Tejas Bhatt, MS CFS is the Program Director for the Global Food Traceability Center at the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT). He directs IFT’s science and policy initiatives related to food safety, defense and traceability. He is responsible for grants and contracts work at IFT to conduct research and development in food science in partnership with governments, industry and academia. He has a unique interest in applying information technology through modeling and simulations to tackle global issues like food traceability. He was the IFT lead on the food product tracing pilots conducted for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as mandated by the U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act. Prior to joining IFT, he was a Research Associate at the Purdue Homeland Security Institute conducting research in the use of technology in emergency planning and preparedness. Mr. Bhatt received his Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and Master of Science degree in Interdisciplinary Food Science, both from Purdue University. He has authored or co-authored several peer reviewed publications, book chapters, and has presented at numerous national and international conferences.