Members of the International Association for Food Protection elected Ms. Pamela Wilger to the Executive Board as Secretary. Ms. Wilger will take office at the conclusion of IAFP 2024 in Long Beach, California and will fulfill a five-year commitment to the Association, serving as President beginning in July 2027.
Ms. Wilger is the Fellow Scientist – Microbiologist with Post Consumer Brands, Post Holdings, in Lakeville, Minnesota. She is the Technical Leader and Resource of Microbiology, Quality, and Food Safety for the manufacturing facilities, third party laboratories, corporate leadership, engineers, R&D, supply chain, regulatory, customers, and supplies. She plans, directs, and leads validation studies for pathogens reduction, as well as science-based solutions to minimize risk of product contamination including those related to adverse events. She also provides guidance to promote environmental pathogen control to minimize risk of product contamination, and approves and manages the relationships with outside laboratories used to conduct microbiology testing.
Ms. Wilger has been an active IAFP Member since 2001 when she volunteered on the Local Arrangements Committee for IAFP’s Annual Meeting in Minneapolis. Since then, she has been an Annual Meeting speaker, panelist, organizer, and convener for multiple topics. Ms. Wilger served as the Program Committee Chair for IAFP 2023 after serving as its Co-Chair and a member during the previous five years. She actively participates in IAFP webinars and workshops. She is a firm believer that the future of the industry is in mentoring students and young professionals and has been in IAFP’s Mentor Program for more than a decade. She served as the Chair and Vice Chair of the Food Safety Education Professional Development Group (PDG) from 2008–2012 and as the Chair and Vice Chair of the Applied Laboratory Methods PDG from 2004–2008. Ms. Wilger was instrumental in establishing the Minnesota Food Protection Association (MFPA) Affiliate in 2013, becoming its first Vice President before assuming the President’s role. She received the IAFP Harold Barnum Industry Award in 2018 and the President’s Recognition Award in 2021 and 2023.
Ms. Wilger earned her B.S. and M.S. in Bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, while also working at the Food Research Institute.