Stephen Spinak
Stephen H. Spinak, an affiliated consultant with FDAImports.com, LLC is an aseptic processing and packaging expert, a thermal process engineer and international consultant for Spinak Consulting, since April 2006.
He has worked as a consultant in Armenia, China, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Japan, Peru, Spain, Thailand, The Netherlands, Ukraine and the United States doing plant audits and training courses for the canned food industry.
He is now involved in capacity building projects in Colombia and Peru to develop Canned Food Control Programs including publishing canned food regulations, implementing the regulations and has taught Better Process Control, Aseptic Processing and Packaging, Process Establishment, Process Deviation Evaluation and Spoilage Investigation courses. He is the processing authority for the company that has the first operational aseptic microwave processing system in the U.S.
He worked in the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for 18 years. He was project manager for FDA's International Cannery Inspection Program and for Filing and Evaluation of Thermal Processes for Acidified and Low-Acid Canned Foods (LACF). In this position, he reviewed new preservation technologies utilized by the food industry including aseptic processing and packaging and extension of shelf-life of refrigerated packaged foods.
He also developed LACF capacity building projects in Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil. From 1974-1976, he served as a thermal processing engineer with the National Canners Association now known as the Grocery Manufacturers Association; he was a food technologist with FDA's Division of Food Technology from 1977-1980 and with the USDA, Food Safety and Inspection Service 1980-1991. At USDA, Mr. Spinak served as the National Field Coordinator for its HACCP development project.
Mr. Spinak received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Food Science from the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland. Mr. Spinak participated for 17 years as an Official of the U.S. Delegation to the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene and was the chairman of the Codex Aseptic Processing and Packaging work group.
