Commitment:

Powered by leaders who are committed to consumer safety, our vision is a food and water safe and secure world.

Hygiene is complex and there are many levels to sanitation that are involved in making food safe. Basic Sanitation is one of the grand challenges of our era. The world is constantly moving towards more and more innovative technology, while 2 billion people on the planet don’t yet have clean water or a toilet. Such a vast disparity in our world means that no matter how hard we try, the issue of poor hygiene will continue to be the biggest threat to food safety.

Our mission is to influence the adoption of better hygiene practices on all levels and in all geographies, to provide the knowledge to apply the best practices and technologies from the very basics to the advanced, while continually improving the practices that make safe food possible. We do this by educating, advocating for, and helping companies adopt the best technologies and methods to solve problems.

Our history:

Born at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2016, the Alliance for Advanced Sanitation was formed to address the growing need for standardization across equipment and cleaning methods, to address the workforce issues facing the food industry, to work on adapting and adopting better practices for automation, to assist industry efforts to meet environmental and sustainability goals, to connect, to assist in technology transfer, and ultimately to ensure consumer safety. Today, the Alliance for Advanced Sanitation is a non-profit organization based in Chicago, IL, open to collaboration with all segments of industry that have a need to clean, and open to all research and education entities that prepare the workforce to achieve those goals.

Leadership:

Led by Dr. Angela Anandappa, the Alliance is composed of key personnel that have an unrelenting passion for hygiene and advancing the industry. We invite passionate individuals who want to be part of this effort to join us.

Key Personnel:

Angela Anandappa, President, Alliance for Advanced Sanitation.

Dr. Angela Anandappa is the Founding Director for the Alliance for Advanced Sanitation. Anandappa has researched and worked in food industry safety and genomics for over 20 years. She helped establish the Food Systems Innovation Center at the University of Kentucky with the goal of providing resources for local food businesses. She is also a board member of the Animal Digestible Food Packaging Initiative.

She has led the Alliance in its strategic and scientific direction since it’s inception at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Prior to the Alliance, she led the supply chain food safety pillar of the KraftHeinz Company. She has been instrumental in product development and launch of food, beverage, and animal feed products ranging from very small to billion dollar brands. Dr. Anandappa earned her Ph.D. in Animal and Food Science from the University of Kentucky with a focus on food microbiology and systems level food safety programs. She is a member of the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP), Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) and other industry associations, and the current Chair of the Food Chemical Hazards and Food Allergy PDG at IAFP and serves on several other boards.

Darin Detwiler, Founder and CEO Detwiler Consulting Group LLC. Assistant Dean College of Professional Studies, Northeastern University.

Author, columnist, industry consultant, keynote speaker, and professor on food policy.  Founder and CEO of Detwiler Consulting Group, LLC.   U.S. Navy Nuclear Submarine Veteran.

Dr. Detwiler is an internationally recognized and respected food policy expert with over 25 years’ experience in shaping federal food policy, consulting with corporations, contributing thought leadership to the food industry, and addressing food safety and authenticity issues in the U.S. and abroad.  In 2018, the  International Association for Food Protection presented Detwiler with their Distinguished Service Award (sponsored by Food Safety Magazine) for his “unparalleled achievements across various advisory, advocacy, educational, editorial, and leadership committees related to food policy.”

Duane Grassman, Retired Corporate Hygienist, Nestlé USA & Canada.

Over the past 43 years, Duane Grassmann has made food manufacturing sanitation and hygiene his primary focus. In his career, he has worked with countless factories in the US and Canada as well as significant hygiene related involvement in hundreds of factory engineering projects. In the last 13 years, he has held corporate roles at Nestlé USA and the Schwan Food Company. Prior to these corporate positions, he worked for 30 years with numerous companies in various sanitation management positions. He graduated from Indiana University with a B.S. in Business.

Greg Gocek, Management Advisor, Securities Arbitrator, Educational Consultant and private Investor.

Gregory G. Gocek is a management advisor, securities arbitrator, educational consultant and private investor. Initially a food industry consultant and a policy analyst/auditor for the US GAO, he subsequently co-founded a consultancy with a business school friend. Their firm Enviro Capital has supported the corporate financial function of clients in the green/environmental industry. On projects ranging from M&A, valuation, underwriting, business planning, strategy and specialty recruiting, the firm has helped create a number of successful private and publicly-held enterprises. As an arbitrator for FINRA and the National Futures Association, he has resolved many conflicts between customers and investment professionals nationwide. Holder of the CFA charter professional designation from the global professional association CFA Institute, he has been active in various capacities with that organization and its local affiliate CFA Society Chicago. These include moderating a practice analysis website, contributing and editing multiple publications while being quoted in national media, enabling the professional disciplinary process and facilitating continuing investor education and the development of high quality instructional materials for CFA charterholder candidates. His education was entirely at the University of Chicago, from which he graduated with honors earning BA, MA, and MBA degrees, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and designated a teaching assistant. He has also taught courses at his alma mater and is active in a variety of alumni leadership roles, as well as with service on the boards of non-profits and in local politics. A native Chicagoan, he lives in his lifelong hometown of Downers Grove.

Devon Griggs, Senior Director Food Safety, Conagra Brands.

Devon directs a team of Senior Scientists and Associate Principle Product Protection Hygienic Design professionals providing hygiene support to twenty-five internal manufacturing facilities producing brands such as: Oreo, Milka, Cheese Nips, BelVita, Cadbury, Nilla, Sour Patch Kids, Trident, ChipsAhoy! Tang, Halls and Ritz.                      

Devon is a Sanitation, Pest Control, Hygienic Design, Quality, EHS, and Food Safety professional with a diversified career in food manufacturing, and has experience working for reputable companies such as: Kraft Foods, Aryzta, and Mondelēz International.

Devon has over 20 years of industry experience with an extensive background in Meat, Cheese, Dairy, Pasta and Biscuit categories.  Devon is recognized as sanitation enthusiast and subject matter expert with respect to: hygienic design, microbiological pathogen mitigation, HACCP, PIC/PEC compliance, pest control eradication, essentials of sanitation, continuous improvement, sustainability, as well as compliance to GFSI (FSSC22000, BRC, SQF), USDA and FDA (FSMA), and OSHA regulations in union and non-union facilities. 

She is PCQI certified as well as a Certified Sanitarian with operational expertise in: cleaning methodologies, reducing downtime, directing labor, advising plants on pest control, and managing fixed and variable costs. Devon holds a BA in Liberal Studies with Concentration in Business from Saint Xavier University, Chicago, IL. 

Karl Thorson, Global Food Safety & Sanitation Manager, General Mills.

Karl Thorson is a corporate Global Food Safety and Sanitation Manager, leading Sanitation for General Mills globally.  Karl received his Bachelors of Science degree in Food Science from the University of Minnesota.  His experience includes 24 years with Pillsbury/General Mills in both plant and corporate roles in Quality, Operations, and Sanitation.  He has worked with multiple product platforms including cereal, pizza, yogurt, dough products, snacks and other dry, refrigerated and frozen products.  His areas of focus include allergen and pathogen control, sanitary design, and sanitation training/education.  He chaired the GMA (Grocery Manufacturers Association) Sanitation Working Group for 3 years and currently hosts their annual sanitary design workshop.  He also works with BEMA (Bakery Equipment Manufacturers and Allieds), Alliance for Advanced Sanitation, and PMMI (The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies) OpX Leadership Network to help advance food safety through sanitation and sanitary design for the food industry.  He has been recognized as the Baking & Snack’s 2016 Operations Executive of the Year and 2016 Sanitarian of the Year by IAFP (International Association of Food Protection). 

Nish Abeysiriwardena, Head of R&D Key Accounts, GN Resound AS, Denmark.

Nish Abeysiriwardena comes from the Medical Device Industry. He is currently accountable for the Key account portfolio at the GN Hearing A/S. Nish is well versed in EU Medical Device Regulation (MDR) 2017/745, EU Medical Device Directive (MDD) 93/42/EE and FDA Quality System Regulation (21 CFR 820). He brings a wealth of knowledge from product development using Six Sigma and Lean in Military, Aerospace and Automation industry products from General Electric, Curtiss Wright and Intel. Nish has a Bachelors and Masters degree in Electrical Engineering From University of Kentucky and an MBA from University of Alabama and he is also an active PMP credential holder prom Project Management Institute.(PMI).

Angela Tellez-Lance, President, Synthesis Consulting, Toronto, Canada.

Dr. Tellez is an expert in International Food Risk Analysis. She has many years of experience in corporate food safety and in hands-on experience in product development, food safety program management, auditing, and problem solving at the University of Guelph and at Kraft Foods, Canada. She obtained her Ph.D. at the University of Guelph, where she has also served as Director of Operations at the Guelph Food Innovation Center.

Kara Mikkelson, Director of Food Safety, Chem Station, Wisconsin.

Ms. Mikkelson has 25 years of food microbiology experience, working in the contract laboratory and food industries prior to joining ChemStation. Much of her career has been spent on the control of foodborne pathogens in the manufacturing plant environment and continuous improvement of food safety systems such as Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), environmental monitoring programs (EMP), Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) audit schemes and Preventive Controls. She is a member of the International Association for Food Protection and on the education committee for the Wisconsin Affiliate. She is a member of the Institute for Food Technologist and is the President of the for the Wisconsin Affiliate.

Sharon K. K. Beals (SKKB)

Sharon brings 40+ years’ experience in food safety, quality, and regulatory compliance, most recently serving as the Chief Food Safety Officer at CTI Foods. Prior to joining CTI, Sharon held senior level Food Safety/Quality/Regulatory Compliance/Technical Services at US Foods. Maple Leaf Foods, Smithfield Packing, Tyson Foods/IBP, Orval Kent Food, Arby’s, and Land O’Frost.  

Sharon is actively engaged in the industry and is past Chair for the Beef Industry Food Safety Council (BIFSCo), has served on the American Meat Science Association Board of Directors (AMSA), was the 2017 Reciprocal Meat Conference chair, currently serves on the AMSA Development Council, the Board of Directors for Women in Agribusiness (WIA), and shows up every now and again as a speaker for WIA, the University of Wisconsin’s Food Safety and Meat Microbiology school, the Food Safety Summit, the Reciprocal Meat Conference.  In addition to being named a Top Nominee for the Most Impactful Woman of the Year by the Women in Meat Industry Network for 2022 and 2023, she was named a Fellow of the AMSA in 2021 and awarded the Signal Service Award by that organization.

Sharon studied at Cornell University in New York where she completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition and Foods.  Free time is spent enjoying the empty nest with husband Don, hanging with the pups, Juno and Roxy, gardening and encouraging everyone to be civil in their discourse.

“You control how you respond to the stimulus. Choose to be fabulous and choose to be kind.”