ORLANDO, FLA. – The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) awarded Schreiber Foods, Inc. with the 2023 Food Safety Leadership Award during Dairy Forum on Jan. 24.

Per IDFA, the award recognizes an individual, group or organization for demonstrating outstanding leadership to enhance food safety within the dairy products industry.

Based in Green Bay, Wis., Schreiber Foods manufactures cream cheese, natural cheese, process cheese, yogurt and beverages.

“The Schreiber team prioritizes improving food safety throughout the dairy industry,” said John Allan, IDFA’s vice president of regulatory affairs and international standards. “Their contributions have helped the industry develop fermentation risk assessments for yogurt and cream cheese, understand how to better reduce mold on cheese, develop rapid pathogen testing for a number of products and processes, and much more.”

Staci Richardson, Schreiber Foods’ vice president of enterprise quality and food safety, accepted the award on behalf of the company.

She said the award recognizes the food safety team’s work to “protect consumers and customers and ensure safe food for everyone who enjoys dairy products.”

Added Richardson: “It’s such a prestigious and humbling honor that we were chosen out of all the IDFA member companies. This award is a testament to the full commitment to food safety we have at all levels of Schreiber Foods and the work that we do across the industry.”

IDFA shared that members of Schreiber Foods’ food safety team serve on food safety committees for IDFA and other groups and organizations. The company’s food safety experts are known for sharing resources, authoring research articles and making presentations that benefit the dairy industry, as well as the greater food industry.

Past winners of IDFA’s Food Safety Leadership Award are: Jeremy Travis, vice president of quality and technical services, Hilmar Cheese Company, Inc. (2022); Dairy Farmers of America (2021); Edith Wilkin, staff vice president and fellow, food safety and regulatory compliance, Leprino Foods (2020); The Ice Cream Club, Inc. (2019); Brian Kraus, director of food safety and regulatory compliance, Wells Enterprises, Inc. (2018); and the Cornell University Dairy Foods Extension team (2017).