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ATLANTA, 27 April 2023 — The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI; the Coalition), The Consumer Goods Forum’s Coalition of Action on food safety, welcomes three new industry experts to the GFSI Steering Committee.
The new members of the Steering Committee, who will help shape the direction of the Coalition, drive collaboration between retailers and manufacturers, ensuring an open and transparent relationship with key stakeholders, and help deliver its mission of safe food for people everywhere, are:
- Deann Akins-Lewenthal, Senior Director Global Food Safety, Mondelez International
- Cindy Jenks, Head of Technical Division, Pick n Pay
- Mary Weaver, Chief Food Safety and Quality Assurance Officer, YUM! Brands
Deann Akins-Lewenthal, Senior Director Global Food Safety, Mondelez International, said: “I am excited to be joining a committee driven by the food industry’s senior food safety leaders, and supported by Co-Sponsors Dirk van de Put and Pieter Boone and GFSI Co-Chairs Howard Popoola and Mark Fryling.”’
Cindy Jenks, Head of Technical Division, Pick n Pay, noted: “It is a great privilege to be joining a group of industry leaders, co-sponsored by Pick n Pay CEO Pieter Boone. I look forward to the collaborative work ahead in addressing the challenges we face today to positively impact the future of food safety.”
Mary Weaver, Chief Food Safety and Quality Assurance Officer, YUM! Brands added: “Food safety is crucial in the food service industry, and I’m delighted at the opportunity to play my part in ensuring that safe food becomes more accessible globally.”
The GFSI Steering Committee is made up of senior food safety leaders from global food and drink manufacturers and retailers who are all members of The Consumer Goods Forum. In line with GFSI Governance Rules, the Steering Committee will be open to receiving new applications twice a year, from eligible retail and manufacturer members of the GFSI Coalition of Action on food safety. Each Steering Committee member commits to supporting the three strategic priorities of GFSI: harmonising and benchmarking of food safety certification programmes, food safety capability building and public private partnerships.
GFSI Director Erica Sheward concluded: “We are truly delighted to welcome new members from some of the world’s leading retail, service restaurants and manufacturers who share invested interest and commitment to supporting GFSI key strategic priorities and advancing the state of food safety globally in such critical times.
“We look forward to leaning on their expertise and a continued collaboration throughout the rest of 2023 and beyond.“
About the Global Food Safety Initiative
The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI; the Coalition) is a CEO-led Coalition of Action from The Consumer Goods Forum, bringing together 42 retailers and manufacturers and an extended food safety community to help oversee food safety standards for businesses and help provide access to safe food for people everywhere. As one of the world’s largest networks to help achieve safe food , GFSI is committed to making food safety everyone’s business and the Coalition members are addressing challenges facing food safety systems in their supply chains and the markets they operate in, and are helping to raise the food safety bar globally. Its ambition is to strengthen and harmonise food safety systems so they are able to feed the growing, global population and develop markets that can deliver food safely, no matter where in the world the consumer is. To learn more, visit www.mygfsi.com
For further information, contact James Pieper, Senior Communications Manager, The Consumer Goods Forum
