Dr. Gavin Downing

Gavin is Director of the Food Inspection Branch. The Food Inspection Branch is responsible for administering the ministry’s food safety and inspection programs for meat, dairy, fish, and foods of plant origin. Gavin was previously Manager, Food Safety Science, within the Food Inspection Branch. In his roles with the Food Inspection Branch, Gavin has championed the ministry’s approach to risk-based food safety and the modern regulator. Gavin also has worked as a coordinator within the ministry’s policy area, both on food safety legislation and regulations and on food safety policy for fish and fish products. Prior to joining the OPS, Gavin was Executive Director of the Salmon Health Consortium, a not-for-profit industry association that administered an on-farm food safety program for Canada’s aquaculture industry and addressed issues relating to the approval and use of therapeutics. He has managed aquaculture farms in Ontario and Massachusetts. Gavin has a PhD in aquaculture and an MSc in ecotoxicology.

Lyzette Lamondin

Lyzette Lamondin is the Executive Director of Food Safety and Consumer Protection with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. She has held various positions within the Agency, including Executive Director of the Food Import, Export and Consumer Protection Division and Director of Agrifood Programs and was Chair of the Codex Committee on Food Labelling in 2015 and 2017. Lyzette led the initial consultations and drafting of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations from 2012 to 2015. Prior to joining the CFIA she worked in intergovernmental and regulatory affairs in the Departments of Fisheries Oceans, and in community-based programs at Health Canada.

John Verbeten

John Verbeten is the Director of FDA’s Division of Import Operations. His team provides leadership, instruction, and support for all aspects of FDA’s import operations, including investigation and enforcement activities, interagency collaboration, IT systems development, and management of FDA’s Import Alert program.

Throughout his 27 years with the FDA, John has specialized in import operations. He spent his first 14 years in FDA field offices in Dallas District and Chicago District, primarily as an import investigator, and was named FDA’s Import Inspector of the year in 2000. John has been a member of the national instructor cadre responsible for training employees on import law and FDA import procedures since 2001.

As a staff member and manager in the Division of Import Operations since 2004, John has been integral to issuance and maintenance of instruction to the field including Regulatory Procedures and Investigations Operations; development of import procedures for FDA field offices and headquarters; development of new regulatory/statutory programs, and training of FDA staff on all aspects of FDA’s import operations. He has been heavily involved in issues related to imported pharmaceuticals, International Mail Facilities, and in issues specifically dealing with US Customs and Border Protection laws, regulations, and procedures.

John became Director of FDA’s Division of Import Operations in January 2017.

Sonya Agbessi

Obtained her PhD in microbiology from the University Of Sherbrooke, QC

Started her career at Health Canada in Ottawa reviewing Good Manufacturing Practices for Natural Health Products;

Then, has been Health Canada’s Food Policy Liaison Officer for Ontario and Manitoba. This involves developing food safety and nutrition policies, engaging and collaborating with stakeholders in policy development and educating various groups in federal food policy initiatives.

Bill DiMento

Bill DiMento is Vice President of Corporate Sustainability and Government Affairs at High Liner Foods. He oversees corporate-level Sustainability initiatives and Government Affairs ensuring that the company is meeting the strictest of standards in manufacturing, seafood procurement and social compliance through its supply chain. Under Bill’s leadership, the company continues to strengthen its commitment to sustainable practices by increasing the amount of products that are certified sustainable, reducing source packaging, reducing food waste, as well as lowering energy and water usage across the company. Bill DiMento has held key positions at High Liner Foods, Inc. since 1987, including Director of Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs, Director of International Food Safety and Regulatory Affairs, Senior Director of Manufacturing and Regulatory Affairs and most recently as VP Quality Assurance, Sustainability and Government Affairs. DiMento is a professional member of the Institute of Food Technologists, Past U.S. Representative to CODEX, and has been named chairman of the NFI Technical Committee. DiMento is a past member of the Board of Directors for the International Association of Fish Inspectors and the Atlantic Fisheries Technology Conference and is currently chairman of the Executive Committee of the Global Seafood Sustainability Initiative. Bill received SeaWeb’s first-ever Grand Seafood Champion award in 2015 for his work that stretched across all four award categories: leadership, innovation, vision and advocacy. Bill holds a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Food Science with Engineering coursework from the University of Massachusetts. Bill resides with his wife Beth on the north shore of Massachusetts.

Dr. Jason Wan

Dr. Jason Wan is the Associate Director for the Institute for Food Safety and Health (IFSH), and Associate Chair and Professor of the Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), U.S.A. Prior to joining IFSH in July 2009, Dr. Wan was a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne (1992-1995), and a Senior Research Scientist and a Platform Manager at the Division of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Australia (1995-2009). Dr. Wan serves on the Steering Committee of the Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance (FSPCA), as well as on a number of subcommittees of the Alliance, including Editorial, Implementation, and International subcommittees. Dr. Wan is a Trainer-of-Trainer for FSPCA Preventive Controls for Human Food, and for Foreign Supplier Verification Programs Lead Instructors courses. Dr. Wan served as a supervisor for over 10 Ph.D. and numerous M.S. students, and is an author of over 200 scientific publications and invited conference presentations. Dr. Wan serves as the Chair (2016-2017) for the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Nonthermal Processing Division (NPD), a member of the Nominations Advisory Committee for the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST), and a subcommittee member of the International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods (ICMSF). Dr. Wan also served on the Editorial Board of Journal of Food Protection (2011-2014), and was a guest editor for Trends in Food Science and Technology, and Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies journals.

Tiina Henkusens

Tiina is the Americas Regulatory Affairs Director at McCormick & Company Inc. (McCormick) responsible for labelling compliance and regulatory affairs for Canada and the United States. McCormick manufactures, markets, and distributes spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavorful products to the food industry.
Tiina has over 20 years of progressive experience in regulatory affairs and quality assurance across a broad range of consumer-packaged goods and has experience in regulatory policy development and advocacy through trade association leadership. Tiina is currently the Past President of the Canadian Spice Association.
Tiina graduated from Ryerson University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Arts, Food Nutrition, Consumer and Family Studies, with a Minor in Health Promotion.

Jim Robbins

Jim and his wife Nettie currently operate a 2500-acre farm in central-west Saskatchewan. They began converting the farm to organic agriculture in 1998 and have been entirely organic since 2004. The farm includes a commercial cattle operation of 40 cows that is also certified organic. Jim’s educational background and experience includes English Literature, Animal and Agricultural Science, microbiology laboratory technician and Lecturer in Vocational Agriculture at the University of Saskatchewan.

Virgil Lowe

Dr. G. Harvey Anderson is a Professor of Nutritional Sciences and Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. He is Director of the University-Industry Program in Food Safety, Nutrition and Regulatory Affairs (PFSNRA) and former and inaugural Executive Director of the Joanna & Brian Lawson Centre for Child Nutrition.

He has served the University as Associate Dean, School of Graduate Studies, Dean and Associate Dean, Research, Faculty of Medicine, Chair, Department of Nutritional Sciences and as an elected member of the University Governing Council.
His advocacy for university, industry and government partnerships in developing food and nutrition solutions is shown by his leadership in the formation of the Canadian National Institute of Nutrition, the University of Toronto’s PFSNRA and Joanna & Brian Lawson Centre for Child Nutrition, and as a long-time member and Chair of the Board of the International Life Sciences Institute, Washington, D.C.
Dr. Anderson has held academic appointments at many Chinese universities where he led the development of an academic program in clinical and public health nutrition at Sun Yat-sen University of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou.
He has served as a consultant to many food and drug companies and established as well as served on advisory groups for the food industry. He has received many awards for his research, mentorship and leadership in nutrition and is a Fellow of the American Society of Nutrition.

Dr. G. Harvey Anderson

Dr. G. Harvey Anderson is a Professor of Nutritional Sciences and Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. He is Director of the University-Industry Program in Food Safety, Nutrition and Regulatory Affairs (PFSNRA) and former and inaugural Executive Director of the Joanna & Brian Lawson Centre for Child Nutrition.

He has served the University as Associate Dean, School of Graduate Studies, Dean and Associate Dean, Research, Faculty of Medicine, Chair, Department of Nutritional Sciences and as an elected member of the University Governing Council.
His advocacy for university, industry and government partnerships in developing food and nutrition solutions is shown by his leadership in the formation of the Canadian National Institute of Nutrition, the University of Toronto’s PFSNRA and Joanna & Brian Lawson Centre for Child Nutrition, and as a long-time member and Chair of the Board of the International Life Sciences Institute, Washington, D.C.
Dr. Anderson has held academic appointments at many Chinese universities where he led the development of an academic program in clinical and public health nutrition at Sun Yat-sen University of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou.

He has served as a consultant to many food and drug companies and established as well as served on advisory groups for the food industry. He has received many awards for his research, mentorship and leadership in nutrition and is a Fellow of the American Society of Nutrition.

Susan Abel

Susan Abel is the Vice President Safety and Compliance for Food & Consumer Products of Canada where she works closely with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Health Canada, and Environment Canada on diverse activities such as regulatory change and safe chemicals management on behalf of FCPC’s members. She has been with FCPC for over seven years. In addition to her role at FCPC, Susan is also co-chair of the Canadian Supply Chain Food Safety Coalition.

Prior to her tenure at FCPC, Susan worked for 25 years in food manufacturing in Canada, primarily in Process Development and Quality/Regulatory roles for the Breakfast Cereal Industry as well product development with the Dairy Industry.

Susan graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture, with a major in Dairy Science, from the University of Guelph.

Eli Cadesky

Eli is the co founder and CEO of C-fu FOODS INC and One Hop Kitchen INC, two food companies operating in a very niche space, insect based foods. C-fu FOODS is a B2B ingredient supplier using patent pending food science to extract and restructure insect protein into functional food ingredients while One Hop Kitchen uses C-fu FOODS ingredients to deliver consumer package products. Founded by brother's Eli and Lee Cadesky, Lee is the technical genius behind our company holding a Masters of Food Science from Cornell University and BA in Mechanical Engineering from McGill. Eli holds an MBA from Schulich School of Business, his primary responsibilities include: sales and business development, product sourcing and supplier negotiations, importing and exporting, regulatory compliance, and marketing. But at the end of most days, Eli has a hard time not laughing at the idea that he and his brother have been travelling the world selling edible insects, and the craziest part, its working!

Kelly Bettschen

Born and raised on a mixed farm in Saskatchewan, Kelly began her education in food at a young age.  She completed her degree in Food Science from the University of Saskatchewan, College of Agriculture and Bioresources in 2004.   Upon completion of University Kelly began her professional career working for the Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre, as their HACCP Coordinator responsible for their federally inspected facility with a number of certifications including: meat, dairy, processed food and organic certification.  She continued working with the Food Centre moving into developing plant specific food safety plans for industry and training industry on the importance of food safety, HACCP, record keeping, sanitation and how to effectively train staff. In Kelly’s current role she participates on several federal, provincial and territorial committees to ensure that Saskatchewan’s food industry interests are represented.  She also works with partners to engage industry and make them aware of upcoming regulatory changes and impacts these may have to the Saskatchewan food industry and their businesses.

David Wiens

In July 2011, Mr. David Wiens was elected to the Executive Committee of Dairy Farmers of Canada. He was elected to the Dairy Farmers of Manitoba (DFM) board in the fall of 1995 and to the DFM Chair in December 2006. He was Chair of Dairy Farmers of Canada’s Promotion Committee from 2002 to 2005. Since 2000, David has sat on the Ste. Anne Co-op Oil board of directors. In 2009, he was appointed as a director on the Manitoba Cattle Enhancement Council.

Mike Horwich

Mike Horwich retired from the position of Director, Agriculture and Food Protection , Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture in 2014. In that position, he directed a pasture to the plate food protection program within the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture, holding the position of Administrator of both the Health Protection Act and Nova Scotia Meat Inspection Act. He was also responsible for departmental emergency preparedness and was a member of the Nova Scotia Emergency Management Team.
Over his career, Mr. Horwich has worked in the Nova Scotia Departments of Health, Environment, Agriculture and Fisheries. He was extensively involved with legislative, regulatory and standards development both nationally and provincially in the field of food safety.
Mr. Horwich trained in public health at Ryerson Polytechnical University and also holds a Bachelor of Science Degree and Master of Public Administration Degree from Dalhousie University.He currently is a sessional lecturer in the International Food Business Program,Dalhousie University, Agriculture Campus in Bible Hill ,Nova Scotia.

After a very successful career in public health protection,Mike was approached to work with Dalhousie University in the International Food Business Program. He is a sessional lecturer teaching food policy,human resources and food safety and quality assurance. His animated teaching style has earned him excellent reviews from students and academic colleagues alike.

Tatiana Miranda

Tatiana Miranda a Senior Supplier Quality Development Engineer at Nutrilite, located in Buena Park, CA, USA. She currently supports the Functional Foods & Beverage categories, as well as specialty dietary supplement suppliers. She has held numerous positions in different industries including Fresh and Frozen Seafood, Bottled Water, Beer, Soft Drinks & RTE Refrigerated Products; she has also had experience in supporting and implementing ISO 9000, 14000, 22000, BRC and NSF standards Before Nutrilite, she has been the Quality Manager of a Ready To Eat dips facility and a Packaging Quality Engineer for a Brewery.

Tatiana has a BS. in Food Engineering, Specialized in Biomaterials & Food Processing and a Master’s Degree in Food Science. She is also a PCQI Lead Instructor, ASQ' Certified HACCP Auditor, and both a ISO 9000 Lead Auditor & 22000 Internal auditor. She has worked with her team updating the second party audit checklist to comply with FSMA and FSVP requirements, as well as the updates of the Quality Assurance and Change Control Agreement with suppliers, and is a member of about a dozen Idea-To-Market projects that include food, beverages and dietary supplements.

Christine Maltais

Christine graduated from Laval University (Québec) in Food Science in 1992 and has been working since then in the food industry. After 5 years as a Food industry consultant for a group named Sayem Belleau & associates, she joined Biscuits Leclerc Ltd. based in St-Augustin-de-Desmaures near Quebec City as the first Quality Coordinator of the company.
With over 25 years of experience in the food industry, over the past 12 years she has been the Head of Quality Assurance overseeing operations at all 7 plants owned by Leclerc on both side of the USA-Canada border. Regulatory compliance, allergen management, compliance with customer’s needs and standards, technical information, supplier approval, recall management, HACCP, Certifications, GFSI, etc… are many of the areas in which she has developed great expertise.

Chris Healing

Chris Healing is one of our Western Canadian Technical Services Manager and brings our Canadian team a wealth of knowledge as he has over 22 years of experience in the food industry with over 10 years of safety experience and another 10 years in sanitation operations. In his current role, Chris assists with ensuring all requirements are met through documentation and verification of HACCP, GMP and FSEP. He also represents our client’s interests in all 3rd party audits (safety/food safety, BRC, USDA, CFIA, SQF, etc.). Internally, Chris manages all safety and food safety programs within PSSI facilities through corrective actions, coaching employees, troubleshooting industry problems, analyzing and developing equipment maintenance standards to improve the sanitation process and managing injury claims, and human rights complaints. Liaises with government safety officers when required. His role is an integral part of our sanitation process, and we rely on him to ensure we truly are providing the best sanitation program for our customers.

Roger Pelissero

Roger Pelissero is a third generation egg farmer from St. Ann’s, Ontario and Chairman of the Board of Egg Farmers of Canada. Prior to his appointment as Chairman in 2017, Roger represented Ontario on the Egg Farmers of Canada Board of Directors. He has also served on numerous Board appointed committees including Executive, Cost of Production, Marketing and Nutrition, Service Fee and Production Management.

He currently serves on the Egg Farmers of Ontario Board of Directors representing Zone 4 and has also served as a member of Egg Farmers of Ontario’s Executive Committee. As Director for Ontario’s Zone 4, Roger represents Ontario’s Counties of Brant and Haldimand and the regional municipalities of Hamilton-Wentworth and Niagara.

As a representative of Egg Farmers of Canada, Roger has appeared before the House of Commons Standing on Agriculture and Agri-Food and the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry to brief MPs and Senators on the egg industry’s activities and objectives. He is advocate for evidence-based research that supports progress and innovation, and a member of the Egg Industry Center Board of Advisors of Iowa State University.

Roger has been farming with his family and wife Lorrie since 1984.

Aaron Fowler

Sharon Mohammed

Since my graduation from the University of Manitoba in Food Science and Microbiology, over the past 20 years I have worked in successive roles within the Canadian Food Industry (FSQA, manufacturing, sanitation, retail food and foodservice).

I joined Maple Leaf Foods in Sept. 2006 in a Corporate FSQA role, this was after the Schneider’s and Maple Leaf merger and only 18 months afterwards I was one of the many MLF personnel stationed on ground-zero at Bartor Road to be on the front line working with CFIA staff assigned to the crisis. Looking back, this became the pivot of my regulatory career.

In my current role as Director - Regulatory Management I support the MLF teams with regulatory interpretation services (day to day & strategic) and work with regional CFIA Inspectorate to enable commercial and consistent decision making (with enforcement when applicable). Via MLF industry association membership and directly with regional CFIA Inspectorate officials, I share industry knowledge / best practices and escalate issues to solve industry’s common objectives. I represent MLF on various industry committees / associations: Canadian Meat Council, Import-Export Canada, Agri Sub-Committee on Food Safety for the Pork Value Roundtable.

Shaibaal Roy