Donna Schaffner is a Food Microbiologist who earned bachelor's and master's degrees in food science at the University of Georgia. Her early experiences in the food industry spanned the spectrum from candling eggs to meat cutter and cooking/catering for large events, working as a veterinary technician then a laboratory technician for the UGA Food Science Department. While at UGA she taught lab classes for Environmental Microbiology, Principles of RadioIsotopes and other classes while serving as on the university Radiation Safety Committee. Donna taught HACCP and Food Safety classes for Rutgers and several county colleges for 20-plus years.
At the Rutgers Food Innovation Center, Schaffner leads a team of food safety professionals who work directly with food processors to assess their existing programs and to get documentation in place for higher-level audits and certifications. She’s worked with products ranging from baked goods to flavors and fragrances, pasteurized liquid eggs, canned vegetables and soups, fresh cut produce, frozen pasta, chocolates, ready-to-eat microwaveable meals, soy products, fully cooked meat and egg entrees, beverages, fresh cut meats, dried dietary supplements, nutritional meal replacement products and dry powder blend ingredients. She’s recently expanded her training programs to include several Provinces in China that were seeking her expertise to improve their Food Safety record.