- Jeff Brandenburg, the President of The JSB Group, LLC has over 35 years of experience in packaging. Jeff has a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Iowa State University, with a minor Biomedical Engineering, and a M.S. in Food Safety from Michigan State University. He serves on the food safety and technology council of the United Fresh Produce Association; is the primary author and reviewer of numerous trade articles as well as association guidance documents. Jeff was the lead author for the Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) chapter for CRC’s latest publication on Modified and Controlled Atmospheres. Jeff is an adjunct Professor of Microbiology at a local college and has been certified by The National Good Agricultural Practice Program at Cornell University as a GAPs (Good agricultural Practices) Online Produce Safety Course Instructor for the State of Massachusetts GAP training program. He is also an authorized consultant for the State of Massachusetts Farm Viability Program and has worked with numerous Farming operations.
- Deirdre Holcroft, the President of Holcroft Postharvest Consulting, Inc., has a Ph.D. in Postharvest Physiology from University of California, Davis, and B.S. and M.S. degrees in Horticulture from University of KwaZulu Natal in South Africa. Born and raised on a farm in Zimbabwe, she has worked in academia and industry. Her academic experience includes ten years as a lecturer, researcher and professor at the universities of KwaZulu Natal, Stellenbosch and Michigan State. Her industry experience includes nine years at Dole Fresh Vegetables and AgroFresh (Rohm and Haas/Dow Chemical Company). Holcroft Postharvest Consulting, Inc. specializes in postharvest biology and technology of fruits, vegetables, fresh-cut produce and ornamentals. The company’s objective is to bridge the gap between academic research and industry by providing cost-effective technologies to monitor and improve quality and shelf-life of perishable commodities.
- Both Jeff and Deirdre are frequent instructors for the UC Davis Postharvest Technology Center workshops. Jeff has instructed the Modified Atmosphere Packaging portion of their workshops on ‘Postharvest Technology’, and ‘Freshcut: Maintaining Quality and Safety’. Deirdre has instructed a portion of the ‘Fruit Ripening’ workshop.
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- Manuel Madrid, managing director of Fruit Profits, has a doctorate in Business Administration from Bradford University, UK, an MBA from IMD (Institute for management Development), Lausanne, Switzerland, and MS in Horticulture from University of California, Davis and MSc Agricultural Engineering, Polytechnic University, Valencia, Spain. Prior to forming his own company Manuel was a Director at Driscolls European Genetics for four years; Director, Business Development, Syngenta Seeds Vegetables Europe for five years; Director of Research, Chiquita Brands Latin America, in Costa Rica for five years.
- David Barney, managing director of Geofresh Ltd., graduated with Degree in Agriculture from London University, and has long been associated with horticultural and food industry research in the UK. David has served as a member of the Horticultural Development Council and the LINK PMC (responsible for allocating research funding), in the UK. He also represented Global interests on the United Fresh Produce Association Board. He has expertise in farming, procurement, technical and processing; with a strong emphasis on development and innovation. This allows Geofresh to assist organizations in improving their procurement performance, develop and apply effective supplier-approval (and technical) systems and improve the efficiency of their processes. Areas of focus include: building supply chain and farming capability; contaminant reduction in leafy salad production; advising fresh-cut processor on agricultural / raw material matters and procurement, working with key customers to support global food safety Initiatives.
- Gilad Sadan is the Managing Director of N.A.V.I. Co Global. Gilad started his career as the sales and marketing manager, and later the CEO, of plastic packaging manufacturer Raptis Pax. Before that he was an Officer in the IDF for 4 years. In the past 10 years Gilad gained extensive knowledge and expertise in the Fresh Produce industry. During his time as Sales and Marketing Manager and CEO of Raptis Pax he developed a wide range of products for the Fruit & Vegetable and retail industries. He has expertise in Trends, Insights and strategic business direction, Brand & Packaging design, Shelf Life & Modified atmosphere packaging., Mock ups and rendering, Retail presentation using innovative state of the art technology (Augmented Reality).
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- Will Daniels is Principal of Fresh Integrity Group consulting; specializing in supply chain, food safety, quality, operations and organic integrity for the fresh produce and perishables industries. Most recently, Will has been involved in the cold pressed juice industry working with two start ups, developing their operations. Prior to these start up companies, Will was with Earthbound Farm from 1999 until 2014. As Earthbound Farm’s Chief Food Integrity Officer, Daniels was responsible for food safety, food quality and the company’s organic integrity program. Will is a sought-after speaker and has addressed key issues in food safety in the produce industry at meetings of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Restaurant Association, the Institute of Food Technologists, and the International Association for Food Protection. He is the author of two chapters, “Effectively Managing through a Crisis,” and “Pathogen Testing in Fresh Produce: Earthbound Farm,”. Will serves on a variety of boards and technical committees.
- Gary Laney, founder of Farm to Fork Marketing, Inc., brings 29 years of experience in marketing, brand management and product management across retail, foodservice, growers and processors gained from his prior experience at Heinz, Syngenta, J. R. Simplot Company and Fifty Gazelles. His career has reached into the full spectrum of the food supply chain, spanning organic, conventional and genetically modified Crops. His experience includes developing marketing plans, new brands, repositioning existing brands, guiding the development of and launching of new products. He has managed marketing budgets up to to $40M, creating annual marketing plans, directing the development of award winning television, print and radio ads, sales support materials. He has successfully marketed seed to farmers, crops to processors and distributors, and then food products to retailers, wholesalers, food service operators.
- Peter Halperin, the Director of Halden Packaging, has a Diploma In Food Technology from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Peter has in the past worked for Distillers Corporation and Nestle as well as having gained experience in the retail sector working for OK Bazaars focusing on House Brands. Halden Packaging through its partners has developed a strong focus on intelligent active packaging which aims to extend shelf life and product quality and at the same time bring fresher food products to the market thereby reducing food waste and returns.
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