Company Press Release
IFCO North America today announces the appointment of Jeff Mitchell as Director of Food Safety and Quality. Mr. Mitchell will oversee the North American food safety and quality initiatives at the company’s Reusable Plastic Container (RPC) service centers throughout North America, as well as food safety and quality programs that extend along the entire fresh food supply chain.
“IFCO is the global leader in Food Safety for pooled RPCs and we are fully committed to continued excellence in this critical area,” said Daniel Walsh, President of IFCO North America. “I am delighted to welcome Jeff to the IFCO North America team. His experience, qualifications and deep industry knowledge will ensure we maintain our leadership position, and expand our Food Safety and Quality program in partnership with our grower and retailer customers, as well as the IFCO North America leadership team.”
In his new role, Mr. Mitchell’s responsibilities will include food safety strategy and compliance with IFCO’s Quality Assurance/Food Safety processes. In addition, he will represent IFCO on food safety interactions with customers as well as serve as the company’s food safety and operations representative to industry organizations, associations, committees and working groups.
Prior to joining IFCO, Mr. Mitchell served as Vice President of Food Safety and Regulatory Affairs at CHEMSTAR, where he was responsible for all operational and strategic initiatives related to food safety and sanitation for retail grocery, quick service restaurants and food processing facilities. Prior to CHEMSTAR he served over 20 years in the U.S. Army Public Health Command where he last served as Command Food Safety Officer. Mr. Mitchell was awarded the Legion of Merit Medal for his contributions to food safety and public health.
“IFCO has an excellent reputation regarding food safety,” said Mr. Mitchell. “I look forward to working with the leadership team, the operations staff and IFCO’s grower and retailer partners to implement new and innovative strategies that will continue to bolster the company’s food safety and quality commitment.”
Mr. Mitchell holds a Bachelor’s of Food Science and a Master’s of Food Science and Technology from the University of Georgia, and is a member of the United Fresh Food Safety and Technology Council. He holds professional certifications in:
• Food Defense Coordinator (AIB)
• HACCP Manager Certified
• SQF Practitioner
• FCCS ISO 22000 Lead Auditor Certification
• Quality Auditor – Food
• Milk Pasteurization Controls and Tests Certification (FDA)
Mr. Mitchell will begin his new role on March 27, 2017 and will report to Daniel Walsh, President, IFCO North America.
For more information, please contact:
Sean McBride. DSM Strategic Communications, T: 202 309 3050, smcbride@dsmstrategic.com
Hillary Femal, VP – Global Marketing, T: +1 813 463 4124, Hillary.Femal@ifco.com
Additional information
IFCO is the leading global provider of reusable packaging solutions for fresh foods, serving customers in 50+ countries. IFCO operates a pool of over 270 million Reusable Plastic Containers (RPCs) globally, which are used for over 1.4 billion shipments of fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, bread, and other items from suppliers to grocery retailers every year. IFCO RPCs ensure a better fresh food supply chain by protecting freshness and quality and lowering costs, food waste and environmental impact compared to single-use packaging. IFCO is a Brambles Company. For more information visit www.ifco.com.
Brambles Limited (ASX:BXB) is a supply-chain logistics company operating primarily through the CHEP and IFCO brands. Brambles enhances performance for customers by helping them transport goods through their supply chains more efficiently, sustainably and safely. The Group’s primary activity is the provision of reusable unit-load equipment such as pallets, crates and containers for shared use by multiple participants throughout the supply chain, under a model known as “pooling”. Brambles primarily serves the fast-moving consumer goods (e.g. dry food, grocery, and health and personal care), fresh produce, beverage, retail and general manufacturing industries, counting many of the world’s best-known brands among its customers. The Group also operates specialist container logistics business serving the automotive sector. Brambles has its headquarters in Sydney, Australia, but operates in more than 60 countries, with its largest operations in North America and Western Europe. Brambles employs more than 14,500 people and owns more than 550 million pallets, crates and containers through a network of more than 850 service centres. For further information, please visit: www.brambles.com.
