Cleaning for Compliance and Prevention: Insights on the Role of Health Inspections from Food Safety Experts
In the US, more than 60% of foodborne illness outbreaks occur at restaurants. According to the CDC, a top risk for foodborne illness is contaminated equipment or equipment that is not properly cleaned and sanitized. Among the top restaurant health code violations is inadequate kitchen sanitization. What can we do to fix this?
Join us during Food Safety Education Month for an insightful webinar that delves into the crucial intersection of cleaning practices, and health inspections. Understanding how to be in compliance with health inspections is a key component of maintaining high standards. Our expert panelists will provide invaluable insights into common violations, the criteria inspectors use, and best practices for achieving and exceeding regulatory standards in cleaning and sanitation to prevent foodborne diseases. Learn directly from seasoned professionals and discover innovative strategies for maintaining cleanliness and enhancing compliance in your food safety operations.
The expert panel for this webinar includes:
- Chirag Bhatt, Director of Regulatory Affairs (Environmental Health), HS GovTech
- Esperanza Carrion, Vice President & General Manager of Sani Professional
- Hal King, Ph.D., Managing Partner, Active Food Safety
- Tonya Gray, Expert Advisor, Active Food Safety
This webinar is brought to you by:
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Speakers
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Chirag BhattDirector of Regulatory Affairs (Environmental Health), HS GovTechChirag Bhatt has been involved in the food safety industry for over 4 decades.
After working with a local regulatory agency (city of Houston) for over 26 years, Chirag worked with a custom software company as a VP, Food Safety and Client Consulting for a few years prior to joining a large restaurant company (Bloomin Brands) as their Global Regulatory Compliance Manager. He also worked with a major distribution company (Sysco Corp) as Regulatory and Technical Services Director. He has also worked with a retail company (Buc-ee’s) as a Director of Food Safety and QA for 2 years. Chirag has also owned a private consulting company during his career.
Currently, Chirag is the Director of Regulatory Affairs (Environmental Health) with HS GovTech – a company providing SaaS (software as a solution) for over 900 Environmental Health Department agencies in North America.
Chirag holds a BS in Biology and Chemistry. He has been actively participating in the Conference for Food Protection since 1998 and has served in many roles and continues to participate actively. He is a Registered Sanitarian with the state of Texas and also holds – Certified Comprehensive Food Safety (CCFS) credential from NEHA. He has served as Chair for the National Rest Assn’s QA executive study group for three years. Currently, Chirag serves as an Education Advisory Board member with Food Safety Summit and is on the steering committee – Partners with a Common Purpose (PwCP) team. He has also served as an advisory council member with Sani Professional for many years.
Chirag received the prestigious I E Scott award from Texas Environmental Health Association in 2022.
He lives in the great state of Texas.
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Esperanza CarrionVice President & General Manager, Sani ProfessionalEsperanza currently serves as the Vice President & General Manager at Sani Professional, the Food Safety Division of Professional Disposables International, Inc. (PDI). With more than 13 years of tenure at Sani Professional, she is a distinguished authority in pre-saturated wipes and their pivotal role in food safety. Prior to her current position, Esperanza excelled as Marketing Director and Vice President of Marketing at Sani Professional. Her extensive experience spans leadership roles at prominent companies within the food & beverage industry, underscoring her expertise in food safety best practices.
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Hal King, Ph.D.Managing Partner, Active Food SafetyDr. Hal King is Managing Partner at Active Food Safety, an Advisory Services company, and Founder/CEO of Public Health Innovations, a public health strategy and product design company. Dr. King is a public health professional who has worked in the investigation of respiratory, foodborne and other disease outbreaks at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a U. S. Public Health Service officer, he has performed federally funded research on the causation and prevention of infectious diseases at Emory University School of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, he has worked in the prevention of intentional adulteration of foods and food defense with the U.S. Army Reserves 20th CBRNE Command, and is formerly the Director of Food and Product Safety at Chick-fil-A Inc. Dr. King is also the co-author and author of several articles, a book and book chapters on public health interventions, holds several U.S. Patents and Patent Pending technologies, Copyrights and Trademarks, and has helped the food industry via development of new products and services.
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Tonya GrayExpert Advisor, Active Food SafetyTonya has nearly 40 years of experience in Food Safety. She began her career in regulatory roles at local and state levels with Agriculture and Public Health, later moving into consulting for Education and Industry over the last 15 years. Her work has focused on regulation creation, interpretation, and application, most recently verifying FDA Food Code references for the industry.
She has been active in the Conference for Food Protection and has held memberships with the International Association of Food Protection and the National Environmental Health Association. Tonya is a past president of both the Georgia Association of Food Protection and the Georgia Environmental Health Association. She became a registered Sanitarian early in her career and has maintained registration with NEHA and GEHA, along with FDA standardization every three years.
Though retired from the state of Georgia for ten years, she continues to assist the industry with food safety during innovations, crises, and evolving code requirements. Tonya has a comprehensive knowledge of FDA and Canadian Food Codes, as well as various local US jurisdiction codes.
