Central Valley Food Safety Committee Event

Beyond Compliance, Stone Fruit Packing Facility Food Safety

With

George Nikolich

• President, George Nikolich Consulting, Inc. 

George Nikolich is an independent consultant working with the California fresh fruit industry on topics related to food safety and postharvest handling. After graduating from Fresno State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Science and U.C. Davis with a Master’s degree in Agronomy, George began his specialty crop career in 1986 with Gerawan Farming as a pest control advisor and farm manager before becoming Vice President, Technical Operations doing research and development in food safety and postharvest handling of stone fruit and table grapes, and offering guidance and information to management on the technical aspects of those topics. George continued working for Gerawan Farming and then Prima Wawona during the merger of Gerawan Farming and Wawona Packing until the spring of 2021 before becoming an independent consultant. He has served on the California Fresh Fruit Association Board of Directors for 12 years and has recently partnered with CFFA to provide guidance and facilitate research on food safety issues for that organization and its members. George has been a member of the Center for Produce Safety’s Technical Committee since 2010, and his broad range of experience and technical knowledge serves him well in translating the science and principles of food safety into practical application.

As I am sure we all agree, there is much more to food safety than regulatory or audit compliance. In fact, there may even be circumstances when regulatory requirements and audit standards get in the way of an operation’s food safety program by shifting focus or diverting resources. This discussion will highlight some of the more common food safety concerns I have observed that are not always addressed by regulations or audit standards and provide examples of how auditors and food safety consultants may expand the scope of their activities in helping to protect the consumer and their client’s business interests.