Alfred “Al” Almanza is in Brazil and will develop a global action plan for the company based on food safety and quality standards that exceed market requirements
São Paulo, September 28, 2017 – Alfred “Al” Almanza, Food Safety and Quality Assurance director at JBS, arrived in Brazil last Monday (25) as part of his schedule to visit JBS units worldwide. The executive visited the chicken plants in Forquilhinha (SC) and the beef, leather and collagen plants in Lins (SP) in order to gain insight into the production processes at each unit. The information obtained during his visit will be used as part of a global quality strategy the executive is developing and which is intended to exceed global regulatory standards.
“The main objective is for JBS to raise the bar on food safety and quality compared with domestic and global market requirements”, said Almanza.
In South America, he will be sharing this responsibility with Ivone Delazari, JBS Food Safety and Quality Assurance director for the region. “Our role is to constantly exceed current industry standards, because there are no limits on quality”, said Ivone.
Based on the future action plan, JBS products will comply with the company’s global quality standards, creating a competitive differential and serving the markets where it already operates more efficiently, as well as creating opportunities in other countries. “JBS’s units in Brazil already serve some of the most demanding markets in the world and its expertise should be held up as an example for other markets. We will now reinforce this pillow globally, adopting a standard for all JBS companies and integrating all company brands, products and countries which will comply with an even higher set of standards, which will make the difference in producing high-quality food for the world”, said Almanza.
Career
Alfred Almanza is Global Food Safety and Quality Assurance Director at JBS, reporting to COO Gilberto Tomazoni. Before joining the company Almanza spent almost 40 years working at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service – “USDA, FSIS”. His career at the USDA began as a food safety inspector to small plant in the city of Dalhart, Texas, before he rose to Food Safety Secretary at the US Department of Agriculture, a position he held from September 2014 until December 2016.
Over the past 10 years, Almanza has been A Food Safety Administrator for the US Inspection Service, leading scientific efforts to modernize food safety, regulatory strategies and public health at the USDA, as a means of preventing diseases caused by food poisoning.