Expert Food Safety and Regulatory Compliance specialists,
providing quality solutions to Food and Beverage manufacturers and the Dairy industry.

I founded Produco in 2016, as I saw the need for food safety leadership and regulatory guidance in the Dairy and Food industries.

I gained extensive experience across New Zealand’s regulatory environment including New Zealand Standards Development, Regulatory Interpretation, Market Access, and Official Assurance Specification Implementation through my previous roles working for New Zealand’s leading dairy companies.

Raised on a dairy farm which ran sheep and beef, gave me a good grounding of on-farm practices.  I studied Science at Waikato University and was lucky enough to work at MilkTest NZ and then landed my first role at Tatua Dairy Company in the Microbiology and Functional foods laboratory. This was quickly followed by time in the Chemistry laboratory, which would prepare me well for future roles in all aspects of Quality and Regulatory Compliance from cow to customer for Dairy/Food and FMCG.

I’m passionate about developing great teams and growing people by finding opportunities to expand their careers.

I also relish the challenge of creating sustainable quality management solutions to ensure compliance while adding value and implementing opportunities to continually improve.

An engaging senior leader, with many years in the Dairy industry, working for NZ’s largest dairy company in Food Safety & Quality roles.  Liz has successfully led and managed regional quality teams across multiple manufacturing sites for many years.  Her specialties lie in Infant Formula and Nutrition as well as Regulatory, Laboratory Management and Sensory Evaluation. 

Liz has a natural style and warmth, allowing her to quickly build rapport with any team; from diverse nationalities, senior executives to operators and vendors.  She builds capable, engaged individuals and teams of people with a strong focus on food safety culture.

She’s passionate about working with and understanding her clients to create the best possible outcomes.

Liz represented her previous company many times during Customer, Regulatory and Internal Audits and has hosted international organisations. She is comfortable managing multiple projects across multiple sites with her major achievements including:

• Implementation of FSSC22000 Certification Standard
• Implementation of Infant Formula Standard (Manufacture of Dairy Based Infant Formula Products & Formulated Supplementary Foods for Young Children)
• Country Listing Audits for China, CNCA , EEU, EU (European Union)
• Development and implementation of Sensory training programs

Recent Qualifications:

• Advanced Course in Hygienic Design (EHEDG) – Hygienic design of
  equipment and hygienic engineering aspects especially for food industries.

March 2020 kicked off a new direction for Produco as we opened our new Australian division. 

Based in Melbourne, National QA Manager, Adam brings a wealth of experience to the role. He’s been in the food industry since 1991 and has over 20 years in the Dairy industry.

Adam’s career began with Nestle, Australia in frozen food, then to the brand new Darnum Park spray drying plant in Victoria, where he worked for 17 years under Bonlac and Fonterra. 

His skillset included in-depth operating of the Spray Dryer, Evaporators, Separators, Packing Machines, Logistics and Boilers.  He transitioned roles into the Food Safety / Quality space, initially overseeing Raw Materials, HACCP and Verifications.

A move to New Zealand at Oceania Dairy as Process Manager then led to the Quality Manager role with Danone, before becoming the NZ Supplier Quality Manager. His roles have interfaced with Customers, Suppliers and a wide range of staff including senior managers, technical teams and operators. An excellent communicator, he quickly builds trust and establishes a rapport with those around him.

Adam’s interests include collecting and cellaring wine, travelling and staying fit and healthy. 

You may be interested to learn Adam was Mayor of the Baw Baw Shire in Victoria, Australia in 2010 while serving as a local government Councillor for 7 years.

Rebekah heads up our Health and Safety wing of Produco and brings to the portfolio a wealth of experience and expertise across a range of disciplines, having previously worked in complex and dynamic roles.  She has a strong focus on people, health, safety, risk and is a strong, comfortable leader during significant change projects.

She has in-depth H&S and Injury Management experience in the Meat and Seafood industries as well as more recently the dairy industry. Previous roles have included working in the government sector which provided sound working knowledge of the risks involved in these environments.  Operational and on the road roles in both the Ambulance and Fire Services have given her a total of 20 years experience.

A proficient knowledge of the Accredited Employers Programme (AEP) and the ACC Act is one of Rebekah’s strengths including; how workplace accident impact levies and guidelines of when a workplace accident should and shouldn’t be accepted.

The value that Rebekah provides and the information she gives to her clients is specific and always tailored to their industry and business, in a way that is able to be understood by everyone in the organisation.

She’s passionate about seeing a change in culture in an organisation. Where peoples’ perception of H&S starts to change, where worker engagement is strong, and H&S is considered the norm rather than the exception.

Rebekah’s training was completed through IMPAC Services, the preferred H&S trainers for New Zealand’s largest industries and specifically designed for the industry.

Rebekah advocates on maintaining a healthy work and life balance and can be found enjoying the outdoors, paddle boarding, horticulture and cooking.

Emily’s Quality Assurance | Quality Control | Research career began with a leading GMP pharmaceutical company. Various awards and internal promotions enabled her to gain an in-depth understanding of the life cycle of products from production to delivery.

She’s had extensive exposure among research environments, working to deliver results alongside teams with multiple cultural ethnicities.

Emily is fluent in both Mandarin and English languages. This, coupled with a clear communication style and precise quality assurance skills opened up opportunities to advance her skillset in:

• International audits
• Assisting commercial teams across multiple projects
• Developing client relationships 

Emily holds a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacology, as well as a Masters of Science majoring in Chemistry (with Distinction) from the University of Otago.

Jane is our Food Technology architect, holding a Food Science and Human Nutrition degree from the University of Otago. She’s worked with top NZ food companies including Cerebos Greggs, Delmaine, LHF, NZDF and Epicurean Dairy Company to name a few.

‘What I love is the challenge of NPD.  New Product Development. Inventing a new food product,  a new flavour variant, a more cost effective product. I’ve developed hundreds of new food products’ across:

• • • RTE meals and soups
    • Cultured dairy products
    • Fresh dips and sauces
    • Nutritional beverages
    • Snack foods
    • Bakery and pies
    • Coconut yoghurt
    • Vegetarian and vegan products

‘I love being part of the Produco team and relish the opportunity to work with customers to solve their NPD / Technical  problems’.

Jane also holds a Dip. Business Administration and delivers a skillset that encompasses:

• • New Product Development
  • Recipe Development
  • Product Formulation & Reformulations
  • Food Regulatory Requirements
  • Nutritional Information Panels (NIPs)
  • Product Labelling
  • Commissioning and implementing new plants

 ‘I am a passionate and creative foodie. This, teamed with my strong business acumen and love of solving problems means I can efficiently deliver the perfect NPD solution for you and your team’.

Based in Auckland, I have been involved in the Food Industry all my working life.

Initially I began with Dairy FMCG, at the now Fonterra site in Takanini. Here, we manufactured iconic brands across a range of products and processes; Fresh and UHT milks, Yoghurt and other Cultured products. We also produced Dairy foods, custards and Fruit drinks and juices.

Working with ‘living’ products triggered my love of microbiology.  My responsibilities during this time included Quality Assurance, Quality Systems and Laboratory Management.

I then moved into other food industries holding Quality Management positions and working with a variety of standards and programmes including:

• VITAL Allergen Management, Food Fraud and Food Security
• HACCP, FSP and FCP
• AIB (Unannounced audits)
• Customer standards (WQA, McDonalds, PepsiCo, YUM)
• FSSC22000, ISO9001

I enjoy writing and reviewing HACCP plans, drafting procedures and systems, staff training and undertaking audits, including gap audits against new standards and encouraging continuous improvement projects.

Due to my diverse background, I can quickly get up to speed and contribute to the company I am assisting. I enjoy being able to play a part in our client achieving their quality and food safety goals.

Helen has a strong Laboratory background, having worked for AsureQuality and Massey University in laboratory supervisory roles.  Following that, Helen moved to a Quality Assurance role at The Foodbowl in Auckland for several years.

She provides a very hands-on, practical approach when performing pre-start checks, internal and external audits, water sampling and pathogen swabbing activities.  A strong coach, Helen takes people on a learning journey weaving past experience and situations.

Holder of a Masters degree in Science, majoring in Chemistry (University of Otago).

“I am excited to be part of Produco. My role incorporates the experiences, skills, relationships, knowledge and practical how-to expertise from my time in the NZ food industry, as well as refreshed perspectives and attitudes gained from my part-time adventures as a Conservation Ranger in the Fiordland National Park.

I have also found that I am able to match my personal philosophies and values to the work I am asked to do, which brings joy and fun”.

The framework of my food industry skillset is built upon;

• Laboratories – people, documentation, tests, methods, quality systems, equipment, training, instrumentation and facility management
• Customer/Client Relationships – communication, project management, problem-solving, interactions and service
• Food Safety – creating, writing, implementing, auditing, maintenance and management of food safety quality systems and risk management programmes
• Risk Management – people, programmes, documentation, audits, training, environmental, compliance
• Technical – validation processes (IQ, OQ and PPQ) for factory systems, processes, equipment, components and people; specification reviews and development for raw materials and finished goods
• Workplace Health and Safety – people, facilities, equipment, documentation, systems audits, CIMS2 and emergency preparation, training, hazards and risk ID, chemicals, accident investigations.