SQFI Appoints Food Safety Professional to Lead SQF Business Development

ARLINGTON, Va. — FMI, The Food Industry Association, announced the appointment of Carey Allen to lead the business development efforts for the expanding food safety certification program, SQF. Allen, a long-time food safety professional, fills the role by building SQF program awareness and focusing on its expansion to further bolster consumer and retailer food safety expectations.

Allen will work closely with the SQF Community stakeholders and support the SQF services designed to meet industry, customer and regulatory requirements for all sectors of the food supply chain.

“Our investment in the SQFI team comes at an exciting time when there are more than 11,000 SQF certified sites in more than 40 countries and six continents," said FMI Chief Food Safety Assessment Officer and Senior Vice President, Gigi Vita. "Carey’s strong background in food quality, manufacturing and product development complements our brand reputation in the food industry. Adding her experience and expertise to the SQFI team is the right investment to support the tremendous SQF growth.

“Carey joins the largest GFSI-recognized Certified Program Owner (CPO) in North America, and will assist retailers, foodservice and manufacturing companies to solidify their compliance with international and domestic food safety regulations to the highest possible standards, at all levels of the supply chain.”

Most recently, Allen served as vice president of the food and agriculture division at SCS Global Services where she led the growth and expansion of the food safety, product claims, social compliance and sustainable agriculture businesses by increasing market presence and advancing business capabilities through information technology and organizational design.

Previously, Allen led global product certification and supply chain food safety at NSF International, working with the global operating teams to increase efficiencies of scale and supporting technical leadership in regional markets.

Allen has a strong background in food manufacturing quality and product development, having worked for many years with leading brands, including Gorton’s Seafood and Kraft-Oscar Mayer Foods.