In honor of National Food Safety Month, Skidmore sat down with our new Food Safety Manager, Michael Hundley, to learn more about his career, and his experience since joining the Skidmore team.
The career path that led Michael to Skidmore was interesting one that included stitches, beer tasting, and a lot of science! “I never thought in a million years I would be a Food Safety Manager,” he said as he explained his career path. “I wanted to be a Doctor. I was pre-med at Denison University. I took all the Chemistry, Physics, Biology [etc.] that was required. I had the science background, but the first time I assisted with stitches, I almost passed out!” he laughed. “I didn’t continue my career in medicine.”
Lucky for Skidmore, his career plans changed but his love of health and science remained past his college years. He started as a research employee, and soon joined MillerCoors as a Microbiologist doing analytical work with yeast to assure quality. “The job required analytical skills and a lot of taste testing! It was the dream job of many!”
After MillerCoors, Michael worked as Quality Assurance Manager for a beef processing & packing company. “This is where I developed my understanding of SQF standards and the USDA regulations that help to keep us healthy and safe.”
Michael joined Skidmore in June 2018. “I was drawn to Skidmore because of the culture and the open-door, accessible management style,” he noted.
Shortly after joining, Michael was tasked leading Skidmore through the tri-annual, unannounced, SQF audit. These audits help to ensure that companies follow SQF standards regularly.
Skidmore is proud to announce we scored an ‘Excellent,” rating, and maintained our Level II certification in the 2018 audit.
“I am impressed by how knowledgeable the SQF Team members are. Management’s commitment to providing the necessary training, resources, and tools are why Skidmore has consistently scored high in SQF audits. It is our plan to continue scoring excellent ratings in the years to come.”
Part of that plan is adhering to stringent fraud mitigation policies and procedures that comply with the new SQF 8.0 Standards and incorporating the added food fraud mitigation precautions. “Skidmore really grasps the importance of Food Safety and takes it seriously. I’m excited to work with the team to enhance our policy to meet the SQF 8.0 standards.”
Michael’s commitment to food safety doesn’t end when he leaves Skidmore each night. It has changed the way he does things at home as well. “I use a meat thermometer always. It’s an obsession. I must be certain everything is cooked to a safe temperature. It drives my girlfriend crazy, but she always gets a perfect steak, and no illness!” he jokes.
Michael’s obsession with safe practices is a great synergy to Skidmore’s commitment to providing safe, healthy products to our customers. We are thrilled to have him join the Skidmore Sales & Distributing team!
Learn more about our team at Skidmore Sales.
