A lot has happened in our country over the past couple of weeks. And amid those noteworthy events was World Food Safety Day, which occurred Sunday, June 7.

Maybe you are not familiar with this occasion, and that’s okay. World Food Safety Day is an opportunity to raise awareness about things we can all do to improve food safety. As you might imagine, this is core to what we do at Tyson Foods. One essential food safety measure, washing our hands, has become globally significant this year due to COVID-19.

How fitting, then, that this year’s theme is, “food safety, everyone’s business.”

World Food Safety Day also gives us an opportunity to recognize individuals who are food safety heroes. They are the professionals who ensure we all have safe food on our tables each time we eat. For me personally, those superheroes are Tyson’s own Scott Brooks, Suzanne Finstad, Joe Harmon, Bob Reinhard and Jennifer Williams. 

Here is a little bit about each of them, and why they make a difference in the food safety sector.

Dr. Brooks recently joined Tyson as the senior vice president for food safety and quality. He provides leadership for the food safety team as well as our laboratories. Scott brings two decades of food safety and quality experience at some of America’s best-known food and beverage brands. His unique background serves him well in providing leadership for Tyson’s COVID-19 response team, especially in the area of testing and laboratory support. I am proud of the work he is doing and glad he is a Tyson team member.

Suzanne Finstad leads food safety and quality for our poultry segment. She provides thought leadership and strategy, including policies and programs designed to ensure compliance, and drives continuous improvement. Suzanne and her team work collaboratively with the business to identify and mitigate risk to the brand and consistently deliver to expected food safety and quality metrics. Suzanne has a special talent for motivating and encouraging her team to be the best they can be. She truly cares about her team – and it shows in her leadership.

Joe Harmon leads food safety for one of Tyson’s leading customers. He works with our domestic and international plants to provide quality and food safety culture leadership. Joe’s team spans all time zones and language backgrounds. I want to recognize the work Joe and his team do around the world to keep our food safe.  

Dr. Bob Reinhard leads food safety quality assurance for prepared foods. Some of his responsibilities include supply chain regulatory compliance, technical services, and scientific research on state-of-the-art food safety and quality technologies. Bob loves data, thinking creatively, and finding solutions to difficult problems. He continuously challenges his team to ensure they too are making objective, science-based decisions.

Jennifer Williams leads food safety, technical services and animal welfare within our fresh meats business unit. Providing for her family, serving our work family and contributing safe, nutritious food for millions of families worldwide are driving forces in her life. I have witnessed firsthand how her trailblazing solutions contribute to Tyson Foods being a leader in the protein industry. Jennifer loves to be in the plants alongside her team making a difference. I appreciate Jennifer and her team for all the innovative work and contributions they are making. 

Though each of these Tyson team members stand out individually, food safety really is everyone’s business. Please join me in commending my heroes and the outstanding work Scott, Suzanne, Bob, Joe, Jennifer and others are doing on the Tyson Foods Food Safety and Quality Team.

Author
Vice President of Regulatory Policy, Food and Agriculture at

Barb Masters is the Vice-President for Regulatory Policy, Food and Agriculture at Tyson Foods.  She will provide regulatory vision and support across the business enterprise at Tyson Foods.

She came to Tyson from Keystone Foods where she served as the Global Vice President for Food Safety and Quality.  Barb is a lead instructor for the Human Preventive Controls Rule.

Prior to joining Keystone Foods, she was a Senior Policy Advisor OFW Law. Before joining the firm, Dr. Masters spent 17 years at the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).  Dr. Masters held a variety of positions throughout the Agency, both in the field and at headquarters – including serving as an in-plant inspector and the Administrator for the Agency.

Dr. Masters graduated from Mississippi State University with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, and served in a Food Animal Internship at Kansas State University. She continued to further her education by taking advanced coursework in biotechnology at Texas A&M University.

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