About Us.
Experienced Food Safety Consultants.
Providing Expert Guidance.
PFSS Food Safety Specialists are accessible, experienced, and will work with you to meet your unique needs.
Produce Food Safety Services (PFSS) was originally created in 1999 as the Georgia GAP Food Safety Program to provide needed information and services to the members of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, a trade association and not-for-profit leader that represents the specialty crop industry throughout the Southeastern United States.
PFSS has since expanded to provide a full range of food safety programs and services nationwide to conventional and organic farms, harvesters, packing operations, and limited processing facilities.
We work to ensure all plans, programs, and trainings are fully compliant with FSMA rules. All plans are customized for each client because we know that no two farming operations are the same, and a fill-in-the-blank template is insufficient. This personalized and customized approach gives you exactly what you need and our not-for-profit membership roots give you unparalleled customer service and representation among the industry that will give you the most up to date food safety plans and practices. We work with you to bring you peace of mind with your food safety programs and make the process easy and understandable.
our team
Beth Oleson
Program Manager
Beth is the Director of Education & Food Safety with the Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association (GFVGA), and Food Safety Specialist and Program Manager of Produce Food Safety Services (PFSS). Since her start in 2005 as a boots-on-the-ground food safety consultant, she has worked to educate producers regarding food safety on farms and in packing facilities. Beth is an active member of the United Fresh Produce Association’s Food Safety and Technology Council. She is a Double-Dawg from the University of Georgia with an undergraduate degree in Agricultural Communication-Public Relations and a master’s degree in Food Science. She lives in a house divided with her husband Michael, who is a diehard Auburn fan, and their two young children. Beth refuses to wear orange.
Beth Oleson
Program Manager
(706) 407-2551
Katie Odrobina
Food Safety Specialist
Katie has been helping growers, packers, and processors implement their food safety programs since joining PFSS in 2012. Previously, she was Director of Food Safety for one of the largest distributors of sweet corn in the world. Katie has an advanced HACCP training certification. She also has certifications from PrimusGFS, United Fresh Harmonized Audit Standard, Preventive Controls for Human Food, and Produce Safety Alliance. Katie received her Bachelor of Science in Food Science and Human Nutrition from the University of Florida, followed by a Master’s in Management. When not chasing after her two kids (three if you count her husband), Katie loves to cook and bake, while always practicing safe food handling practices.
Katie Odrobina
Food Safety Specialist
(706) 881-0092
Brenden St. John
Food Safety Specialist
Brenden has been helping farmers, packers, shippers, and processors by developing their food programs through PFSS since 2016. Before joining PFSS Brenden was the Food Safety and Safety Director with several of the largest produce dealers in the Southeast managing audit schemes including organic, SQF, and Primus packinghouse, cooling/cold storage, and storage and distribution with sales in excess of $100M annually. Brenden is certified in Preventive Controls for Human Food, HACCP, Foreign Supplier Verification, and is a trainer with the Produce Safety Alliance. Brenden, and his wife of 23 years, loves to be “safe” in the outdoors, mountain biking, hiking, and camping with their two kids.
Brenden St. John
Food Safety Specialist
(706) 881-0456
Charles Hall
Executive Director
Charles was at the table the day when the organizing committee of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (GFVGA) made the decision to transition to an official trade association. He has worked with the GFVGA Board of Directors since 1996 to purposefully build a dynamic and responsive organization for the growers, packers, and shippers of the southeast. This is a part of the over 35 years of experience he carries in business communications, public relations, and association management. He owns an association management company that manages 17 different trade associations with 30 plus employees. He is Executive Director of GFVGA, a 500-member trade association serving the produce industry in Georgia and the southeast. In 1999, GFVGA formed Produce Food Safety Services (PFSS) out of member outcry for guidance and help. Charles is a graduate of the University of Georgia with a Bachelor and Master of Science in Horticulture. Most weekends you can find him doting on his six grandchildren, except for Saturdays in the Fall, then it’s “Go Dawgs!”
Charles Hall
Executive Director
(706) 407-2551
Teresa Beck
Senior Accountant
Teresa joined PFSS in 2014. She is a seasoned professional with more than 20 years of accounting experience. Teresa is a strong believer in the power of positive thinking and transparency. Teresa has strong family values and enjoys spending time outdoors camping, boating, and fishing. While Teresa’s husband Todd roots for his Auburn Tigers, it’s all “Roll Tide” for her!
Teresa Beck
Senior Accountant
Stephanie Boyd
Accountant II
Prior to joining PFSS in 2014, Stephanie was Accounting Supervisor for the world’s largest recycler of aluminum and producer of flat-rolled aluminum product. She received a Bachelor of Textile Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. A graduate of Georgia Tech, Stephanie lives in a house divided with her husband Randy, who is an Auburn fan. She escapes his taunts with a book, a cat, and a bit of glee when the Yellow Jackets take down the Tigers.
Stephanie Boyd
Accountant II