iFoodDS Appoints Andrew Kennedy as Chief Traceability Officer

SEATTLE — iFoodDS, a provider of connected traceability, quality and food safety solutions for the fresh food supply chain, announced the promotion of Andrew Kennedy to the position of chief traceability officer, effective immediately. In his new role, Kennedy will lead the product strategy for iFoodDS' traceability product line while continuing to advocate for the importance of traceability across the food supply chain.

Kennedy has nearly two decades of experience leading large-scale food supply chain traceability initiatives and is widely recognized as a subject matter expert in the industry. His experience includes co-leader of Tech-Enabled Traceability, a core element of FDA's New Era of Smarter Food Safety initiative; contributor to FDA's Final Food Traceability Rule (FSMA 204); interim director of IFT's Global Food Traceability Center; and co-founder of both New Era Partners and FoodLogiQ. He also spearheaded the development of numerous food traceability standards and best practices.

"With Andrew Kennedy's extensive experience in food supply chain traceability, there is no one more qualified to lead iFoodDS' product strategy," said Frank Yiannas, food safety leader and food system futurist. "Based on our time working together at FDA, I am confident that Andrew will bring his experience, insight and innovative mindset to his new role and will help solidify iFoodDS' position as a leading provider of traceability software for large enterprises and suppliers of all sizes."

The iFoodDS traceability solution, iFoodDS Trace Exchange with IBM Food Trust, integrates with other systems and adopts industry standards such as GS1. It is designed to ease the FSMA 204 compliance burden by giving suppliers options and ensuring that whatever method they use to capture data required by FSMA 204 can be shared across the supply chain.

"I am honored to take on the role of chief traceability officer at iFoodDS," said Kennedy. "iFoodDS' success is rooted in its scalable and interoperable platform. It is the foundation for connecting supply chains and is designed for stronger collaboration between trading partners. I look forward to working with our teams to provide more capabilities that provide deeper product and supply chain insights, resulting in increased supply chain resiliency."