JBS announced on Thursday the appointment of Alfred “Al” Almanza to the role of Global Head of Food Safety and Quality Assurance. Almanza will join the JBS global leadership team, reporting directly to JBS Global President of Operations, Gilberto Tomazoni, based in Greeley, Colorado.Almanza will lead the company’s global food safety efforts, ensuring that JBS operations around the world implement the hightest food safety, quality control, and risk management systems, while maintaining and expanding access to global export markets.
Prior to joining JBS, Almanza spent nearly 40 years with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safey and Inspection Service (FSIS). He began his career with USDA as a food safety inspector in a small plant in Dalhart, Texas, eventually rising from this entry-level position to serve as Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety under Secretary of Agriculture Thomas J. Vilsack from September 2014 to December 20016. For the past 10 years, he has served as the Administrator of FSIS, leading USDA’s science-based food safety modernization efforts, regulatory strategies and public health efforts to prevent foodborne illness.
“We are delighted to bring Al’s expertise and passion for food safety, quality and public health to the JBS team, Tomazoni said. “During his long and storied career at FSIS, Al earned the respect and admiration of his peers for his team-based management approach and his willingness to partner with both industry and public health organizations to ensure the provision of safe, quality food to consumer. JBS is privileged to have someone of Al’s caliber join our company.”
Almanza is globally recognized as an expert on food safety, risk management, the development of modern inspection systems, and international sanitary standards that govern market access for meat and poultry products. During his time at FSIS, he had several leadership positions, including labor management specialist, district manger of the agency’s Dallas District Office, and ultimately administrator of FSIS, where he led a team of more than 7,000 field employees.
“It was an honor to serve the public as a member of the USDA team and help uphold its mission to protect public health for nearly four decades. I now join a team that shares my commitment to food safety and feeding the world in a safe, sustainable way. I look forward to helping JBS manage the highest food safety levels in the industry, and putting in place best-in-class benchmarks and safeguards to ensure that our products continue to exceed all industry standards,” Almanza said.
