Sean Malloy

About you

I live in Ephrata, PA (USA) with my wife and 4 children. I spent 13 years working in ministry followed by 4 years working for a restaurant supply company. Currently, I am the Potato Supply Manager for E.K. Bare and Sons in Bird In Hand, PA. We are a potato broker supplying to the potato chip industry. I work with roughly 100 growers throughout the United States and Canada and manage the supply, schedule and food safety side of our company. Some of our growers have shipped potatoes with E. K. Bare for 2-3 generations.

Why did you join the BRCGS Professional Programme?

After I completed my first BRCGS training, I quickly realized that there was more information out there that would help me assist my company and our growers with food safety. I joined the Programme to gain the skills, knowledge and tools to help me be prepared to, not only take over the food safety operations in our office, but to better support our growers in the area of food safety.

What value do you personally feel the BRCGS Professional certification brings to you?

I see two clear benefits from having completed this certification: It is so important to me that our growers don’t view me as “Sean the Food Safety Police” but instead someone who can and will advocate for their farms and crop. As food safety requirements change and increase in our industry, I am better equipped to answer questions, provide recommendations and work with our growers to ensure that their crop is shipped without delay. Additionally, being included in a larger community of food safety professionals offers me insight and resources from others' experiences and industries which will help me improve our food safety operations at E.K. Bare.

How has the training helped improve operations at your site/company?

As current and new customers come to our company to source their potatoes, we provide a level of confidence in working through our BRCGS certification as well the Professional Programme showing our company’s investment in me and my training. This certification also allows me to help our team stay up to date with training and competency in our food safety operations.

What did you most enjoy about the training?

Joining in with an international group of learners in such a wide variety of industries was so beneficial for me. I learned so much just listening to others' questions and explanations of their roles during the small group exercises and discussions. I recognize that my job and our industry is very specific so it was great being able to hear how they are implementing these tools and skills in their roles.

What are you most looking forward to within the professional community?

I am looking forward to networking events and continuing to learn from other professionals in the field.

How do you plan to keep your skills up to date?

I plan to take advantage of the PPP system and joining in on webinars and other training opportunities.

What are your career ambitions/aims?

Recently, E.K. Bare and Sons celebrated our 75th year of operations. I am excited to continue with our great team as we provide quality service and supply to our customers. I look forward to working with the next generation of farmers and new growers who seek to ship with E.K. Bare and help support them in their food safety operations.