompliance Records, Notices of Intended Enforcement actions, Notices of Suspension and Verification Plans, and Humane Handling issues). Prior to joining IEH, Dr. De La Zerda was responsible for the direction and implementation of the food safety programs for a natural and organic meat company, where he oversaw multi-protein slaughter and ready-to-eat processing facilities across the United States.

Email: md@iehinc.com

Dr. Michael De La Zerda

Vice President
Tech & Regulatory Support

Heidi Wederquist
Senior Director, Technical Services

Heidi Wederquist earned her M.S. in Animal Science and her B.S. in Food Science and Human Nutrition from Colorado State University. At IEH, she coordinates and works as a member of the Technical Services Consulting team, where she helps food companies to develop food safety and quality assurance programs as well as programs needed to meet food industry and regulatory requirements. Prior to joining IEH, Heidi worked for Chipotle as the Director of Food Safety & Quality Assurance. As a member of the Chipotle Supply Chain team, she helped oversee quality and food safety programs for purchased foods, including fresh and frozen produce, meats, prepared foods, bakery, oils and seasonings. While at Chipotle, she developed an online supply chain management system, whole-chain traceability programs, and a vendor performance tracking system.

Email: heidi.wederquist@iehinc.com

Heidi Wederquist

Senior Director
Technical Services

Dr. George Baker
Vice President, Technical Services

Dr. George Baker joined IEH in 2020 as Vice President, Technical Services. He received both his B.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Florida in Food Science. His graduate studies included storage water activity in low moisture foods, flavor compound formation during peanut roasting, sensory analysis (consumer and trained quantitative descriptive analysis panels), and instrumental analysis of fats and oils. Dr. Baker researched edible fat and oils, off-flavor formation in foods, and sensory evaluation techniques for over 20 years as a university faculty member and in his previous roles as CEO of ABC Research Corporation. He continues to research these topics in his current role at IEH.

Dr. Baker was an Assistant Professor and Florida Sea Grant’s Seafood Specialist for several years and is certified to teach Seafood HACCP and Sanitation Control Procedures courses. Recently, he became the Division Chair for the Institute of Food Technologist’s Aquatic Food Products.

Dr. Baker also worked in food manufacturing as the Director of New Product Development and Director of Food Safety & Quality, with roles as the SQF Practitioner and PCQI for two food production facilities with multiple production lines. He was further involved in snack food stability evaluation related to moisture uptake, fat rancidity due to autooxidation, problems solving in production, and various updates to food safety programs.

Email: george.baker@iehinc.com

Dr. George Baker

Vice President
Technical Services

Dr. Gene Bartholomew
Vice President, Technical Services

Dr. Gene Bartholomew joined IEH as Vice President of Technical Services in 2019. He earned an M.S. and Ph.D. in microbiology from Cornell University and a B.S. in biology from Bucknell University. Dr. Bartholomew began his professional career at International Paper in 1983 as a research scientist. During his 15 years there, he commercialized and validated an aseptic packaging system, managed a beverage pilot plant and its laboratory, started taste panel testing for the company, and advanced to manage several product development groups. Dr. Bartholomew then joined Smithfield Foods Packaged Meats. He started in the John Morrell Group as the corporate director of food safety for 7 meat processing and slaughter facilities and 1 spice plant. He later took on the role of Senior Director of Corporate Food Safety, during which he was responsible for 14 meat processing plants and several FDA-regulated plants. Throughout his 20-year career at Smithfield, he led HACCP plan design and validation, thermal processing, regulatory compliance, sanitation, allergen control and environmental pathogen monitoring. He also managed a corporate microbiology laboratory and its accreditation, and has certifications in HACCP training, BRC and SQF schemes, and is a Preventive Controls Qualified Individual. Dr. Bartholomew was a founding member of the North American Meat Institute Listeria Control Workshop and has taught numerous courses to members of the food industry.

Email: gene.bartholomew@iehinc.com

Dr. Gene Bartholomew

Vice President
Technical Services

Cindy Ryan
Associate Director, Technical Services

Cindy Ryan began her professional career at Nestle in 1994 as a Senior Microbiologist. Ms. Ryan earned her M.S. in Food Science and Food Microbiology and her B.S. in Animal Science and Industry from Kansas State University. During her eleven year stay with Nestlé, she moved from Senior Microbiologist to Quality Assurance Manager, and finally to Senior Microbiologist and Manager of HACCP Systems. Ms. Ryan was in charge of the plant hygiene, auditing, troubleshooting, managing the QA department, quality training, implementation of quality systems and pathogen monitoring across the U.S. and Canadian facilities. She also spearheaded troubleshooting and follow-up of problems involving packaging, processing quality and microbiological issues, as well as assisting Nestlé corporate. Prior to joining the IEH consulting team, Ryan spent 9 years as an independent consultant assisting food manufacturing facilities to define, organize, correct, implement, maintain and validate required QA and Food Safety programs including: HACCP, allergen control and pathogen monitoring. Ryan enjoys working on a variety of projects, like assisting manufacturers in the areas of HACCP and Food Safety Plans, pathogen monitoring and control and allergen control.

Email: cindy.ryan@iehinc.com

Cindy Ryan

Associate Director
Technical Services

Dr. Peyman Fatemi
Vice President, Tech & Regulatory Services

Dr. Peyman Fatemi joined IEH as the Vice President of Technical and Regulatory Services in 2019. He received his Ph.D. in Food Science and Technology from Penn State University, and his MS in Food Science and BS in Microbiology from the University of Georgia. Dr. Fatemi has helped develop food safety programs and held leading roles within multiple food categories.

Prior to joining IEH, he was the Vice President of Scientific Affairs at The Acheson Group, where he was responsible for their strategic growth and development and provided nuanced expertise to the company’s clients on key food safety and testing topics. From 2004 to 2008, as a Senior Microbiologist at Unilever Foods NA, he supported food safety programs for multiple product categories such as Peanut Butter, beverages, sauces, snack bars, frozen and refrigerated foods.

Dr. Fatemi has served as the head of the corporate laboratory group at Smithfield Foods and as director of food safety at Earthbound Farms. Within the biotech sector, he helped Life Technologies launch their food safety testing platforms to meet the specific needs of food testing customers. He also served as the Technical Director of AEMTEK, Inc.

Dr. Fatemi is also an active member of multiple industry groups and serves on the Expert Review Panel for the AOAC Official Methods Board and on the editorial board of Food Protection Trends and Journal of AOAC International. He is the past Chair of Pre-harvest PDG at the IAFP and has been an invited speaker within a number of national and international groups such as the FDA, USDA/FSIS, IFT, IAFP and multiple industry groups

Email: peyman.fatemi@iehinc.com

Dr. Peyman Fatemi

Vice President
Tech & Regulatory Services

Dr. Ramon Aboytes
Vice President, Technical Services

Dr. Ramon Aboytes joined IEH in 2006. He holds a degree in Veterinary Medicine from the National University of Mexico and both M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Microbiology from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Dr. Aboytes specializes in molecular epidemiological mapping of microbial contaminants that are necessary for trace back analysis of outbreaks of zoonotic and anthroponotic diseases caused by infectious microorganisms that are linked to the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Before moving to the United States, Dr. Aboytes was a senior research leader for the Institute of Veterinary Research, Department of Agriculture in Mexico. Dr. Aboytes has over 35 years of experience in the practical applications of GMP, food safety, microbial quality control, quality assurance, risk assessment, and regulatory compliance in the US and Latin America. Through his extensive background in veterinary medicine, microbiology and applied research to contribute to the advancement of food safety.

Email: aboytesr@iehinc.com

Dr. Ramon Aboytes

Vice President
Technical Services

Dea Lievano Woolrich
Associate Director, Technical Services

Dea Lievano Woolrich started at IEH in 2016 as the Associate Director of Technical Services. Ms. Woolrich earned her B.S. in Food Science from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education. Dea has 20 years of experience in food processing facilities, where she worked multiple positions in the Production, R&D and Quality Assurance Departments. Ms. Woolrich has some dairy experience, and nearly 15 years of experience overseeing multi-facility operations with refrigerated and frozen prepared foods under FDA and USDA jurisdiction, where she developed Food Safety Systems and Programs from scratch -including multiple HACCP Plans- as well as established a team of 19 employees in the QA Department. Since joining IEH, she has focused on performing facility assessments, developing EMPs and pre-requisite programs, and training client employees on proper aseptic technique, basic cGMPs, Sanitation procedures, root cause analysis and corrective actions. She is fully bilingual in Spanish and very comfortable working in processing environments. Prior to IEH, Woolrich worked at Chipotle as the supplier-facing Quality Assurance Manager. At Chipotle, Woolrich was responsible for assessing new and current suppliers, enforcing company quality standards through continuous improvement programs working with vendors, Operations, Training and Supply Chain teams, investigating and resolving food quality issues by working with restaurants and suppliers, supporting the Crisis Management Team, as well as the Culinary Development Team by setting and documenting processing and quality standards for new and improved items. Woolrich is highly skilled at ensuring food quality standards, documentation, training, and operations.

Email: dea.woolrich@iehinc.com

Dea Lievano Woolrich

Associate Director
Technical Services

Randy Porter
Vice President, Technical Services

Randy Porter, BS, Indiana University joined IEH in 2019 as a Vice President of Technical Services after working for food processing companies such as Campbell Soup, Post Holdings, ConAgra Brands, Kraft/Nabisco and Dannon over his career. Mr. Porter has held leadership roles in Operations, Engineering / Hygienic Design, Sanitation, Quality and Food Safety, both in plant and in corporate environments. He has had responsibility for both, domestic and international food processing facilities across multiple food categories, ranging from dairy, bakery, meat, edible oils, eggs, snacks, agricultural, flour, frozen meals, chocolate confectionary, powdered beverages, fruit juice and more. Most recently, Mr. Porter has held leadership roles at ConAgra Brands – Sr. Director Food Safety, Hygienic Design & Sanitation, at Post Holdings – Vice President of Quality & Product Protection, at Campbell Soup – Head of North America Quality, and, at The Acheson Group as Sr. Director of Food Safety. He has authored and published multiple articles on Hygienic Design and has trained and presented at numerous food industry events and seminars across the globe. Mr. Porter is also a lead trainer for Preventive Controls Qualified Individuals, (PCQI), Human Food Rule.

Email: randy.porter@iehinc.com

Randy Porter

Vice President
Technical Services

Dr. Samuel Myoda
Vice President, Technical Services

Dr. Sam Myoda joined IEH in 2007. He earned his Ph.D. in Civil & Environmental Engineering and his B.S. in Environmental Science/Biology from the University of Delaware. He was the recipient of the Wesley W. Horner Award presented by the Environmental and Water Resources Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

Prior to joining IEH, Dr. Myoda worked at the State of Delaware, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), and the Division of Water Resources (DWS). There, he set up and directed the Molecular Biology Laboratory and was also involved in many projects including microbial source tracking, research, method development, computer modeling for water quality and hydrodynamics, risk assessments, water and wastewater treatment, environmental monitoring, and regulatory and compliance issues.

During his time with DNREC, Dr. Myoda collaborated with IEH on numerous microbial source tracking and water quality projects. In 2006, he was the recipient of the DNREC/DWR “Employee of the Year” award. As a result of his accomplishments at DNREC, he was invited to participate at the 2007 Experts Scientific Workshop on Critical Research Needs for the Development of New or Revised Recreational Water Quality Criteria.

At IEH, Dr. Myoda’s primary focus is related to food safety. He is well versed in all aspects of food production, including GAPs, GMPs, HACCP, FSMA, water quality, treatment processes, environmental monitoring, root cause analysis, sanitation, facility design, and data analysis. He focuses on supporting the produce industry, outbreak and regulatory support, bioinformatics and next-generation sequencing (WGS and metagenomics), method development, process optimization, and program innovation.

Dr. Myoda has served as a consulting and testifying expert in various legal cases, including but not limited to the 2006 spinach E. coli O157 outbreak, Tyson et al. vs. Oklahoma (2007), and Plaintiffs vs. Climb Works (2019). In addition to legal cases, he regularly consults with food companies on risk assessments, program development and implementation, product testing, and regulatory issues.

Email: sam@iehinc.com

Dr. Samuel Myoda

Vice President
Technical Services

Dr. Robert Miksch
Senior Vice President, Technical Services

Dr. Robert Miksch is one of the most senior members at IEH, starting with the company in 2001. Dr. Miksch received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Washington and his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. He has authored, audited, validated and verified HACCP plans, and assisted clients in responding to regulatory notifications. These include: Noncompliance Records, Notices of Intended Enforcement (NOIE) actions, and Notices of Suspension (NOS). Dr. Miksch also designed and implemented microbial intervention validation studies. Prior to joining IEH, he practiced as a Certified Industrial Hygienist, with more than 20 years of experience in a broad range of private, government, and academic environments. He founded and ran a successful practice covering chemical and biological hazards in a wide range of settings. A key practice area was authoring pragmatic enterprise scale OSHA Process Safety Management/EPA Risk Management plans for food processor ammonia refrigeration systems.

Email: bobm@iehinc.com

Dr. Robert Miksch (Emeritus)

Senior Vice President
Technical Services

Dr. Veronica Arias
Scientist, Technical Services

Dr. Arias has worked as a research associate at IEH since 2017. She received her Ph.D. in Food Science and Technology focused in Food Safety at Texas A&M University, her Masters in Food Science and Technology from the University Autonomous of Queretaro, and her Bachelors in Biochemical Engineering from the Regional Technological Institute of Colima. After joining IEH, Dr. Arias became the technical area lead in the department of Reference Materials. She has been involved in validation experiments for our IEH-media formulation as well as performing special client projects. For special projects, Dr. Arias writes research proposals, performs experiments, analyzes data and submits reports to clients.

Email: vr@iehinc.com

Dr. Veronica Arias

Scientist
Technical Services

Dr. Fereidoun Forghani
Scientist, Technical Services

Dr. Fereidoun Forghani received his B.S. in Molecular Cell Biology and M.S in Microbiology from Azad University, Iran, and earned his Ph.D. in Food Science and Biotechnology from Kangwon National University in South Korea. Prior to joining IEH in 2020, he gained further training through three postdoctoral fellowships from 2015 to 2020. During his post-doctoral training he developed rapid detection methods for identification of foodborne pathogens. He also performed research on the molecular detection of plant parasitic nematodes, through which he gained firsthand experience on the post-harvest processing of fresh produce and row crop agriculture. Dr. Forghani’s work developing patented detection methods for foodborne pathogens and hurdle technologies for microbial decontamination, and his experience working on antimicrobial treatments, dry foods, lactic acid bacteria, organic foods, microbial modelling and HACCP has provided him with a strong understanding of food microbiology and safety. Dr. Forghani helps IEH clients improve the microbial safety of their products and is involved in designing and execution of special projects including shelf-life studies, process validations, method development and interdisciplinary research that address client needs.

Email: fereidoun.forghani@iehinc.com

Dr. Fereidoun Forghani

Scientist
Technical Services

Rafal Knap
Director, Aseptic & Thermal Processing

Rafal Knap is the Director of Aseptic and Thermal Processing at IEH. Mr. Knap earned his M.S. in Food Science and his B.S. in Microbiology from the University of British Columbia. Knap uses his extensive experience in microbiology, and conventional thermal and aseptic processing to design and manage complex validation projects of aseptic processing and packing equipment. In addition, he provides technical assistance to food producers in areas of thermal food processing (as a “Process Authority”) and food safety (low/high-acid foods, aseptic food products, food microbiology, risk assessment, GMPs, QC/QA issues and re-call assistance). Prior to working at IEH, Mr. Knap worked for the National Food Processors Association and the National Food Laboratory. His roles included providing consulting services to clients in the areas of thermal processing, food safety, new technologies and on issues pertaining to food microbiology, food safety, risk assessment, food processing equipment and process design.

Email: rknap@iehinc.com

Rafal Knap

Director
Aseptic & Thermal Processing

Dr. Richard Miller
President of Environmental Safety Technologies, Inc

Dr. Richard D. Miller received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Pennsylvania State University, where his research was in the field of food microbiology. His postdoctoral research at Oregon Health Sciences University was in microbial pathogenesis. Since 1977, he served as a faculty member in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology at the University of Louisville, where he is now an Emeritus Professor. Dr. Miller taught courses on infectious diseases to medical and dental students for over 4 decades; and mentored graduate student research on the Legionnaires’ disease bacterium, Legionella pneumophila.

Dr. Miller has performed Legionella environmental testing and risk assessments as part of public health efforts to prevent transmission of Legionnaires’ disease from building water systems. In 1993, he co-founded Environmental Safety Technologies, Inc. to provide water testing services, environmental testing (validation) and risk assessments for Legionella in cooling towers and potable water systems nationwide, with a focus on healthcare settings (hospitals and nursing homes).

Dr. Miller has extensive knowledge of other important healthcare-associated waterborne microbial pathogens. He also served on the ASHRAE committees that wrote and published the Legionella Guideline 12:2000 document, as well as the ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 188-2015, Legionellosis: Risk Management for Building Water Systems.

Email: rmiller@estechlab.com

Dr. Richard Miller

President of Environmental Safety Technologies, Inc

George Young
Vice President, Technical Services

George Young has extensive experience in Legionella consulting, microbiological testing and indoor air quality. He served three years in the U.S. Navy, as an emergency medical technician, holding certifications in all areas of advanced life support and providing training for emergency medical technicians. Upon completing his military service, he earned a B.A. from the University of Louisville and continued to work in healthcare before joining Environment Safety Technologies in 2000 and transitioning to the field of industrial hygiene.

George Young has led industrial hygiene teams to collect water and air samples for a variety of industries including healthcare, assisted living, education, manufacturing and food production. He was awarded the title of Certified Healthcare Constructor (CHC) through the American Hospital Association and holds a Certified Indoor Environmental Consultant (CIEC) designation through the Indoor Air Quality Association (IAQA). Recently, he completed a Legionella Water Safety and Management certification from the American Society of Sanitary Engineers (ASSE).

Email: gyoung@estechlab.com

George Young

Vice President,
Technical Services

Mike Jackson
President of JLA International

Mike Jackson is the President of JLA International. He has over 30 years of experience in the peanut and tree nut industry with a focus on food quality and safety systems, product development and research on peanuts, tree nuts and nut butter products.Mike joined JLA in 2000, prior to which he worked for PERT® Laboratories for 14 years. During that time, his roles included Manager of Product Development, Manager of Analytical Services and Director of Operations.Mike is currently a board member of the Peanut Standards Board appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. He received his B.S. degree in Food Science from North Carolina State University in 1986 and his MBA from East Carolina University in 1995.

Email: mikejackson@jlaglobal.com

Mike Jackson

President of JLA International

Dr. Foy Mills, Jr.
Vice President, Ag Systems

Dr. Foy Mills, Jr. has served as a senior consultant to JLA since January 2011 and has written for and edited, In a Nutshell, the JLA crop newsletter for 29 years. Dr. Mills has worked in US and international peanut industry for over three decades, first as an Assistant Professor and Extension Ag Economist at the University of Georgia from 1987-1989, and since 1991, in various research and education roles, and leadership positions with JLA.Dr. Mills began his 41-year career in higher education as an instructor of agriculture at Lubbock Christian University (LCU). He then joined Texas Tech University as a USDA-ARS National Needs Fellow and UGA as previously noted. At Abilene Christian University, Dr. Mills became an Agribusiness Professor and served as the department chair for ten years and was an Agribusiness Professor and program director at Sam Houston State University. His most recent and final term in higher education was as Provost and Chief Academic Officer at LCU.During his professional career, he established a seamless relationship between industry and academics and enhanced student engagement. His work with students has been recognized with seven different national excellence in educator awards.Dr. Mills earned a B.S. in Agribusiness with honors from LCU in 1980. He completed his M.S. in Agricultural Economics in 1983 and his Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics and Business in 1987 from Texas Tech University.

Email: foymills@jlaglobal.com

Dr. Foy Mills, Jr.

Vice President
Ag Systems

Dr. Jack Davis
Vice President, Tech & Regulatory Support

Dr. Jack Davis started at JLA in 2014. Dr. Davis received his Ph.D and M.S. in Food Science from North Carolina State University (NCSU) and his B.S. in Food Science from the University of Georgia. He has worked extensively on many aspects of pre-harvest and post-harvest peanut safety and quality. These include optimization of processing technologies and agronomic strategies to improve finished product quality, advanced nutritional analyses, oil stability, sensory analyses, aflatoxin mitigation, and byproduct utilization. Before joining JLA, Dr. Davis spent ten years with a dual appointment as a research scientist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service and as a faculty member at NCSU in the department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences.

Email: jackdavis@jlaglobal.com

Dr. Jack Davis

Vice President
Tech & Regulatory Support

Dr. Dilip Chandarana
Vice President, Process Engineering

Dr. Dilip Chandarana joined IEH in 2005. Dr. Chandarana earned his Ph.D. and M.S. in Food Engineering from the University of Maryland, and a Bachelor of Technology in Agricultural Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology. He specializes in food engineering, heat transfer, thermal and aseptic processing, aseptic packaging, regulatory compliance, and microbial spoilage diagnosis. At the National Food Processors Association (NFPA), Dr. Chandarana developed research programs in the area of aseptic processing and packaging of foods containing particles and was instrumental in developing the first successful process filing for such foods. He was the NFPA’s leader for high temperature rheology research where he developed the NFPA’s New Technologies research program. Chandarana also has extensive experience in testing a variety of aseptic processing and packaging systems, process designs, deviation handling, and spoilage investigations and diagnosis. Finally, Chandarana taught several better process controls schools, thermal processing and deviation workshops and aseptic processing and packaging workshops while at NFPA.

Email: dchandarana@iehinc.com

Dr. Dilip Chandarana

Vice President
Process Engineering

Mark Deniston
Associate Director, Process Engineering

Mark Deniston has worked with IEH since 2005. He earned his M.S. in Food Engineering from UC Davis and his B.S. from Cal Poly. He has published papers on heat transfer to foods with particles, heat transfer to food products heated in steam/air retorts, and hyperfiltration technology for protein recovery. Deniston also was co-author of a National Food Processors Association (NFPA) book on automated control system validation. Deniston has taught numerous workshops and courses such as the FDA Advanced Low Acid Canned Foods Workshops, NFPA and IEH Thermal Processing, Aseptic Processing and Process Deviation Workshops, and Better Process Control Schools. At IEH, Deniston conducts evaluation studies on automated control systems, 21 CFR Part 11 electronic record keeping systems, retort systems, and aseptic processing and packaging systems. He also recommends LACF and acidified thermal processes and evaluates LACF and acidified thermal process deviations. Deniston has held a part-time UC Davis position for 33 years, and before working at IEH, he worked at the NFPA Western Research Laboratory for 19 years in thermal processing and environmental engineering.

Email: mdeniston@iehinc.com

Mark Deniston

Associate Director
Process Engineering

Merle Jacobs
Vice President, Agricultural Products

Merle Jacobs is the Vice President of Agricultural Products at IEH. He earned his B.S. in Business Administration from California State University, Stanislaus. Mr. Jacobs has over 40 years of experience in agriculture including food safety, quality control, operations, regulatory compliance, research, sales, service, and industry relations. Prior to joining IEH, Mr. Jacobs consulted on food safety in the nut industry and held the position of President and CEO of the American Council for Food Safety and the Specialty Crop Trade Council. Mr. Jacobs was with the Almond Board of California for 20 years. His responsibilities included food safety research and education, developing industry wide food safety programs, industry relations and ensuring marketing order compliance. He was instrumental in developing and implementing the voluntary aflatoxin testing and mandatory pasteurization programs for the almond industry.

Email: merle.jacobs@iehinc.com

Merle Jacobs

Vice President
Agricultural Products

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