Dr. John Scanga received his Ph.D. in Animal Sciences from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO. He and his wife Chauna and their sons Sam and Ian reside in Ault CO and operate a diversified farming operation.

His experience includes being an Associate Professor in the Center for Meat Safety and Quality at Colorado State University, Vice President of Technical Services for IEH Laboratories, Technical Consultant at Elanco Animal Health, and Vice President of Quality Assurance, Technical Services, and Live Animal Procurement at Meyer Natural Foods.

John currently is the Chief Scientific Officer for Eurofins Laboratories North American Meat Division, supporting customers with pragmatic food safety solutions, process validations, and operational improvements.

He has served his community and the industry as President of the local school board, AMSA director and is currently Chair of the Colorado Beef Council.

Shirin Abd, with over 15 years of expertise in food safety research, serves as Technical Director in the Eurofins Advanced Food Microbiology Group. She provides food safety consultation to food companies and equipment manufacturers, to assist with developing strategies to comply with food safety regulatory and FSMA requirements. Shirin's educational background is in chemistry, with a Bachelor of Science degree from Tehran University, followed by the second Bachelor’s degree in Food Science and a Master’s degree in Food Microbiology, both from the University of California, Davis. Shirin's leadership includes overseeing complex food safety projects and evaluating a range of conventional thermal processes with a focus on low water activity foods, novel technologies, and chemical treatments as pathogen control measures. Shirin has co-authored two book chapters and contributed to numerous peer-reviewed publications in food safety and microbiology journals.