FaB Wisconsin: Hires new director

Contact:

Shelley Jurewicz  

Executive Director, FaB Wisconsin

(o) 414.287.4143 | (m) 414.331.0598

(e) sjurewicz@fabwisconsin.com  

 

Milwaukee – FaB (Food and Beverage) Wisconsin has hired industry expert Patricia Werner to serve as its new Director of Food Safety, Quality & Compliance and assist members, and the industry, in their compliance with the FDA’s new Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

 

“While our larger companies have in-house expertise to ensure FSMA compliance, our small to medium size companies can now call FaB for insights and guidance,” said Shelley Jurewicz, Executive Director, FaB Wisconsin.  “Pat comes to the FaB Team with exceptional industry experience.”

 

FSMA is the most sweeping regulatory reform to hit the industry food safety laws in more than 70 years.  Itsintent is to ensure the U.S. food supply is safe by shifting the focus from responding to contamination to preventing it. “The new regulations no longer state what a food maker ‘should do’ but rather what you ‘must’ do,” said Patricia Werner. 

 

The new preventative controls of FSMA apply to both human and animal food and requires supplier verification for imported food for humans and animals.  Compliance also requires product traceability and recall programs be in place as well as documentation and record retention.  Additionally, food and beverage companies will be required to offer and document necessary employee training. 

 

“It can be overwhelming for small to medium businesses to navigate the requirements, and with deadlines for compliance varying depending on the size and type of food or beverage manufacturing, we want to be in the best position to prepare our members,” said Werner.

 

Werner comes to the role with over 30 years of industry experience.  Most recently, she held the position of Senior Director of Quality Systems, where she led FSMA global compliance for Danish-based Chr. Hansen – a global bioscience company that develops natural solutions for the food, nutritional, pharmaceutical and agricultural industries.  Working in Chr. Hansen America’s Headquarters in Milwaukee, she oversaw the company’s Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) Certification – the third company in the United States to receive the designation. 

 

As Director of Food Quality, Safety & Compliance, Werner will lead the FaBsafe Steering Committee and member group.  The committee’s role is to engage members in the identification and accessibility of industry resources and partner formations that assist members in meeting consumer and regulatory demands for food safety training, operations and trends.

 

About FaB Wisconsin

FaB Wisconsin is the state’s cluster organization supporting food and beverage industry growth and awareness.  With a mission focused on food and beverage manufacturers, FaB welcomes the full value chain of industry suppliers and technical and service providers, as well as educators, economic development, government and community institutions and organizations.  FaB has attracted more than 180 food and beverage member companies, supporting suppliers and service providers and nearly 900 industry leaders and professionals. For more information about FaB Wisconsin, visit www.fabwisconsin.com. FaB was launched with the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce and Milwaukee 7 in 2012.