Food Safety Experts

A safe food supply is essential for feeding the world’s growing population. Ecolab has unrivaled expertise in GMP food safety to help prevent foodborne illness throughout the food supply chain, including the farm and animal health, food and beverage manufacturing, foodservice and food retail industries.


Food Safety

Our Key Focus Areas Include:
Cleaning, disinfection and sanitation • Emerging food safety trends
Foodborne illness prevention strategies • Food code
Food safety culture • Microbiological and allergen hazards
Regulatory compliance • Food safety and sanitation training
Vice president and food safety expert Lisa Robinson

Lisa R. Robinson is vice president of Global Food Safety and Public Health within the Research, Development & Engineering function of Ecolab Inc., the global leader in water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services that protect people and vital resources.

In this role, Lisa leads a global network of divisionally aligned food safety and public health team members and is responsible for the functional leadership of the company’s food safety and public health strategies.

Lisa Robinson is a recognized industry expert in food safety and public health protocols and strategies. She joined Ecolab in 2019, following nine years at SunOpta, Inc., where she most recently served as vice president of Food Safety and Quality Assurance. Lisa Robinson previously held positions in food safety and quality assurance at Target Corporation, Pepsi Bottling Group, General Mills, Inc. and Schreiber Foods, Inc.

Lisa Robinson has a master’s degree in Food Safety and a bachelor’s degree in Food Science from Michigan State University.

 

Director and food safety expert Dr. Elaine Black

Mandy is a Director of Global Food Safety and Public Health at Ecolab. She provides insights on regulatory and industry trends and is responsible for helping customers mitigate brand risks in the areas of food safety, guest experience, public health, workplace safety and sustainability. Mandy has over 20 years of experience in restaurant and supply chain food safety, quality assurance and procurement leadership at leading foodservice brands. She is also an active member of multiple organizations including the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO), holds a committee chair position with the Conference for Food Protection (CFP), serves on the steering committee for Partners with a Common Purpose (PwCP) and is on the board of the National Environmental Health Association Business Industry Affiliates, (NEHA BIA).

Erin Mertz headshot

Erin is a Director on the Global Food Safety and Public Health team at Ecolab, a global leader in water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services. She provides insights on regulatory and industry trends, engages with internal businesses on food safety and public health-related innovation and programs, and provides customer technical support and consultation in the areas of food safety, public health, and sustainability.

Erin has over 18 years of experience in microbiology, regulated product development in the foodservice and healthcare markets, and technical support and troubleshooting in food processing environments. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology from the University of Wisconsin in La Crosse, is HACCP certified, and is a Preventative Control Qualified Individual (PCQI). She is also a member of the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) and the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA).

 

Food & Beverage

Ecolab’s food and beverage industry experts understand how to effectively manage the risk of food contamination and foodborne illness to help dairy processors and food and beverage manufacturers enhance operational efficiency, GMP food safety and product quality.

Senior RD&E program leader and food safety expert Dr. Jeremy Adler

Dr. Jeremy Adler is a senior research, development and engineering program leader supporting the food and beverage industry. He works to deploy food safety and quality management solutions and provides technical support for the application of cleaning, sanitation and antimicrobial solutions to prevent foodborne illness. He also provides in-plant support for product and process validation, regulatory compliance and remediation of microbiological food safety concerns.

Dr. Adler has authored or co-authored several peer-reviewed articles in leading food industry journals. 

Dr. Adler has a bachelor’s degree in Microbiology, a master’s degree in Reproductive Physiology and a Ph.D. in Food Microbiology and Meat Science from Colorado State University.

Food safety expert Dr. John Hanlin

Dr. John Hanlin supports strategic public health initiatives for Ecolab. His subject matter expertise in food safety and public health provides the foundation for an enterprise-wide view of infection prevention and contamination control issues.

Dr. Hanlin is a member of the Institute of Food Technologists and the International Association for Food Protection.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology and Microbiology from the University of Edinburgh, an MBA from Temple University and a Ph.D. in Biology and Microbiology from Syracuse University.

Foodservice

Ecolab’s food safety experts provide on-site guidance to help full service, casual and quick service restaurants maintain food safety and compliance as well as actionable insights to improve service and training to help prevent foodborne illness. Our expertise spans both back of house and front of house operations.

Food safety expert Amanda Bakken

Amanda Bakken develops surface hygiene solutions for a wide range of markets, including foodservice, and is a subject matter expert on disinfection products and applications. She supports food safety initiatives, quality manufacturing and product development and commercialization.

Bakken is an author on several patents, and regularly speaks on cleaning and disinfection practices, environmental hygiene and outbreak prevention and recovery.

Bakken has a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

RD&E program leader and food safety expert Gina Owens

Gina Owen is an Ecolab Research, Development and Engineering program leader and leads a team of chemists and engineers responsible for the development and innovation of surface and hand hygiene programs and produce wash innovations. She also provides customer consultation on food code interpretation, operational recommendations to help customers practice food safe procedures and foodborne illness and disaster response.

Owen is a registered environmental health specialist / registered sanitarian and has bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Senior Manager and food safety expert Mandy Sedlak

Mandy is a Director of Global Food Safety and Public Health at Ecolab. She provides insights on regulatory and industry trends and is responsible for helping customers mitigate brand risks in the areas of food safety, guest experience, public health, workplace safety and sustainability. Mandy has over 20 years of experience in restaurant and supply chain food safety, quality assurance and procurement leadership at leading foodservice brands. She is also an active member of multiple organizations including the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO), holds a committee chair position with the Conference for Food Protection (CFP), serves on the steering committee for Partners with a Common Purpose (PwCP) and is on the board of the National Environmental Health Association Business Industry Affiliates, (NEHA BIA).

Food safety consultant Dr. Anna Starobin

Dr. Babekir provides guidance and consultation to the food industry, particularly quick service restaurants and food retail, on microbiological evaluation, food safety programs, equipment hygiene design, risk assessment & data analytics, and produce safety.

She developed analytical approaches to enhance food safety monitoring programs and improve compliance. She has published research on foodborne parasites and risk assessment tools. Prior to Ecolab, Dr. Babekir gained experience on international food safety regulations and the Codex Alimentarius.

Dr. Babekir has a doctorate in Veterinary Medicine, a master’s degree in in Microbiology, a master’s degree in in Quality Assurance and a Ph.D. in Applied Science and Technology from NC A&T State University. In addition, she has the Microsoft Professional Data Scientist certification.

Food Retail

Our food retail experts understand grocery, convenience or big-box store food operations and help improve food safety compliance and deliver profitable growth, and often serve as an extension of our customers’ food safety teams.

Director and food safety expert Viktoria Wagner, Ph.D.

Dr. Viktoria Wagner is the European director of Training and Technical Service for Ecolab Institutional and leads the European Food Safety network within Ecolab.

Dr. Wagner’s extensive experience within the industry has made her a recognizable expert in hygiene and food safety.

She has degrees in Food Science from the University of Vienna and General Management from the Austrian School of Applied Studies and earned her PhD in Food Chemistry from the University of Natural Resources and Life Science in Vienna. Dr. Wagner also is a TÜV certified Quality Management Representative.

Technical excellence manager and food safety expert Adam Ruskin

Adam Ruskin is a technical excellence manager for Food Safety serving food and beverage customers throughout Europe.

Ruskin supports a team of food safety experts in Europe that work to help advance our customers food safety objectives.

Ruskin a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Clarkson University.

Food safety expert Dr. Anne Vaughan

Dr. Anne Vaughan leads Ecolab’s European microbiology group which supports customers, innovation and regulatory requirements regarding product efficacy claims.

Dr. Vaughan has worked in academia and the brewing industry, and is experienced in researching, troubleshooting, training and auditing many aspects of microbiological food safety. She is passionate about teaching the impact of microbes in industry and society.

Dr. Vaughan holds a bachelor’s degree in Microbiology and a Ph.D. in Microbiology from University College Cork in Ireland.

Scott Killeen

Dr. Scott Killeen is a senior research, development & engineering program leader supporting the food retail and quick service restaurant segments. He develops cleaning and disinfection solutions, dispensers and procedures to enable practical food safety habits in fast moving environments.

Dr. Killeen has a bachelor’s and PhD degree in Chemistry from Dublin City University in Ireland.

Dr. Walter Aulmann

Dr. Walter Aulmann is director of Regulatory Affairs in Europe at Ecolab. In this role, Aulmann provides consulting services to the food and beverage industry in terms of dietary and occupational risk assessments and tailored-made assessments for specific customer applications.

Aulmann is a certified Eurotoxicologist (E.R.T.). Over many years he gained in-depth experience in the consumer, chemical and pharmaceutical industry.

Aulmann has a degree in pharmacy and a PhD in toxicology from Mainz University. He is also a member of the National Poison Council in Berlin, German Toxicological Society Board and German Pharmaceutical Chamber Toxicology Committee.