Greenfield, Indiana – Elanco, a division of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY),
today announced that it will launch a new business platform focused on food
safety. Elanco will market food-safety products and services to the food-animal
industry through Elanco Food Solutions.
“Consumers have high expectations for their food to be safe, so Elanco Food
Solutions is providing technologies to reduce food-borne pathogens in packing
and processing plants,” said K. Douglas Miller, PhD, director of Elanco Food
Solutions. “We realize there is no single ‘silver-bullet’ solution, which
is why we will deliver multiple pre- and post-harvest interventions for beef,
poultry and pork packers and processors that are part of a total
pathogen-control system for the meat and poultry industries.”
Elanco will develop new technologies that will help the food chain protect
consumers from such harmful food-borne pathogens as E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella
and Listeria. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
reports that food-borne diseases cause an annual 76 million illnesses, 325,000
hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths in the U.S. each year1. Food-borne
illnesses cost the United States between $5 billion and $22 billion annually2,
with Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 alone costing
more than $3 billion3.
“By 2050, the world population is projected to increase by 3 billion people
and world food demand is expected to double,” said Jeff Simmons, president of
Elanco. “This convergence not only means further globalization of the food
chain to meet demand but also heightened awareness of how food is produced and
processed on its way to families and communities around the world.”
Simmons cited a 2008 Gallup study which revealed that 60 percent of U.S.
consumers report avoiding certain foods or brands as a result of
government-issued food-safety recalls or advisories.
“Even in these tough economic conditions, concerns about food safety are still
top-of-mind,” Simmons said. “A multiple-intervention strategy allows the
food chain to help reduce the likelihood of food-borne illnesses and increase
consumer confidence in our food supply.”
Added Miller, “Elanco Food Solutions is uniquely qualified to bring
food-safety products and knowledge solutions to the meat and poultry supply
chain. Elanco is excited to expand our business to deliver integrated
science-based solutions that will help packers and processors deliver
high-quality, safe and affordable beef, poultry and pork products to
consumers.”
Management team named
Miller will lead the Elanco Food Solutions team as director of business
operations. He joined Elanco in 2000 and has served in several clinical research
and product development roles in the U.S. and abroad. Miller earned his
bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in animal science from the
University of Illinois.
David Cobb is the director of marketing. Cobb joined Elanco in 1982 and has
worked in the company’s cattle, poultry and swine businesses, leading
new-product launches in more than 15 countries. Cobb has managed a Lilly
distribution center and is a certified Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma; he earned a
bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Tennessee and an MBA
from Duke University.
Tom Nicholson is director of sales and technical services. He has more than 20
years of experience in the animal-health industry and food chain with such
companies as Ivy Natural Solutions, VetLife, Syntex Animal Health and Pfizer
Animal Health. Nicholson has spent the last several years developing and
commercializing new food-safety technologies. He earned a bachelor’s degree in
animal science from Iowa State University.
Patrick Mies, PhD, is a technical consultant responsible for supporting the
company’s beef food-safety technologies. Mies earned a bachelor’s in animal
science and doctorate degree in meat science from Texas A&M University, and
a master’s degree in meat science from Colorado State University. He has led
food-safety programs for Booth Creek Natural Foods and Harris Ranch Beef
Company.
Rob Ames is associate brand manager. After earning a bachelor’s degree in
animal science from Kansas State University and a master’s of agriculture
degree from Colorado State University, Ames was named the first executive
director of Certified Hereford Beef LLC. He was a coauthor of the 1995 National
Beef Quality Audit, and focused on sales and marketing programs for Ivy Natural
Solutions’ food-safety technologies and direct-fed microbials prior to joining
Elanco.
Knowledge solutions a critical component
In addition to providing multiple food-safety technologies for its customers,
Elanco Food Solutions also will offer its customers the Food Safety Knowledge
Solutions™ program, a unique benchmarking system that uses statistical process
control (SPC) methodology to help packers and processors effectively manage
their pathogen-control systems. It is available exclusively for Elanco Food
Solutions customers.
“Food Safety Knowledge Solutions is not a ranking system. Rather, it’s a
systematic, objective way for packers to analyze and compare their data against
industry standards and to identify the factors that contribute to higher or
lower pathogen levels in their facilities,” Miller explained. “Because the
program helps packers and processors analyze both pathogen data and operational
data, it allows them to more effectively manage their total pathogen-control
systems.”
The Food Safety Knowledge Solutions database is managed by AgSpan, a wholly
owned subsidiary of Elanco, which has a 12-year history of maintaining data
integrity and client confidentiality.
Multiple interventions in the pipeline
“Elanco is committed to developing a full line of food-safety technologies for
our partners in the food-animal packing and processing industry,” said
Simmons. “We will introduce several food-safety technologies in the coming
months for beef and poultry packers and processors.”
“Elanco Food Solutions is very excited about the opportunity to be a leader in
providing new food-safety technologies and services that will help packers and
processors meet the growing demand for safe, wholesome food,” added Miller.
“We are proud we’ll be offering a comprehensive line of food-safety products
— from pre-harvest to ready-to-eat meat — for multiple species that are part
of the food chain’s total pathogen-control systems.”
About
Elanco
Elanco is a global innovation-driven company that develops and markets products
to improve animal health and food animal production in more than 75 countries.
Elanco employs 2,300 people worldwide, with offices in more than 40 countries,
and is a division of Eli Lilly and Company, a leading global pharmaceutical
corporation. Additional information about Elanco is available at www.elanco.com.
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