McEntire Joins United Fresh as Food Safety & Technology VP

United Fresh Produce Association today named Jennifer McEntire, Ph.D., as its new Vice President, Food Safety & Technology. She succeeds David Gombas, who retired from the association June 1 after 11 years leading its food safety program.

“I’m absolutely thrilled that Dr. McEntire is joining our team to begin a new era in food safety leadership for our industry,” said United Fresh President and CEO Tom Stenzel. “For the past 20 years, United Fresh has been committed to the highest level of scientific leadership in food safety, and Jennifer is the ideal person to take our member food safety programs and advocacy to government and the regulatory community to the next level,” he said.

“Jennifer is an expertly trained scientist, with specific expertise in microbiology and food safety. She’s an experienced association professional with skills nurtured in industry, academia and regulatory circles that are critical to our business, and she’s a respected scientific leader among her peers in the food industry, academia and the regulatory community,” Stenzel said.

Most recently, McEntire served as Vice President for Science Operations at the Grocery Manufacturers Association, working with the largest food companies in the world. She previously was Chief Science Officer at The Acheson Group, where she helped build the organization with former FDA associate commissioner David Acheson providing consultation to a broad range of food industry clients. McEntire was previously Senior Staff Scientist at the Institute of Food Technologists, where she managed FDA’s contract, including exploring traceability across the food industry. She also held previous positions as a visiting scientist at the Food and Drug Administration, an intern at the National Food Processors Association, and a USDA National Needs Fellow in Food Safety at Rutgers University.

McEntire received her bachelor of science degree with distinction from the University of Delaware, and her Ph.D. in food science from Rutgers University. She has received numerous honors and awards, and currently serves on the Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance Steering Committee. She is a Lead Instructor for the Preventive Controls for Human Food course, and is a frequent speaker at academic, government and industry events.

McEntire is now concluding several projects at the Grocery Manufacturers Association and will join United Fresh in its Washington, D.C. office in July.

The announcement of McEntire’s appointment was made to the United Fresh Food Safety & Technology Council at its meeting on Monday, and to the broad association membership at the Opening General Session of United Fresh 2016 taking place in Chicago.