Life Lessons with Natalie Dyenson, Chief Food Safety Officer, Boar’s Head

Boar’s Head Chief Food Safety Officer Natalie Dyenson’s food safety career began with a help wanted sign posted in a store 30 years ago.

Dyenson noticed the sign on display at her local Harris Teeter supermarket and was hired as a bookkeeper shortly after.

“A few months later, I applied for a department manager job for a new store, and I got that role,” she said. “The company had a board meeting to approve building a lab in the five-year business plan, so they hired me as their first-ever quality assurance microbiologist.”

Since then, Dyenson has served as vice president of food safety and quality at Dole Food Company and held leadership positions at companies such as Walmart and Walt Disney World. Prior to joining Boar’s Head in May, she served as chief regulatory and food safety officer for the International Fresh Produce Association, often contributing to QA magazine’s Produce Production column.

Dyenson credits her unique food safety background to her involvement in global food safety initiatives, as well as her experience troubleshooting complex cases, such as the Dole Listeria outbreak linked to harvest equipment that occurred in 2021 and 2022.

“We were able to find the root cause,” she said. “We did the swabbing, came back with the results, and it was a match to the outbreak strain. I was able to go to the FDA and explain what happened. Having that ability to influence and change the industry through the exploration of root cause analysis was impactful.”

Drawing on her regulatory work at Dole, Dyenson said U.S. laws have made it more expensive to do business in the country, affecting everyone from those who develop produce seeds all the way to retailers.

“We have created this problem in putting so much regulation in place that doesn’t accomplish what it's supposed to,” she said. “Spending time working at Dole and being able to relate those stories to those in Congress and Capitol Hill was very impactful.”

Dyenson said the No. 1 challenge food safety professionals face is working with companies that comply with food safety because they feel like they have to, not because they see it as a worthwhile investment.

She shared more with QA about her food safety experience and her hopes for the next generation of FSQA professionals.

Whether you’ve got a bachelor’s or master’s degree, take the time to focus on learning whatever business you’re going into, and do the job 100%. Stop thinking about what your next move is. If you spend half of your time thinking about where you’re going next, you’re only giving half of the effort to the job you’re in.

I've worked in a lot of roles internationally. It’s being able to get out there and have a global impact, whether it’s developing professionals in different countries or being able to figure out how to make food safety a global thing — because it’s not always thought of that way.

My very first boss before I even got into food safety told me, “You tell the people what you expect them to do, you show your people what doing the right thing looks like, and you give them the tools to do their job.” He was so right, and I found over the years that it’s important that you set clear expectations.

You have to understand your employees. How do I make my expectations clear without being overly direct? You have to develop your people. Sometimes, you give someone a project, and they’re struggling with it, but you need to let them succeed or fail. Sometimes, they learn more in failure.

I think food safety and quality are two sides to the same coin. You cannot have quality product without food safety. For me, food safety is more about having the right culture. Every person in the business owns food safety. Everybody owns it; it’s not just the person who has food safety in their title. Once you have safe food, then you can make quality food.

I’m not looking to come in and change anything at Boar’s Head, but I really am looking forward to the opportunity to use all of my experience in every job I have had in my career to help this incredible company with an amazing brand. The products are fantastic, and there’s nobody else out there. We’re going to continue to grow. Boar’s Head wants to be the leader in everything, from the deli counter to the food safety program.

I hope the new generation brings passion and enthusiasm. It is important for them to understand that you have to love what you do, and if you don’t love it, you need to find something you love.