Sneak preview interview with SupplySide West expert

Dr. Angela Anandappa, CEO/president, Alliance for Advanced Sanitation, chats with us ahead of the annual SupplySide West/FiNA show in Las Vegas.

Audarshia Townsend, Content Director, SupplySide Food & Beverage Journal

September 27, 2023

2 Min Read
food safety scientist

At a Glance

  • SSW attendees can learn secrets to success from industry experts during "Food & Beverage 101" education session.
  • Dr. Angela Anandappa, CEO/president, Alliance for Advanced Sanitation, will speak at the session.
  • In this preview video, Anandappa encourages newcomers to build a food safety program in their businesses at conception.

The annual SupplySide West/Food ingredients North America (FiNA) show occurs Oct. 23-27 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. In its 26th year, with more than 1,000 exhibitors, it is the leading West Coast event in dietary supplements, food and beverage, personal care and animal nutrition.

Complementing the show are a series of education sessions, with Food & Beverage Insider curating several of them. Those range from the formulation and regulation of plant-based food and beverage products (underwritten by AAK) to exploring the latest in beverage innovations, trends (underwritten by Cargill, Howtian and Sweegen).

One session certain to cover all bases is Food & Beverage 101, which occurs 1-4:00 p.m. Oct. 24. It’s designed to serve as a solid foundation for newcomers as well as a primer for veterans. Experts will range from seasoned food scientists to sustainability experts to natural product CPG founders.

In a brief video preview interview, Food & Beverage Insider Content Director Audarshia Townsend chatted with one of the experts, Dr. Angela Anandappa, CEO/president, Alliance for Advanced Sanitation. The industry leader specializes in innovation and food safety, plus she has worked on product development, launches and manufacturing for more than 20 years.

Related:3 health and wellness trends to watch for in 2023

During the conversation, Anandappa emphasized some of the issues newcomers should consider before launching a food business. “What I want to share with people is that you really do need to understand that if you don’t build a food safety program into what you’re thinking about conceptionally, you might have a problem that shuts you down before [it takes off],” she explained. “… if you design it in a way where that product is going to be shelf stable, or have the longevity of being on the shelf, that’s a key element of being able to produce a product and being able to sell it.”

Joining Anandappa on the panel are Riana Lynn, CEO, Journey Foods; Matt Rink, co-founder, VP of sales, Every Body Eat; Udi Lazimy, founder & principal, Lazimy Regenerative Impact Partners; Mohammad Salehi, owner/CEO, Heray Spice; and Webb Girard, senior director of R&D, CuliNEX.

About the Author

Audarshia Townsend

Audarshia Townsend

Content Director, SupplySide Food & Beverage Journal, Informa Markets

A lifelong Chicagoan, Audarshia Townsend is an award-winning, veteran food and beverage journalist who serves as the content director for the SupplySide Food & Beverage Journal brand. She is Informa Markets' 2024 "Star Storyteller" winner. Her experience as a visionary editor and writer spans 30 years, with an emphasis in print and digital magazines. Audarshia's professional passion is to champion and amplify underserved business communities. Some of her most recent content includes her review of 2023's F&B trends, the future of food science careers, an interview with culinary star Padma Lakshmi, and Pescavore's sustainable ahi tuna jerky strips. She also appears regularly on local and national media outlets to discuss food and beverage trends, most notably FOX-32 Chicago, WGN-TV, WXRT-FM, NPR-Chicago and the Travel Channel. She is often called on to serve as a judge for prestigious food, beverage and restaurant awards, including the James Beard Foundation, NEXTY Awards and Black Women in Food. She continues to write for Chicago magazine, and previously she has written for the likes of the Chicago Tribune, Eater Chicago, Esquire, Essence, Los Angeles Times, Playboy, Time Out Global and World’s Best Bars. With food and beverage being her longtime, chosen beat in media, she has created content for a number of prestigious brands such as AOL, Google, Lawry’s Seasoned Salt, Lexus, MasterCard, Markon Cooperative Inc., Miller Brewing Co., Resy and Simplot Foods.

To date, Audarshia has guest lectured at the following higher-education institutions: Columbia College Chicago and Loyola University Chicago for undergraduate journalism students; Northwestern University for graduate journalism students; and Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) for undergraduate, graduate and Ph.D. food science students. She also mentors aspiring young writers and journalists whenever she can. Email her at [email protected] and also connect with her on LinkedIn.

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