Alfred Almanza JBS Global Head of Food Safety and Quality Assurance; former Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety and former Administrator of the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS), U.S. Department of Agriculture, (USDA)

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Alfred “Al” Almanza is the Global Head of Food Safety and Quality Assurance for JBS. Mr. Almanza leads the company’s global food safety and quality assurance efforts, ensuring that JBS facilities around the world adopt and implement food safety and quality control standards that exceed regulatory requirements and customer expectations. A globally recognized expert in international sanitary standards and food safety requirements that govern market access for meat and poultry products, Almanza plays a critical role in  maintaining and expanding the company’s access to global export markets.

Prior to joining JBS, Mr. Almanza spent nearly 40 years with the USDA, FSIS. He began his career with the USDA as a food safety inspector in a small plant in Dalhart, TX, eventually rising from this entry-level position to serve as Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety under Secretary of Agriculture Thomas J. Vilsack, from September 2014 to December 2016. For nearly a decade, he served as the Administrator of FSIS, leading the USDA’s science-based food safety modernization efforts, regulatory strategies and public health efforts to prevent foodborne illness.