NACS Food Safety Forum

Jay Ellingson, Ph.D., is the Chief Scientific Officer at Kwik Trip Inc. in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and leads the food safety sciences behind the company’s food protection system. In 1995, he received his Ph.D. in molecular microbiology from Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He did his postdoctoral fellowship training was with the USDA, Agriculture Research Service, National Animal Disease Center in Ames, Iowa, where he developed and patented a molecular diagnostic method for the detection of Johne’s disease in dairy cattle.

As the director of Marshfield Clinic Laboratories–Food Safety Services in Marshfield, Wisconsin, Jay developed and patented a molecular diagnostic method for detection of E. coli 0157:H7. He is an adjunct professor in the Microbiology Department of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and has mentored and graduated several Masters of Science students in the Microbiology program.

Sarah Friedrich is a Food Protection Analyst for Kwik Trip Inc. and oversees food safety and quality initiatives primarily within the distribution center. Passionate about training, she actively educates employees on the critical principles of food safety and its profound impact on maintaining operational excellence and customer trust. Her commitment to these efforts reflects her dedication to advancing standards and practices within the industry.

Prior to joining Kwik Trip, Sarah accumulated valuable experience from the co-manufacturing beverage industry, holding diverse roles within the quality sector. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Melanie Harris, Food Safety Manager, Retail, at Casey's General Stores, is a food safety professional with more than 20 years of experience in retail regulatory compliance. She joined Casey’s in Ankeny, Iowa, in 2019 after serving as a regulatory inspector and foodborne illness response coordinator at the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals.

Melanie’s career in industry food safety began five years ago as she transitioned from regulatory partner to industry partner. As a member of the Casey’s Food Safety and Quality Assurance Department, she shares her food safety knowledge and expertise with the FSQA team and operations leaders so that she can impact the safety of food products offered to Casey’s guests through collaboration and partnership.

David McIntyre is the Senior Health & Safety Specialist at EG America. He has more than 30 years of experience in culinary, retail, and noncommercial/contract foodservice management environments. David’s team was instrumental in developing and rolling out a risk-based internal assessment of food and workplace safety standards at EG America. He currently works with the Fastrac and Cumberland Farms banners in New York and oversees a field team in the Midwest and Western regions.

Prior to joining EG America, David worked as a third-party auditor with many Cumberland Farms locations and national and regional clients in the retail, restaurant and contract foodservice segments. He holds a NEHA CP-FS certification and enjoys teaching food safety, alcohol safety and career development courses at a local community college.

Chris Rapanick is the Managing Director of Research at NACS. His team is responsible for producing the NACS State of the Industry Report®, the NACS State of the Industry Summit and the Talent Insights Dashboard, as well as facilitating the Convenience Voices Shopper Insights Program, the CSX Benchmarking Database and other data-driven reports published by NACS.

Chris began his career in retail managing grocery stores for a prominent retailer in the southeast, and previously worked at Coca-Cola Enterprises before joining NACS 15 years ago.

Jeremy Zenlea is the Vice President of Health and Safety at EG America. He oversees all aspects of food safety at EG America, including international and domestic regulatory compliance, retail and commissary food safety operations, and supply chain integrity. He has worked with a variety of different product categories, including refrigerated, high-risk ready-to-eat foods (meat, poultry, pork, and fresh-cut produce), chocolate and confectioneries. He is an expert in constructing, implementing and managing complex food safety, food fraud and food defense systems for large domestic and international food manufacturers. He is also a lecturer at Northeastern University and received a B.Sc. from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and an MBA from Northeastern University.