Food Safety Microbiology Management in the Upstream Value Chain

Brei Clifford is currently the Deputy Director and Quality Assurance Manager for the Nestlé Quality Assurance Center (NQAC) in Dublin, Ohio, where she oversees quality assurance, accreditation and certification activities. The NQAC is Nestlé’s largest regional quality assurance laboratory and is accredited for over 150 analytical methods, performing roughly 1 million food safety and quality analyses each year in support of Nestlé North American manufacturing operations and other markets throughout Central and South America. Additionally, Brei is responsible for laboratory performance across Nestlé factory laboratories in the US, Canada and the Caribbean. Prior to her role as the Quality Assurance Manager at NQAC, Brei worked in a variety of business roles including operations, audit and verification, and analytical sciences. Throughout her 15-year career with Nestlé, Brei has supported quality and food safety across various consumer packaged goods categories including frozen meals, confections, beverage and infant nutrition and health, through various technical and operational leadership roles. Brei received her BA in Microbiology from Miami University in 2002.