New Members and Technical Director Join GDP

GDP welcomes Cindy Schweitzer, Ph.D., as the new Technical Director, as well as seven new members.

The new GDP members include the following organisations:
Australia Dairy Products Association – The dairy processing trade association of Australia.
Dairy Australia – The farmer check-off organisation in Australia, recently affirmed in its industry leading position by a poll of producers.
Dairy Innovation Australia – A consortium of Australian dairy organisations aimed at the continued development of a competitive, innovative and sustainable dairy industry.
DCANZ – The dairy processing trade association of New Zealand.
European Whey Products Association – An association of the leading whey producers in Europe.
Gardiner Foundation – Established in 2001, the Geoffrey Gardiner Dairy Foundation Ltd. has assets in excess of $60 million to promote and support the Victorian dairy industry in Australia and dairying communities.
Valio –  Finland's largest foodstuff company, producing over 80 percent of the country’s milk and rapidly expanding in other markets such as Sweden and Russia.

Dr. Schweitzer will join the GDP staff as Technical Director on 13 August. She comes to GDP from the McDonald’s Corporation, based in Oak Brook, Illinois, in the United States, where she served as manager of global nutrition.

“Cindy has made a major contribution to the creation of McDonald’s global nutrition strategy, with considerable involvement with governmental and NGO diet/health regulatory guidelines and claims”, said Kevin Bellamy, GDP Executive Director, to whom Dr. Schweitzer will report. “Prior to McDonald’s, she has had more than 20 years of experience in the food and supplement industries, including non-profit, ingredient and food service”.

Dr. Schweitzer, who earned a Ph.D. in human nutrition at Utah State University in Logan, has extensive knowledge of global food regulations, as well as excellent contacts in academia. She also worked at Cognis Corporation (formerly Henkel Corporation) in LaGrange, Illinois, as well as the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (formerly the National Live Stock & Meat Board), in Chicago, Illinois, among other organisations.

“As a nutritionist, I am well aware of the important dietary contributions of dairy products for people of all ages”, said Dr. Schweitzer, who grew up on a small dairy farm in northern Wisconsin. “I am very excited to work on behalf of the dairy industry towards a coordinated global research plan. In particular, I want to focus on finding gaps in the research, while avoiding duplication, which will result in the best investment of research resources”, she added.