Jun 8, 2006
WASHINGTON, DC — June 8, 2006 — The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) is pleased to announce the appointment of Jim Kendzel, a long-time leader and executive in the public health field, as managing director of the Safe Quality Food Institute (SQFI), a division of FMI.

“Jim’s skill in developing and managing safety standards, building consensus and applying public health principles to the production of safe food will greatly enhance the SQF Program,” said Paul Ryan, executive director of SQFI. “His high-caliber experience will support FMI’s strong commitment to the SQF Program and its continuing growth. We’re happy to bring Jim’s expertise to our team.”

Kendzel joins SQF with 24 years of experience at NSF International, the world’s leading nonprofit, independent provider of public health testing and certification. His numerous responsibilities there included overseeing the quality systems for certifying thousands of products according to 50 national standards governing water, air and food safety. He created auditing systems and oversaw their use in the field to ensure compliance with the standards.

Kendzel served as a leader at the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as a member of its Executive Standards Council, National Policy Committee and Accreditation Committee, which he chaired.

The American Council of Independent Laboratories recognized his work, presenting him its Conformity Assessment Leadership Award in 2000. He holds a Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Michigan.

SQF is the world’s only retailer-owned certification program for food safety and quality. The program features standards covering all foods from farm to retail, third-party auditing and training. It ensures that suppliers are using science-based management systems, and that the audits, based on the most rigorous international standards, are reliable and consistent.

The SQF Institute has issued certificates to 5,000 producers, manufacturers and processors in 20 countries.