International Association for Food Protection Holds 2014-2015 Secretary Election

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Des Moines, Iowa - The International Association for Food Protection is proud to announce Dr. Emilio Esteban and Dr. Mickey E. Parish as candidates for the 2014–2015 Secretary. The elected Secretary will assume his position following IAFP 2014 in Indianapolis, Indiana in August and will serve a five-year term of successive positions. Electronic ballots will be provided to all Association Members, and the election will remain open through March 11, 2014. Election results will be announced in April on the IAFP Web site and the AprilIAFP Report, and in the May/June issue ofFood Protection Trends.

Dr. J. Emilio Esteban is the Executive Associate for Laboratory Services for the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). In this role, he oversees the operation of all laboratory activities, integrating them with the inspection activities and policy development conducted by the USDA. His more than 20-year career with the Federal Government includes his first assignment with the USDA in 1992 as Laboratory Director for FSIS, Western Laboratory, and as Scientific Advisor, providing guidance on microbiological and chemical analysis methodology used by FSIS.

A native of Mexico, Dr. Esteban worked in private practice as a consultant for a European refrigeration firm while earning his DVM and MBA from the National Autonomous University in Mexico. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1985, founded a small business communications firm and soon after earned a Master of Preventive Veterinary Medicine (MPVM) and his Ph.D. in Epidemiology, both from the University of California–Davis. His previous employment also includes serving as Officer for the National Center for Environmental Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS), where he conducted several field outbreak investigations and health assessments related to chemical or toxic exposures during 1994–1998. He transitioned to Assistant Director in the Food Safety Office of the National Center for Infectious Diseases (also at CDC), where he provided technical consultation, served as principal advisor and maintained working relationships with other federal agencies and national health organizations.

Since joining IAFP in 1999, Dr. Esteban has served on numerous Professional Development Groups (PDGs) and committees, including as Chair of the IAFP Program Committee, the Black Pearl Award Selection Committee and the GMA Food Safety Award Selection Committee. He currently serves on the IAFP Foundation Committee.

Dr. Mickey Parish is a Senior Advisor for Microbiology in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Office of Food Safety in the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN). He has served in this position since 2009, after a successful 23-year academic career. In this role, he serves as a technical resource during outbreak investigations and recalls; provides support as a subject matter expert for a variety of topical regulatory issues; and is involved in the implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). He also serves as the current FDA Liaison to the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Food; to the ILSI NA Technical Committee on Food Microbiology; and to the USP General Microbiology Chapter Committee.

Dr. Parish began his career on the faculty of the University of Florida’s (UF) Citrus Research and Education Center, and was promoted to Professor, where he developed an internationally recognized research program in beverage microbiology. In 2005, he joined the Department of Nutrition and Food Science at the University of Maryland and led successful recruitment efforts to nearly double overall student enrollment and helped increase the number of tenure-track faculty. While at UF, Dr. Parish was selected by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) as the 1998-99 AAAS/IFT Congressional Science Fellow, spending one year in this role for the Congressional Research Service in Washington, D.C. In 2011, he was inducted as an IFT Fellow.

An active IAFP Member since 1998, Dr. Parish has participated in numerous PDG activities and served on several committees, currently serving on the IAFP Program Committee. He has been an Editorial Board member for the Journal of Food Protection since 2003 and has organized, convened and/or presented at several IAFP symposia. He is a member of IAFP’s Affiliate, the Capital Area Food Protection Association.

Dr. Parish earned his B.S. in Biological Science from Florida State University and his M.S. in Food Science from the University of Florida. He holds a Ph.D. in Food Science from North Carolina State University, where he also completed a one year post-doctorate working on genetics of lactic acid bacteria.

For complete biographies of the candidates, visit the IAFP Web site at: http://www.foodprotection.org.