Agricultural News
Food-Processing Expert Appointed to FAPC's Advisory Board
Fri, 27 Sep 2013 17:03:18 CDT
A food-processing expert is the newest addition to an advisory board representing Oklahoma State University's Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products Center.
Appointed by Gov. Mary Fallin, John Patrick Lopez, vice president of operations for Lopez Foods in Oklahoma City, joins the 16-member Industry Advisory Committee to help oversee the center's mission and vision.
"FAPC is extremely important to me and to Lopez Foods," Lopez said. "My goal is to help the team by being open, honest and direct."
To learn more about FAPC, Lopez visited the center and met with FAPC Director Roy Escoubas, administrators from OSU's Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, and center faculty and staff. The Sept. 16 visit also included a tour of the FAPC facility.
"Lopez Foods has a special relationship with OSU," Lopez said. "FAPC is very important to what we do. It's important to understand how FAPC truly helps Oklahoma businesses."
Employing about 500 greater Oklahoma City residents and producing more than 1 million pounds of food products each day, Lopez Foods is a principle supplier to McDonald's Corporation for premium all-beef patties, sliced Canadian style bacon and pre-cooked premium pork sausage patties.
Lopez Foods also supplies a range of fully cooked products for the retail and foodservice industry under the Quick-N-Eat brand. Customers include Walmart, Sam's Club, Costco, Kroger, H.E.B., Burger King and the Associated Wholesale Grocers to name a few.
Employed with Lopez Foods for 19 years, Lopez began his career with the company through an accelerated training program allowing for focused participation and management within every department of Lopez Foods.
During Lopez's visit to FAPC, a topic of discussion with faculty and staff was current issues and trends in the food industry.
Lopez said the millennials are going to define what we do in the food industry, which ties into the trend of social media.
"If you don't tell your story, it will be told for you, which will probably be the wrong one," he said. "If you are defending yourself, you have already lost."
Lopez also said it is important to be forward thinking.
"Be proactive instead of reactive in the food industry," he said. "Be ahead of the issues that can affect your operation."
An issue that is always on the forefront for food manufacturers is food safety.
"It is becoming more of a challenge for smaller food manufacturing companies to keep up with the food regulations," Lopez said. "The regulations are good because they promote food safety, but it affects the smaller companies, which many times cause them to sell out to larger companies."
With a growing demand for safe, quality food products, food-industry companies are engaging in food-safety programs. With the support of its Industry Advisory Committee, FAPC recognized the need and established a Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) program to provide services to meet the food safety and security needs of Oklahoma's food industry.
"I commend FAPC for recognizing GFSI as a need," Lopez said. "Change is constant and you better be ready for it."
Lopez will join the other advisory board members during their next biannual meeting in November.
"We enjoyed hosting Mr. Lopez at FAPC and look forward to having him on the committee with his extensive knowledge in the food-processing industry," Escoubas said. "Lopez Foods has shown consistent business growth and will continue to be a strong business force in Oklahoma."
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