HENDERSON, Colo. – Birko, a leading provider of food safety solutions for the produce industry, today announced that its produce specialist, Ian Bessell, is now HACCP Certified through the International HACCP Alliance.
Bessell successfully completed a course sponsored by the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the United Fresh Produce Association, “Developing and Implementing a Hazard Analysis – Risk-based Preventive Control Safety Plan for Fresh Produce.” He earned his HACCP certification after passing the exam. The program is also sponsored by the Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association and the Southeast Produce Council.
The three-day course was taught by food microbiologists, HACCP experts, and authorities from academia, industry and government. It featured both workshops and hands-on laboratory participation where the participants learned to identify and prevent food safety hazards, set preventive/control measures and control limits, develop control and monitoring procedures, document and verify the results of their efforts, as established by the International HACCP Alliance.
Bessell is a part-time instructor for Northeastern University’s graduate program in the regulatory affairs of food and food industries. He is a graduate of the Emerging Leaders Development Program, sponsored by the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association. Bessell also serves on a number of produce industry committees, including the United Fresh Produce Association’s Food Safety and Technology Council. He formerly served on the Produce Marketing Association’s Produce Safety Science and Technology Committee and the Produce Safety Alliance Working Committee.
Bessell earned a master’s of agribusiness and a bachelor’s degree in food and resource economics, both from the University of Florida.
About Birko
Birko is a leading provider of food safety solutions to the meat, produce and beverage industries. Birko manufactures concentrated chemical formulations used in plant cleaning and sanitation, as well as antimicrobial interventions used to reduce pathogens from the manufacturing process of food. Birko’s equipment division, Chad Equipment, LLC, designs and manufactures chemical dispensing systems and state-of-the-art washing systems as well as equipment used for food safety protection in meat and produce processing. Founded in 1953, Birko is a WBENC Certified Women’s Business Enterprise and was awarded Supplier of the Century by the National Meat Association. birkocorp.com
Source: Birko
