Vitsab International AB/Freshtag® knows the importance of IAFP (International Association for Food Protection) for advancing food safety worldwide

May 1, 2023

May 1, 2023, Winslow, ME – Jeff Desrosiers, President of Vitsab/Freshtag®, was humbled when announcing today their Freshtag® Catering formulation is the 2023 recipient of the IAFP (International Association for Food Protection) Innovation’s Award. Vitsab International AB/Freshtag® is a well-known research and development company that works with global regulators, governments, academia, and industry to engineer Time Temperature Indicator (TTI) labels aligned with regulations or specific temperature monitoring needs.

“We are thrilled to be selected by IAFP for their 2023 Innovations Award, but I want to emphasize this award really belongs to many food safety regulators, educators, and industry professionals. Without help from all these groups, Freshtag’s® Catering formulation would be collecting dust on a shelf in a warehouse somewhere. Food Safety professionals loved our innovation and coached us on Freshtag’s® value for monitoring “The Last Mile” of direct shipments,” said Jeff.

“This journey started at IAFP 2019 in Louisville, KY, USA where we attended to learn about IAFP and their contribution to food safety. We quickly realized IAFP’s Annual Meetings are where the food safety industry meets to discuss advancements in worldwide food safety. This open communication forum is designed for food safety professionals to exchange information on protecting the global food supply,” said Jeff. “One panel session stood out to us as we learned the importance of temperature monitoring for “the last mile” of direct shipments. This planted the seed for our Freshtag® Catering formulation development. After working with government regulators, academia, and industry; Freshtag’s® Catering formulation was engineered and released at IAFP 2021 in Phoenix, AZ, USA. Now that our perishable food source has changed from local, to regional, to national, and now global; there is a much greater need for monitoring time/temperature as a way of validating consumer safety and product quality. Consumers are becoming more knowledgeable about their food source and its traceability, plus they are also looking for proof of proper handling from source to plate. With the rapid increase of direct shipments of perishable products, which were driven by COVID, there is an increased concern for “The Last Mile” of shipments. The constant theme at IAFP 2021 for these perishable products deliveries was temperature validation – the simpler the better. Freshtag™ answers this need for Temperature Monitoring Made Simple™” explained Jeff.

Vitsab/Freshtag® realizes they need to stay neutral and continue as an R&D company. Advanced science needs to remain the calling card which grants them access to all food safety stakeholders and will be the main driver behind future product development. Aligning with global leaders like IAFP is critical to their continued contribution to global food safety. “Food Safety takes everyone, and we are thrilled to be a part of that big picture,” explained Jeff.

Please reach out to Jeff with any questions, for interviews, and to set-up a zoom meeting jeff.desrosiers@vitsab.com or mobile +1 (207) 210-1753