CASTROVILLE, Calif. – Ocean Mist Farms, the leading grower of artichokes and other fresh vegetables, recently announced two new staff promotions.
Afreen Malik was promoted to director of technical services, responsible for Ocean Mist Farms’ food safety, quality assurance and sustainability initiatives, said Joe Pezzini, chief operations officer.
“Afreen has the knowledge and understanding of these important functions and is in a unique position to oversee the alignment of our quality systems across the company,” Pezzini said.
Malik has been with Ocean Mist Farms since 2004. She held previous positions as manager of food safety, directing the company’s food safety program from “Farm to Fork” as well as enhancing product traceability and recall protocols. She also was responsible for developing the company’s sustainability initiatives program.
Malik has served on various industry committees, including the Produce Marketing Association’s produce safety, science and technology committee, Hartnell College food safety advisory committee and the Monterey County sustainability working group.
In addition to Malik, Arlin Valenzuela accepted a promotion to become the company’s quality assurance manager; in that role she will manage the Ocean Mist Farms’ quality assurance program and work closely with various departments, Pezzini said.
Prior to this promotion, Valenzuela was a quality assurance in-house trainer. Most recently, she has played an essential role in digitizing the Ocean Mist Farms’ quality assurance program that will debut at the Produce Marketing Association Fresh Summit meeting this October in New Orleans. She is a graduate of California State University at San Marcos.
“The company joins me in congratulating Afreen and Arlin on their promotions and we support them as they take on these new and challenging roles,” Pezzini said.
For more information about Ocean Mist Farms visit www.oceanmist.com.
About Ocean Mist Farms
Ocean Mist Farm’s growers are focused on meeting the needs of their customers and consumers. That means they are committed to the highest standards in the industry for quality, service, innovation, social responsibility and delivering year-round premium fresh vegetables. Ocean Mist Farms is four generations of family farmers who lead the artichoke category and grow a full line of fresh vegetables.
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Source: Ocean Mist Farms