The OSI Group has hired Dr. Kenneth Petersen as senior vice president of quality assurance, food safety and regulatory affairs. In this role, he will lead OSI’s corporate quality assurance and food safety function and serve as the chair of OSI’s Global Quality Council. He will also be a member of OSI’s North America Leadership Team and report directly to OSI President and Chief Operating Officer David McDonald.
Petersen’s academic credentials include a doctorate in veterinary medicine from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, where he also earned a bachelor of science in physiology. He holds a master of public health from Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland and is a board certified diplomate in the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine (ACVPM).
Prior to joining OSI, Dr. Petersen was president of the Division of Regulatory Compliance at IEH Laboratories & Consulting Group. He also held the position of assistant administrator for the Office of Field Operations in the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Washington, D.C., where he oversaw an 8,000 person public health workforce conducting inspections, HACCP verifications, recalls and enforcement at 6,200 domestic meat, poultry and processed egg product businesses. During his tenure as assistant administrator, Dr. Petersen had significant influence on the regulatory response to multiple foodborne disease outbreaks and precedent-setting recalls of raw and processed products. He has led nationwide initiatives to improve oversight and the enforcement of humane handling programs and was a leader in the development of HACCP based inspection models.
Dr. Petersen has been a frequent speaker at industry events and FSIS public meetings. He has testified before the U.S. Congress and conducted numerous congressional briefings with senior staff representing multiple House and Senate committees.
“We are excited to welcome Ken to the OSI team,” said McDonald. “With his extensive experience at the forefront of the industry’s food safety policy and practices, he will effectively guide OSI’s ongoing commitment to deliver superior quality products to our customers and their consumers.”
