Boar’s Head Appoints Frank Yiannas to Interim Chief Food Safety Officer

After announcing it would hire a new chief food safety & quality assurance officer three weeks ago, Boar’s Head Brand has appointed Frank Yiannas to interim chief food safety officer (CFSO). The move elevates him, in a sense, from his spot on the independent food safety council the company created in the wake of the deadly outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes traced back to the company’s Jarratt, Va., processing plant.

Yiannas will now oversee the nationwide search for a chief food safety officer to succeed him, the company said in a release, while also helping to ensure leading food safety and quality standards across the entire company.

As the interim CFSO, he will chair the “Boar’s Head Food Safety Advisory Council,” which comprises some of the food industry’s top food safety experts, including Yiannas, Dr. David Acheson, Dr. Mindy Brashears and Dr. Martin Wiedmann, as previously announced.

The timetable for the expected hire of the permanent CFSO was not clear, nor was the reasoning for elevating Yiannas to the interim position at this time, other than the company saying it was continuing to take actions to ensure its facilities were operating in the safest manner possible. With three weeks of the search for the CFSO behind it, Boar’s Head will continue its search with Yiannas spearheading those efforts, it appears.