Sessions
BREAKOUT 2: The Impacts of Food Loss and Waste (FLW) and Food Donation
2:15 PM - 3:00 PM Mon
Dr. Ata (Al) Baroudi joined The Cheesecake Factory in 2008 with broad experience in the food industry as a quality assurance executive. He is an agricultural engineer with a MS degree in FS & Technology / Microbiology from the University of California at Davis. He received his Ph.D. in Food Processing and Technology / Regulatory Affairs from The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH. He served as the head of QA and Food Safety (Snacks and Dairy) for Borden Foods Company in Columbus, before moving to the west coast as VP, Corporate QA/Food Safety and Regulatory/Environmental Affairs for the Vons/Safeway Supermarkets, Arcadia, CA. Dr. Baroudi then served as VP of QA and Technical Services, Harry & David Corporation, Medford, OR., before becoming the Chief Scientific, Health and Regulatory Affairs Officer at Yum! Brands in Louisville, KY.
Dr. Baroudi Developed a new product line "Ketchip” that exceeded sales projections, rolled over to all manufacturing plants, heralded in the Wall Street Journal and resulted in receipt of Borden’s President Award (1983). He is the recipient of the Sani “Food Safety Champion Award”, and the “Outstanding Food Safety Program Innovation Award”, and the Southern California IFT “Distinguished Achievement Award”, In 2022, The NRA presented him their inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award for “Outstanding Leader in Food Safety”. He was instrumental in passing the Food Facilities Sanitization Bill “AB 1427” in California State Assembly that cleared the way for the ozone to be approved in California Cal Code (2012).
Dr. Baroudi has served on numerous industry boards and committees including the E. coli O157:H7 government/industry Blue Ribbon Task Force Committee during the Jack-In-The-Box meat outbreak and then on the Board of Directors of the International HACCP Alliance representing The Food Marketing Institute (FMI). He also served on the Board of Advisors for the Center for Food Safety (CFS) - University of Georgia, and on the Board of Directors of the Abound Food Care, and the Educational Advisory Board (EAB) of the Food Safety Summit Group. Dr. Baroudi served as the Chairman, of the Food Safety Advisory Council, LA County in California, as well as on GS1 Community Advisory Board (CAB), NRA Food Safety & Quality Assurance Expert Exchange Steering Committee, NCCR Food Safety Task Force, CFP Council I, II & III and several committees. He is a “Certified Food Scientist” CFS.