North American Food Safety & Quality

Frank Yiannas is a renowned food safety leader and executive, food system futurist, author, professor, past president of the International Association of Food Protection, and advocate for consumers.

Most recently, he served under two different administrations as the Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a position he held from 2018 to 2023, after spending 30 years in leadership roles with two industry
giants: Walmart and the Walt Disney Company.

After retiring from the FDA, Yiannas founded Smarter FY Solutions to help organizations address critical food safety and supply chain challenges. He also advises several prestigious companies, offering consultancy services to modernize compliance strategies and ensure clients meet regulatory requirements and industry standards.

Throughout his career, Frank has been recognized for his role in strengthening food safety standards in new and innovative ways, as well as building effective food safety management systems based on modern, science-based, and tech-enabled prevention principles.

Bill Marler is a lawyer best known for his work in food safety and foodborne illness litigation. He is the founder of Marler Clark, a law firm based in Seattle, Washington, that specializes in representing victims of foodborne illness outbreaks. Marler has represented clients in some of the most high-profile foodborne illness cases in the United States, including the 1993 Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak, the 2006 Dole spinach E. coli outbreak, the 2011 Listeria outbreak linked to cantaloupes from Jensen Farms and the 2018 Romaine E. coli outbreak.

Bill has also been a strong advocate for food safety reform and has worked with government agencies and industry leaders to improve food safety standards to prevent future outbreaks. Bill has been recognized for his work with numerous awards and accolades, including both the Seattle University Distinguished Law Graduate and Professional Achievement Awards, the Washington State Public Justice and Outstanding Lawyer Awards. Bill’s work has been profiled in the book “Poisoned” and in the Netflix documentary of the same name.

Marlenea Jackson is Vice President of Quality, North America at Mondelez International, where she leads a team dedicated to ensuring the food safety and product quality across the region.  With more than 20 years of experience spanning Coca-Cola, Danone, and other major food companies, she ahs built a reputation for transforming organizations, strengthening compliance, and embedding quality as a value and driver of growth.  An Oklahoma native and graduate of Oklahoma Christian University, Marlenea is passionate about advancing food safety and champions programs that safeguard consumers while enabling sustainable business growth.

Sara Mortimore is the former Vice President and Global Subject Matter Expert for Food Safety at Walmart Inc. In this role, Sara was responsible for the global development and oversight of all Food Safety programs and initiatives for the company’s more than 10,500 stores, manufacturing facilities, distribution, and fulfilment centers. A proud accomplishment was leading the team to be awarded the IAFP Black Pearl Award in 2024.

Prior to joining Walmart in May 2019, Sara held the position of Vice President of Product Safety, Quality and Regulatory Affairs with enterprise-wide responsibility at Land O’Lakes, Inc. In this capacity, she covered both human and animal foods and supported non-profit international development work.

Sara began her career with Glaxo SmithKline as a Research Technologist in Research & Development. In 1989, she joined Grand Metropolitan Foods, which later became Pillsbury and was subsequently incorporated by General Mills Inc. Here she led food safety, quality, and regulatory teams throughout international markets, including support of brands such as Haagen Dazs, Wanchai Ferry, Old El Paso, and Green Giant.

She is the co-author of several successful books, chapters and papers on HACCP and food safety management. Sara has served on the board of trustees for the Royal Society of Public Health, for the BRC International Advisory Board, and is a past member of the Global Food Safety Initiative Steering Committee.

Peter Begg serves as the Chief Quality and Food Safety Officer at Lyons Magnus, overseeing all facets of quality and food safety, including risk management, regulatory compliance, and product conformity. With extensive experience in the food industry, Peter previously held leadership roles at Hearthside Food Solutions, Glanbia Nutritionals, Mondelēz International, and Kraft Foods. His career spans 29 years, encompassing positions in engineering, research and development, and quality assurance. Peter’s expertise extends to global initiatives, having represented Mondelēz International on the Global Food Safety Initiative board. He holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Pennsylvania State University, underpinning his commitment to excellence in food safety and quality.

Mahir is a Master in Chemical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and currently is a Vice President at PepsiCo leading Global FSQA (Food Safety and Quality Assurance) Organization based in New York.

Mahir has four years of work experience in Unilever, India and then 28+ years of experience with PepsiCo. He has worked in Supply chain operations, EHS (Environment , Health and Safety) , R&D, Digitization and most of all in Food Safety and Quality Assurance across three continents – India, Dubai and USA. He is currently responsible for formulating and implementing strategic plans for all Food Safety and Quality initiatives across the entire product portfolio ( Snacks, beverages, Dairy, Bread and meat snacks in over 1300 company-owned and third-party manufacturing sites around the globe.

With deep-rooted knowledge across product categories and differing regulatory and cultural environments, he plays a pivotal role in establishing rigorous standards and systems. He has shared countless lessons learned during his career. His innovative approaches ensure that PepsiCo consistently delivers products that not only meet stringent safety guidelines but also resonate with consumer expectations and satisfaction. Under Mahir’s guidance, the company’s commitment to food safety, quality assurance, compliance, and consumer trust remains unparalleled.

Peter Crayton is the Vice President of North America Quality & Food Safety at Kraft Heinz. Peter joined Kraft Heinz in February 2024, bringing over two decades of expertise in quality, operations, and innovation.

Peter began his career as a microbiologist in the QA lab at Procter & Gamble in 2004. Since then, he has held increasingly senior roles, including leadership positions at Henkel North America Beauty and Laundry, Unilever, Estée Lauder, and Nestlé. His contributions have been pivotal in the growth and success of some of North America’s most iconic brands.

As the Vice President of Food Safety and Quality Assurance for Sysco Corporation, Charles Leftwich serves the world’s largest foodservice distributor. In this role he supports Sysco’s Purpose of “Connecting the World to Share Food and Care for One Another” by establishing food safety, product quality, sustainability, and regulatory compliance strategies across the Sysco enterprise. To implement these strategies, Charles lead a team of talented food safety professionals across Sysco’s broadline distribution services, specialty manufacturing locations, and Sysco’s industry leading private label brand program which is renowned for its commitment to the highest product quality and food safety standards.

Charles is a highly-experienced professional in the food safety, quality assurance and regulatory field with expertise in the harvest, manufacturing, distribution, and foodservice industries. I have served on various industry associations’ boards of directors, committees and working groups. Charles has held positions of increasing responsibility throughout his career and prior to Sysco, led teams in Food Safety and Quality Assurance, Operations and Environmental Health and Safety at Cargill Meat Solutions and Kane Beef. Charles graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science, and a Master of Business Administration from West Texas A&M University.

Dr. Jackson is a Senior Science Advisor for Food Safety with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, joining in 2022. In this role, he supports programs in outbreak investigations, root cause analysis, and prevention strategies.

From 2017–2021, Dr. Jackson served as Vice President of Food Safety, Regulatory, and Social Compliance for Driscoll’s team in North America and South America. He previously served as the Director of Food Safety for Nestlé US and Nestlé Canada from 2009–2017. From 1998–2003, he headed the Microbiology Laboratories at the Nestlé Quality Assurance Laboratory for the U.S. and Canada. From 2004–2008, he was Chief Industrial Microbiologist for Nestlé’s global operations in Vevey, Switzerland.

Dr. Jackson received his B.S. in Biology from Abilene Christian University and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Food Microbiology from Texas A&M University.

David Clifford is the Director of Food Safety for Nestle USA, leading a team of food safety professionals providing support and leadership in operational food safety, compliance, hygiene and thermal processing. Over his 36 years with Nestle he has held many technical and operational roles domestically and internationally. David is a global subject matter expert for Nestle for HACCP, Food Allergens, Listeria control/prevention, and Food Safety Risk Assessment.

David earned his BS in Microbiology from The Ohio State University and an MBA. Aside from serving as an instructor to the food industry for allergen management, HACCP and risk management he is also active in several national and international organizations including Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), Food Allergen Resource and Research Program (FARRP/University of Nebraska), STOP Foodborne Illness, Partnership for Food Safety Education (PFSE), the Institute for Food Safety and Health (IFSH), and FMI The Food Industry Association.

Dr. Denise Eblen was named deputy administrator for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) in July 2025. In this role, Dr. Eblen helps oversee FSIS and the fulfillment of its public health mission. She advances the agency’s vision and goals, leading innovative solutions to challenges in FSIS.

Dr. Eblen previously served as the FSIS administrator from December 2024 to July 2025. Drawing from over 25 years of experience at USDA, Dr. Eblen plays a key role in steering FSIS in its efforts to use science-based decision making to modernize the agency’s inspection strategies, policies and approaches to improve public health.

Dr. Eblen first joined FSIS in 2001 as a food safety fellow supporting the agency’s food safety and public health priorities. In 2018, she was selected as assistant administrator for the Office of Public Health Science (OPHS) at USDA FSIS after serving as acting deputy assistant administrator for OPHS from 2013 to 2015. While leading OPHS, Dr. Eblen provided expertise in scientific analysis, including oversight of FSIS laboratories and testing of regulatory samples, risk assessment and outbreak investigation and response.

In addition to her work with FSIS, Dr. Eblen has held roles with USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS). In 2015, Dr. Eblen joined NIFA as deputy director. She led NIFA’s Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, which supports research, education and extension activities in food safety, food quality, nutrition and obesity. Dr. Eblen began her USDA career in 1999 as a post-doctorate research associate with ARS, where she studied the safety of produce.

Dr. Eblen holds a doctorate degree in food safety microbiology from the University of Ulster at Jordanstown, a Master of Science in food science from Queen’s University Belfast and a Bachelor of Science in human nutrition from the University of Ulster at Coleraine, in Northern Ireland.