FMI Hires VP of Food Safety Programs

The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) has named Dr. Hilary S. Thesmar, Ph.D., RD, to the position of VP of food safety programs, effective in mid-June. Thesmar joins the Arlington, Va.-based trade association from the National Turkey Federation (NTF), where she was senior director of scientific and regulatory affairs.

In her new role, Thesmar will supervise all programs and activities related to food safety, food defense and food quality systems. She will also advise and represent member companies before governmental, scientific, consumer and industry audiences on food safety issues.

Thesmar’s “strong academic background in food technology and human nutrition creates a unique blend of perspectives, combining food safety expertise with the practical considerations of a registered dietitian,” said FMI president and CEO Leslie G. Sarasin. “Her stellar scientific credentials and her food industry experience will help us take our exceptional FMI Food Safety Programs to the next level.”

At Washington-based NTF, Thesmar spearheaded the scientific and regulatory affairs department’s development of programs in food safety, environmental, animal health and welfare, worker safety and health, and human resources regulation. As the primary liaison to the federal agencies regulating turkey production and processing, she often provided crisis management support to NTF member companies.

Before coming to NTF, Thesmar was the director of the Egg Safety Center in Washington and worked with the Egg Nutrition Center. In these roles, she directed the Egg Safety Center board’s food safety research program, collaborated with government and private agencies involved in food safety, acted as an industry spokeswoman, and offered technical expertise to the egg industry on food safety and nutrition issues.

Thesmar is a member of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), the American Dietetic Association, the International Association for Food Protection, and the U.S. Animal Health Association, and has held several leadership positions in the IFT food laws and regulations division and in the organization’s Washington, D.C., section.