WASHINGTON —Dairy Farmers of America received the International Dairy Foods Association’s (IDFA) 2021 Food Safety Leadership Award during IDFA’s Dairy Forum today. The award was presented to the DFA Dairy Brands Division Food Safety and Quality Assurance Team and was accepted by Roger Hooi, DFA’s vice president of quality assurance, food safety and regulatory. The award, now in its fifth year, honors an individual, group or organization for demonstrating outstanding leadership directed at enhancing food safety within the dairy products industry.
“The members of this DFA Dairy Brands team, led by Roger Hooi, are well-respected and recognized across the dairy industry and have contributed greatly to advancing food safety for the broader dairy industry,” said John Allan, IDFA vice president of regulatory affairs and international standards. “IDFA is proud to present this year’s Food Safety Leadership Award to this team.”
“Facing a global pandemic, in addition to working through the transition of facilities from Dean Foods to Dairy Farmers of America, created a challenging environment this year for everyone in the Dairy Brands division,” said Alan Bernon, president and chief executive officer of DFA’s Dairy Brands division. “Roger and his team remained disciplined and committed to upholding the high standards for quality and food safety demanded by our business, our customers and consumers. We are proud of them and their work, and look forward to continuing to serve our family dairy farmer-owners.”
Previous recipients of the award are Edith Wilkin, Staff Vice President and Fellow, Food Safety and Regulatory Compliance, for Leprino Foods (2020); The Ice Cream Club, Inc. (2019); Brian Kraus, Director of Food Safety and Regulatory Compliance, Wells Enterprises, Inc. (2018); and the Cornell University Dairy Foods Extension team (2017).
A call for nominations for the 2022 Food Safety Leadership Award will be released this summer.
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The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, D.C., represents the nation’s dairy manufacturing and marketing industry, which supports more than 3 million jobs that generate $159 billion in wages and $620 billion in overall economic impact. IDFA’s diverse membership ranges from multinational organizations to single-plant companies, from dairy companies and cooperatives to food retailers and suppliers, all on the cutting edge of innovation and sustainable business practices. Together, they represent 90 percent of the milk, cheese, ice cream, yogurt and cultured products, and dairy ingredients produced and marketed in the United States and sold throughout the world. Delicious, safe and nutritious, dairy foods offer unparalleled health and consumer benefits to people of all ages.
