ARLINGTON, VA — January 6, 2010 — The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) is pleased to announce the appointment of Thomas Osborne as senior technical director of the Safe Quality Food Institute (SQFI), a division of FMI.

     “Tom’s skill in developing and managing quality, food safety and regulatory compliance programs will greatly enhance the SQF Program,” said Bob Garfield, senior vice president of SQFI. “His high-caliber experience will support FMI’s strong commitment to the SQF Program and its continuing growth. We are pleased to bring Tom’s expertise to our team.”

     Osborne will be responsible for directing the technical aspects of SQF, including the food safety standards, guidelines, training materials and audit and certification protocols.

     Osborne joins SQF with 18 years of industry food safety experience, most recently as director of quality assurance, food safety, regulatory affairs and laboratories at Wayne Farms, LLC. He also served in various quality assurance and food safety roles for 9 years at Tyson Foods, Inc.


     SQFI, a division of the Food Marketing Institute, offers a leading, global food safety and quality certification program and management system, designed to meet the needs of buyers and suppliers worldwide. The program provides independent certification that a supplier’s food safety and quality management system complies with international and domestic food safety regulations. This enables suppliers to assure their customers that food has been produced, processed, prepared and handled according to the highest possible standards, at all levels of the supply chain.

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Food Marketing Institute (FMI) conducts programs in public affairs, food safety, research, education and industry relations on behalf of its 1,500 member companies — food retailers and wholesalers — in the United States and around the world. FMI’s U.S. members operate approximately 26,000 retail food stores and 14,000 pharmacies. Their combined annual sales volume of $680 billion represents three-quarters of all retail food store sales in the United States. FMI’s retail membership is composed of large multi-store chains, regional firms and independent supermarkets. Its international membership includes 200 companies from more than 50 countries. FMI’s associate members include the supplier partners of its retail and wholesale members.