SCIENCE, EXPERIENCE & JUDGMENT WHEN THE STAKES ARE HIGH.

I am Lourdes Simental, an oceanographer by training and a senior food safety and regulatory strategist with extensive experience in fresh produce and agricultural supply chains. I hold a PhD in Biological Sciences, with doctoral research in Marine Biology and Aquaculture, and have specialized throughout my career in food safety particularly in the detection and characterization of foodborne pathogens, microbial source tracking, food microbiology, and applied epidemiology. My work spans farms, packinghouses, laboratories, aquaculture operations, food production facilities, outbreak investigations, traceability systems, market access, and crisis response. From field and laboratory settings to regulatory meetings, technical investigations, and executive decision-making, my purpose remains the same: turning scientific evidence into action when people, brands, and markets are at risk.

I BUILD SYSTEMS THAT HOLD UP UNDER PRESSURE.

My approach was shaped in laboratories, outbreak investigations, production environments, regulatory processes, and high-stakes meetings where evidence had to withstand scrutiny. I do not separate microbiology from operations, or regulatory requirements from what actually happens on the floor. I look at the entire system—people, processes, product, environment, data, and decision-making—to understand where control failed, what the evidence demonstrates, and what must change.

FROM THE LABORATORY TO THE DECISION TABLE.

My career began in environmental and food microbiology, working with pathogenic microorganisms, water, aquatic systems, and laboratory evidence. That scientific foundation led me into fresh produce, aquaculture, outbreak investigations, laboratory development and certification, microbial source tracking, and regulatory response. Over time, my role expanded from detecting and characterizing pathogens to connecting laboratory findings with epidemiology, traceability, operations, and market access—helping organizations understand what happened, where control failed, and what must be done next.

I DO NOT DELIVER REPORTS AND WALK AWAY. I HELP CORRECT THE SYSTEM.

Food safety cannot be managed through documents alone. Procedures, certifications, and regulatory requirements only work when they are reflected in daily operations, understood by the people responsible, supported by reliable evidence, and verified consistently. My role is not to create the appearance of control, but to identify the weaknesses that place the system at risk and help organizations correct them in a practical, technically defensible, and sustainable way.

THE WORK IS TECHNICAL. THE PURPOSE IS HUMAN.

At the center of every investigation, corrective action, and regulatory response is a simple responsibility: food must not harm the people who consume it. That principle has guided my work across public health, agriculture, laboratories, and industry. It is why I insist on evidence, clarity, and accountability and why I approach every assignment with the same seriousness, whether I am supporting a producer, protecting market access, or helping an organization respond to a crisis.

WHEN THE EVIDENCE MATTERS, LET’S TALK.

Whether your organization is facing a contamination event, regulatory pressure, a traceability challenge, or the need to strengthen its food safety system, the first step is to understand the evidence and define the right course of action.