The American Meat Science Association (AMSA) announces that Dr. Betsy Booren is a recipient of the 2019 AMSA Signal Service Award. The AMSA Signal Service Award was established in 1956 and is given to members in recognition of devoted service and lasting contributions to the meat industry and to the association. The Signal Service Award is sponsored by Cargill, Elanco Animal Health and Johnsonville, LLC. Dr. Betsy Booren will be honored on Tuesday, June 25, 2019 at a special awards banquet at the AMSA 72^nd Reciprocal Meat Conference in Loveland, Colorado.

Dr. Betsy Booren, Ph.D., has lived in land-grant college towns most of her life. She spent her childhood in Lansing, MI where she became an expert collegiate sport watcher. The eldest of three girls, she was active in 4-H, where she participated in everything but showing animals. Her foray into the food industry started when she was a summer employee at Bil-Mar Foods. After two summers working, she switched out a pre-med program into a food science program and never looked back. She earned her Bachelor of Science from Michigan State University, a Master of Science from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and a Ph.D. from Texas A&M University.

Dr. Booren began her career in food science at the North American Meat Institute (NAMI) and its affiliated organizations, where she spent seven years in a variety of roles, including vice president of scientific affairs as well as president for the Foundation of Meat and Poultry Research and Education. In these positions, she executed the scientific policy platform for the meat and poultry industry and leveraged the industry’s scientific needs leading to better understanding of pathogens of concern for the industry. Dr. Booren spearheaded the scientific analysis for much of the U.S. beef, pork, lamb, veal, and turkey packers and processors on a variety of issues including food safety, health and nutrition, biotechnology, food quality, food processing, new technologies and public health initiatives.

Dr. Booren then joined the law firm of Olsson Frank Weeda Terman Matz PC as a senior policy advisor, where she put her extensive knowledge of food science and safety to work on behalf of the firm’s food industry clients. In this capacity, she provided scientific and technical analysis and counsel for clients to ensure USDA and FDA regulatory compliance.

In her current position as senior vice president of science and technology for the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), Dr. Booren provides strategic leadership and executes the scientific and regulatory policy platforms for consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. She and her team works with industry to ensure regulatory compliance and provides informed scientific analysis on a variety of issues including product safety, new technologies and public health initiatives.

She has experience working with regulatory and public health agencies on interagency collaborations, including L. monocytogenes risk assessment, food attribution, and whole genome sequencing. She was influential in ensuring meat and poultry products remain components of healthy lifestyle as recognized in domestic and international policies such as Dietary Guidelines for Americans and within the World Health Organization. Dr. Booren is a lead instructor for Preventive Controls for Human Foods, Preventive Controls for Animal Foods, and Foreign Supplier Verification Programs FSPCA courses.

Dr. Booren is an active member of the International Association for Food Protection, Institute of Food Technologists, and American Meat Science Association, where she had served on the Board of Directors. She spent 2-terms as a member of the USDA’s National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection. Dr. Booren serves as a Board of Director for the Charles Valentine Riley Memorial Foundation, which strives to promote a broader and more complete understanding of agriculture as the most basic human endeavor and to enhance agriculture through increased scientific knowledge.

AMSA also announced that Dr. Steve Goll is a recipient of the 2019 AMSA Signal Service Award. Dr. Goll will be honored on Tuesday, June 25, 2019 at a special awards banquet at the AMSA 72nd Reciprocal Meat Conference in Loveland, Colorado.

Dr. Goll is well known for being a Research and Development leader of people, projects and programs with the nation’s largest food companies. He possesses a solid technical background and advanced technical degrees with cross-functional expertise and a proven track record of successful development and commercialization of new products.

Dr. Goll holds six patents related to the development of Lunchables and Claussen Pickles. He is also a strategic planner with breakthrough-style thinking for the Operations, Technology and Procurement disciplines.

Dr. Steve Goll has extensive experience in developing and leading high functioning teams with significant business impacts. In addition, he is an Adjunct Professor at Kansas State University and University of Nebraska, as well as an Alumni Fellow at Kansas State University.

In addition to Steve’s scientific and technical accomplishments he has made significant contributions to the American Meat Science Association. From his days as a student member to his tenure on the Board of Directors to serving as President; he has served AMSA well.

Source: AMSA