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As production volume increases and expectations for speed, consistency, and safety only get tighter, food manufacturers are being pushed to deliver flawless quality at scale — with zero room for error.
Ahead of her session at the American Food Manufacturing Summit, we’re excited to spotlight Tola Alade-Lambo, Vice President of Food Safety and Quality at McCain Foods. Tola will be sharing how McCain is driving compliance, standardization, and operational efficiency across high-volume, multi-facility manufacturing environments — without compromising on safety or product integrity.
Get an inside look at Tola's upcoming session below!
Can you introduce yourself, and share more about your career journey leading up to your current role as the VP, Food Safety and Quality at McCain Foods?
I started out studying Physiology and Neurobiology and I have a master’s in public health. I fell in love with manufacturing when I did an internship with Nestle.
I’ve worked in the food industry my entire career with roles in manufacturing, food safety & quality, and continuous improvement. I also had a short stint in HR at Nestle, Ferrara, and McCain Foods.
I’ve been fortunate to work globally in the USA, Switzerland, UK, South Africa and the Philippines.
How has your team worked to strengthen supplier partnerships while maintaining strict quality standards?
Oh that's a great question! One of the things we’ve done recently is supplier webinars where we help suppliers understand what their raw materials go into - every day brand names that they can relate to. We also used that time to share best practices that they can adopt to reduce foreign materials. We provided toolkits for them to implement these at their sites.
What tools or frameworks have proven most effective for driving corrective and preventive actions?
Everyday problem solving. You will find that simple problem-solving tools like 5W1H and “5Whys” gets us to the root cause.
Having robust routines as checks and balances for action completion is where things fall apart - the diligence to close the actions when competing priorities pop up.
In your opinion, what are the biggest barriers to cross-functional alignment in food manufacturing?
Being keen to share the “why”- I always talk about the “why”! You can't tell folks what to do, and expect that they will execute blindly without understanding the reasoning and driving forces behind it. The other major reason is always “goal alignment”. If one function is only focused on cost and isn’t as tuned into brand reputation, it could be detrimental. How do we get our leaders to understand the intersection of goals and cascade them in an aligned manner where one doesn't compromise the other.
In your experience, what distinguishes effective food safety and quality leaders in the food manufacturing industry today?
Continuous learning - what worked two decades ago may not work today. While the foundations of food safety remain the same, the ways we tackle and see challenges have evolved. The best leaders in the industry are those who stay abreast of issues and embrace change. This truly applies to all leaders, not just the Food Safety & Quality function.
What are you most looking forward to at the American Food Manufacturing Summit?
I love to connect with the great minds that attend the conference and learn/share best practices - always fills my cup!
In an environment where every facility, every line, and every batch matters, Tola’s approach shows what it really takes to build reliable, repeatable quality across a global manufacturing network. Don't miss the chance to hear her full session and connect with more food manufacturing leaders November 4-5 in Chicago.
Final passes are available at foodmansummit.com.
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