Q&A With Revol’s New VP of Food Safety

Jennifer Polanz

Revol Greens, a U.S. CEA leafy greens grower, recently announced hiring Dinesh Babu as its new Vice President of Food Safety. Dinesh has a Ph.D. in food safety and more than 15 years of experience in food science and food safety. In his new role, he’ll lead the organic, food safety and sanitation programs for the grower, ensuring compliance with all operational, audit and certification requirements.

We reached out to Revol, which now has four growing locations (Minnesota, Texas, Georgia and California), and connected with Dinesh by email to find out why his role is so important and why he wanted to join up with Revol.

Q: Why is it important to have someone on the team dedicated to food safety?

DB: Food safety is a crucial function for everyone that plays a role in the food industry to ensure various production processes follow good manufacturing practices (GMP), regulatory requirements, audit standards and customer specifications. At Revol, we are especially focused on this within the fresh produce industry when handling leafy greens where having a dedicated food safety professional is mandatory.

Q: What was it about Revol Greens that made you want to join their team?

DB: Revol Greens brings modern technology to farming to provide the freshest products. Our sustainable greenhouses create an environment that is protected and safe for food production, as well as provides consistent supply irrespective of issues such as harsh weather that traditional farming routinely deals with.

Q: What would an organization need to do to meet the top tier of food safety?

DB: Food safety efforts must be several steps ahead in mitigating various food safety hazards. An organization should invest resources in terms of labor, tools to successfully manage and maintain comprehensive food safety management system with faster traceability and ability to respond to various needs from customers, regulatory bodies, and audit standards.

Q: Where in the process do you feel there is the most chances for the introduction of pathogens in CEA production?

DB: The food safety challenges through the introduction of pathogens are not drastically different in CEA production from traditional farming. Risks can come through growing, harvesting and handling practices as seen in traditional agriculture. Different producers follow different CEA production practices and specific risks need to be understood on a case-by-case basis.

Q: How has being a part of the CEA Food Safety Coalition helped Revol Greens in advancing its food safety processes?

DB: As a founding member of the CEA Food Safety Coalition, Revol Greens shares the vision of other members that food safety is paramount to the success of the CEA industry and that we should all hold ourselves to a higher standard of safety. The Coalition brings a unified voice to CEA Food Safety, allowing us to collaborate with other industry leaders, retail customers and suppliers to raise the bar on food safety in leafy greens. I am excited to get more involved sharing my experience and knowledge to help advance the Coalition even further. IG