Background

Peggy Poole is currently vice president of the Tea Division for Bigelow Tea Company, based in Fairfield, Connecticut. The position has responsibility for R&D, Quality, and Tea/Ingredient Procurement. Bigelow Tea is the market leader in the Specialty Tea category.

Peggy has over 40 years of experience in the food industry working for companies including Leprino Foods, HP Hood LLC, Kraft Foods, and Häagen-Dazs. She has held leadership positions in research & development, technical/regulatory affairs, and quality assurance. She has been responsible for leading both quality and R&D initiatives including the introduction of numerous new products such as Simply Smart Milks; Peak Treasures Premium Ice Creams; Carb Countdown dairy beverages, yogurts, smoothies, and juice beverages; Oscar Mayer’s “Hotwiches”; and Häagen-Dazs’ Vanilla Milk Chocolate Almond Ice Cream Bar and Deep Chocolate Peanut Butter pints.

Peggy serves as a member of the external advisory boards for Rutgers University and the University of Massachusetts Department of Food Science.  She has also served on the Penn State Creamery Advisory Board.

Peggy was an active member of the Biosecurity Task Force for the International Dairy Foods Association. She was a founding member of the Food Safety Operating Committee for the Innovation Center for US Dairy and served as an SME (subject matter expert) for the Dairy Plant Food Safety Workshops.

IFT Highlights

Peggy has been a member of IFT for 45 years. She currently serves on the IFT Board of Directors. She served on the Chief Research Officers Council, was a judge for the IFT Student College Bowl, and served as a reviewer for Feeding Tomorrow’s Dr. Elwood Caldwell Graduate Fellowship.  

Education

BS in chemistry/nutrition from Rutgers University 

MS in food science from Rutgers University

PhD in food science from Rutgers University