Q&A with Senior Director of Food Safety and PQA Carlos Menes

From onions to leafy greens to ground beef and cinnamon, there have been several nationwide recalls that have put the issue of food safety in the supply chain at the top of the news cycle.

To get a sense of what Entegra is doing to ensure food safety, we spoke with Carlos Menes, the Senior Director of Food Safety and Product Quality Assurance (PQA) at Sodexo, Entegra’s parent company.

What are the current food safety trends and regulations that food suppliers must follow and does Sodexo have additional requirements?

“Right now, we’re seeing a lot of mandatory allergen training of staff, particularly for managers and supervisors,” said Menes. “As for regulations, we’re preparing for FSMA 204, the food Safety Modernization Act.

“FSMA 204 requires all manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, growers and retailers to have a food traceability plan in place for the expeditious recall of products in the supply chain. Entegra is working on crafting and implementing our rules and processes around traceability programs for the January 20, 2026, deadline.”

How are suppliers and distributors vetted for compliance and food safety standards?

“We require our suppliers have a third-party food safety audit or a GFSI certification, as well as adhere to our supplier general requirements and meet all the prerequisites that are required for our PQA program, including:

• Staff and manager training
• Pest control standards
• Standard sanitation operating procedures
• Employee health
• Recall and traceability plans

“Our vetting and risk analysis is preventive rather than reactive.”

Given the increase in food recalls, what common causes are leading to these issues and are they preventable with current practices?

“Undeclared allergens are the number one source of food safety recalls. There are several reasons for this, including foods not being labeled properly, cross-contact and employee error, to name a few.

“A lot of manufacturers are using what they call time or space where they're producing allergen products at a certain time and others at another time, or they have separate facilities that are used to produce products that contain allergens, so you don't have an opportunity for cross- contact. We also offer discounted training for ServSafe, to educate frontline workers on safe food handling practices.

“I wish I could say that we are going to stop all recalls from happening, but that's not going to happen. That’s why the FSMA rules on traceability are so important. In the event of contamination and illness we can quickly get back to the source, recall the contaminated items and restore the public’s trust.”

What makes you proud about the work that you do?

“Protecting people. I am proud to say that my team is very passionate about food safety. we want to make sure that every single food that we serve our clients, every plate is safe, nutritious, wholesome, tasty and delivered in the right way.”

As the world’s largest food GPO, Entegra is laser-focused on ensuring food safety compliance from supply and manufacturing partners we work with. To learn more about putting the power of Entegra’s group purchasing programs to work for you, contact us.

December 03, 2024