U.S – The Acheson Group (TAG) has added three employees to the team of food safety and public health experts with each individual bringing a wealth of experience and a niche area of expertise that will help advance TAG’s customer services.
The team now includes Director of Accounting Shanna Robinson, Senior Food Safety Manager Kate McInnes, and Food Safety Manager Dr. Karla Acosta-Beran.
For five years, Karla Acosta-Beran, Ph.D., has been a Health Inspector in Houston, Texas.
Acosta’s area of expertise is retail food safety, more especially, food safety education and delivery for marginalized and low-literacy groups.
Acosta has created a variety of food safety training resources for restaurants, festivals, farmers’ markets, and retail stores.
In the food microbiology lab at Hilton College, she has carried out USDA-funded research to examine if the layout at farmers’ markets influences microbial cross-contamination as well as studies in food safety culture for hospitality companies.
Acosta is the author or co-author of more than 15 peer-reviewed journal publications, conference proceedings, and presentations. She has won multiple competitive scholarships and research grants from the USDA and other outside agencies to do food safety-related research.
Kate McInnes joins TAG with over ten years of experience in quality assurance gained while working in mining, analytical labs, and food safety.
McInnes has worked in a variety of industries, including agricultural, dairy, poultry, and most recently entomophagy (the ingestion of insects by people), where he served as a Manager of Food Safety Quality Assurance and earned the BRCGS Food Safety Accreditation.
McInnes has developed expertise in the areas of HACCP development and implementation, internal audit, allergen management, risk assessment, vulnerability assessment, organic certification, root cause analysis, and working under CFIA, FDA, and USDA regulations. She places a strong emphasis on continuous improvement.
She holds certifications in PCQI, HACCP, BRCGS validation and verification, and vulnerability assessment, and is pursuing her BRCGS professional designation. She is also a BRCGS internal auditor.
Shanna Robinson has more than 20 years of experience working in a range of financial and industry roles while steadily advancing to more responsible roles.
She is eager to take on new duties and support the business’ expansion and ongoing success.
The application of financial management rules and processes, creation of the annual budget, handling of cash, and improvement of internal controls for financial reporting are all under Robinson’s direction.
TAG said it is excited to welcome Dr. Karla Acosta-Beran, Kate McInnes, and Shanna Robinson to the team of recognized food safety and public health experts.
Dr. Karla Acosta-Beran will be based in Texas, Kate McInnes in Ontario, Canada, and Shanna Robinson in Florida. TAG, a virtual corporation, claims that its professionals are dispersed across North America and India and service businesses all over the world.
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