Ruth Petran knows her way around the International Association of Food Protection (IAFP).
The 35-year member of IAFP has presented in or led symposia at numerous IAFP annual meetings, received the Fellow Award in 2018, the IAFP Developing Scientist Award in 1987, has served on several award selection committees and is a founding member of the IAFP Affiliate, the Minnesota Food Protection Association.
“It’s my role, as it would be everybody else’s, to help make IAFP a success,” she said. “The staff really does the lion’s share of the day-to-day business. We’re there as advisers, helping to make sure that the business direction is in line with where the members from industry, academia and government need it to be.”
We caught up with Petran, the former research, development and engineering senior corporate scientist and vice president of food safety and public health at Ecolab, and now an independent consultant, to talk about what she hopes to achieve during her time as president, what she enjoyed most at this year’s annual meeting and more.
Quality Assurance & Food Safety magazine: What are your goals for the next year as you serve as president of IAFP?
Ruth Petran: A big push for this coming year is going to be whatever it means to emerge from the pandemic. We’ve got to follow the science. And I think that’s part of the job of the board, to help guide IAFP in that right direction that’s in line with public health and food safety principles. Another thing that was formed in the past year was the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Council. The board will support their efforts and make sure that as IAFP goes forward, that we’re always as tuned in as we need to be to the diverse needs of our members culturally and globally.
QA: That’s kind of like what you did for this year’s hybrid meeting in Phoenix. You met the needs of members who might not necessarily feel comfortable traveling yet by offering the chance to connect remotely. How do you think the meeting went?RP: We were just thrilled to pieces to be out in the world again interacting kind of normally. And I loved the interaction with other people. I feel like I got to know many more students this year, and overall, it was easier to have those more meaningful conversations. Having been a student eons ago, it’s always fun…