Say "Hello" to Our Food Safety and Quality Assurance Lead, Tracy Jackson!
Tracy brings over 30 years of food service industry experience, and over ten years in food manufacturing. She has written food safety programs for national chain restaurants for compliance with USDA and FDA. Areas of expertise include manufacturing operations management, food safety and regulatory compliance, optimizing manufacturing operations, and concept development. She holds certifications in FSPCA Preventative Controls for Human Food, Acidified Foods Section, HAACCP, and Human Resources Management. Hear from Tracy about her experience and expertise below!
"Food Safety and Quality Assurance programs are based in science and include validated processes, written plans, verification, and documentation procedures in place to demonstrate compliance. All of this is very important to protect end users and ensure that products that are manufactured not only do no harm but meet the expectations of the customer.
Having spent over 30 years in the food industry, from starting a small commissary for a local restaurant chain, to writing Food Safety programs for a USDA/FDA inspected food manufacturing facility, I have learned that compliance to these programs is not always as straight forward as you would think. Company culture, commitment to people, community, and our planet make a difference not only in compliance, but in production efficiency and product quality.
FreshFry is committed to the redeployment of waste through upcycling, people, community, and the planet. I have had the opportunity to see this play out in my position at FreshFry. My focus has moved from writing programs to preparing audits and visiting partner facilities. This allows me to verify food safety and quality assurance, and it also gives me the opportunity to see how these partners are supporting and demonstrating FreshFry core values.
Most of our primary manufacturing partners and vendors are in areas where they are supporting the community by creating jobs and have built strong dedicated workforces. They have employees who have made careers with these organizations, have years of experience, and are committed to constant improvement. Or maybe they are a startup committed to responsibility to the planet by constantly improving processes ever mindful of impact on the environment. I have observed and verified not only compliance to food safety and quality expectations, but organizations using production data to constantly improve yield while maintaining safety and quality which translates into value for our customers. Manufacturers who are proudly displaying over 400 days accident free due to policies and procedures that put people first. Walking through plants and being introduced to folks who are experts in their positions and are taking great pride in their work and are rewarded with a culture that recognizes their value.
I am excited to be working with such an energetic and creative team at FreshFry. I'm filled with gratitude to have the opportunity to work with vendors and manufacturers who are dedicated to supporting the FreshFry mission to upcycle plant waste into a product that reduces waste. These are concepts that were not even on the radar when I started my career in the food industry!"
Thank you, Tracy, for your continued dedication to FreshFry's mission - we couldn't do it without you!
