Phillip L. Minerich
Vice President,
Research and Development
As Vice President of Research and Development at Hormel Foods, Phillip L. Minerich oversees product development, packaging, food safety and lab services.
Over Minerich’s 35-year career with Hormel Foods, he has developed expertise in food science and technology, packaging and application of food safety intervention technologies and systems. He started his career at Hormel Foods in the quality control department at the Austin (Minn.) Plant in 1976. After holding various supervisory positions at the Austin and Davenport (Iowa) Plants, Minerich was named corporate manager of sanitation at the Corporate Office (Austin, Minn.) in 1983.
In 1988, Minerich joined the Research and Development division as a food technologist and advanced to senior food technologist three years later. In 1996, he was promoted to research scientist of packaging and advanced to development leader of new interventions in 2002. He was promoted to director of research in 2003 and was responsible for product and process development and packaging. He was appointed to his current position in 2006.
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Minerich received a bachelor of science degree in food technology at The Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio). He earned his master's and doctorate degrees in food science at the University of Minnesota (St. Paul, Minn.)
Minerich is a member of the Board of Advisors for the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia; Minnesota Food Safety and Defense Task Force; Executive Advisory Board for the Institute for Food Safety and Health; Scientific and Regulatory Affairs Councils for the Grocery Manufacturers Association; and Nonthermal Processing Division of the Institute of Food Technologists. He is also an industry representative for the University of Minnesota Food Science and Nutrition Advisory Council and National Center for Food Protection and Defense.
He has been awarded three patents.