ANN ARBOR, Mich. – NSF International, the global public health and safety organization, has appointed a new highly experienced technical leadership team for its Agriculture Division and expanded its services to assist the agriculture industry in strengthening its food safety practices and complying with retailer and regulatory requirements including the new Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
NSF Agriculture has added new certified training courses, online audit management capabilities, self assessment tools, consulting and technical services to help producers, packer/shippers and distributors demonstrate their food safety compliance. This includes adding PrimusGFS and CanadaGAP certification audits and providing bundled auditing services designed to save the time and costs associated with meeting multiple industry standards.
The Global Managing Director at NSF Agriculture, David Richardson, commented: “As the agriculture industry faces an increasingly complex range of issues, including food safety, social compliance and sustainability, we are confident that NSF Agriculture has the industry experts and tools necessary to assist farmers and growers, producers and retailers to navigate these challenges and strengthen their food safety systems across large and often disparate supply chains.”
Leading the new NSF Agriculture program are three agriculture and technical food safety experts: Jaclyn Bowen, General Manager; Greg Komar, Technical Manager; and Nova Sayers, Business Development Manager. These three experts are available at the United Fresh Show (Booth #1336) and can discuss NSF's FSMA readiness tool, a Web-based tool designed to help companies assess their food safety system, and the technical aspects of GLOBALG.A.P., PrimusGFS and other food safety standards.
Jaclyn BowenJaclyn Bowen, General Manager, Agriculture and Organic Programs at NSF International
Jaclyn Bowen is responsible for NSF’s agriculture and organic programs throughout North America, including certification programs for Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI)-benchmarked standards and USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP) through NSF subsidiary Quality Assurance International (QAI). Bowen has 10 years of experience in food safety and organics and she has played a key role in developing certification programs based on NSF American National Standards for gluten-free food and personal care products containing organic ingredients. She also helped launch QAI organic programs globally to help companies demonstrate compliance to both USDA NOP and other international organic standards, including European, Canadian and Japanese organic programs. Bowen earned a master's degree in management and policy from the University of Michigan, a master's degree in quality from Eastern Michigan University's College of Engineering Technology and a bachelor's degree in environmental biology from Michigan State University.
Greg KomarGreg Komar, Technical Manager, Agriculture and Organic Programs at NSF International
Greg Komar is responsible for managing the technical requirements of NSF’s agricultural auditing and certification programs to ensure compliance with regulations and food safety best practices. With more than 15 years of experience in produce food safety, Komar served in a wide variety of quality assurance roles prior to joining NSF International. He has managed HACCP, GMP and field food safety auditing programs that included microbiological, environmental and product testing for leading U.S. produce companies with operations throughout North America and Mexico. Komar is HACCP certified and earned a bachelor’s degree in applied plant biology from the University of California-Davis. He also teaches food safety courses at Hartnell College in Salinas, California.
Nova Sayers, Business Development Manager, Agriculture and Organic Programs at NSF International
Nova Sayers has more than 15 years of experience in international business development, agriculture and sustainability. As Business Development Manager for NSF Agriculture, Sayers provides food companies with access to a global network of technical expertise and tools to develop robust food safety systems and achieve certification to global food safety certification schemes that win business and provide brand protection. Prior to joining NSF, she served in many international business development roles and specialized in food and agriculture sustainability auditing and certification programs. She is a certified ISO 9001 Lead Auditor and GRI Reporter, completed HACCP, GLOBALG.A.P., SQF and BRC certified training, and earned a bachelor’s degree in political economy from the University of California Berkeley.
For more information about NSF International’s agriculture programs, visit NSF International’s website or contact Nova Sayers at agriculture@nsf.org or 510-421-2805.
Editor's note: NSF experts will be available at United Fresh. To schedule an interview with an NSF International representative, contact NSF Senior Communications Manager Greta Houlahan at houlahan@nsf.org or +1 734-913-5723.
About NSF International: NSF International is a global independent organization that writes standards, and tests and certifies products for the food, water and consumer goods industries to minimize adverse health effects and protect the environment (nsf.org). Founded in 1944, NSF is committed to protecting human health and safety worldwide. NSF International has been collaborating with the World Health Organization since 1997 in water quality and safety, food safety and indoor environments.
The NSF Global Food Division provides expertise and accredited services across all supply chain sectors, from agriculture, produce, processing, distribution and dairy, to seafood, retail and restaurants. Services include Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) certification (SQF, BRC, GLOBALG.A.P., FSSC, IFS, CanadaGAP, PrimusGFS), plus expert auditing, consulting and technical services, HACCP validation and inspection, and organic and gluten-free certification through QAI (Quality Assurance International). NSF is also the leading certifier of foodservice equipment, nonfood compounds and bottled water/beverages.
Additional NSF International services include management systems registrations delivered through NSF International Strategic Registrations (NSF-ISR); environmental and sustainability claims verification services through NSF Sustainability, and training and education programs through NSF Training and Education.
Source: NSF International
