Meet Our Experts: Neal

Medallion Labs is more than food tests and accurate results. We’re a team of scientific experts finding innovative ways to better serve our customers. To know us best, you need to know the people behind the numbers. Find out who makes us great and why Medallion Labs is the partner of choice for top food companies.

Meet Neal

Neal is the principal stability scientist for Medallion Labs. He is responsible for providing shelf-life testing design and analysis for our customers. Neal can identify the appropriate shelf life for labeling, identify causes of reduced shelf life and provide information that supports decisions to alter formulations, storage instructions or packaging.

Neal began his career by earning a Master’s in Food Science from North Carolina State University. Before joining Medallion Labs, he acquired ten years of lab experience focusing on stability and shelf-life testing for a wide array of products. When asked about his work, Neal said, “I love product stability science. Every project is a new and unique puzzle to solve. There are also big implications in both consumer satisfaction and sustainability when determining proper shelf life, and I enjoy helping people make the best calls for their products based on the science.”

An Expert Resource for Food Testing Clients

A typical day in the lab has Neal designing shelf-life tests for customers, analyzing in-progress or completed data sets, and providing concise stability insights. He finds working at Medallion Labs to be unlike his previous lab experiences. “I think we are unique as a company in that I will work to provide you with a shelf-life test that has the best, science-based design.” Plus, Neal added, there’s a significant benefit for customers; “I can always tell a customer when the additional testing they may request is not needed, or if there may be a way to save money on a test design.” For Neal, it’s satisfying to provide a result for clients while also helping them save money.

Finding Ways to Answer Client Questions

Neal’s experience is an invaluable asset as he is continually confronted with new challenges. “I love working with any type of product that is totally unlike anything else I have worked with before. It is exciting to take an unknown and refine the test plan to something that provides solid data as to a failure mechanism for the product.”

Working with something new is a common occurrence for Neal.

Every test protocol Medallion Labs creates is unique for the customer and their specific situation. That means each new project presents different challenges that must be overcome. As Neal says, “this way of operating has resulted in our team developing a wide breadth of skills that can be used on future projects.” As Neal sees it, every result makes Medallion Labs that much better. The challenges and obstacles are what drive us to innovate and standardize methods. Neal added:

“I regularly work with professional organizations to develop new methods and standards for shelf-life testing. Shelf-life testing in foods had no real set of guidelines for how testing should be conducted. Over the last five years, I have worked to provide and write new guidelines to better standardize how people conduct shelf-life tests.”

Advice For Aspiring Food Scientists

As someone firmly established in the food testing field, Neal is always willing to inspire the next generation of scientists—in particular, food scientists. He encourages science students to consider careers with a company such as Medallion Labs. “Food Science has a wide array of potential topics that you can focus on. I would encourage someone interested to explore as many of these areas of study as they can to find what is their true passion.”

Our Experts Make Food Testing Successful

Neal and his fellow food scientists make Medallion Labs a trusted resource and reliable partner. He sheds light on new ideas and develops methods that improve our lab, assist our clients, and work toward standardizing food testing.

When considering Medallion Labs for shelf-life testing or other lab services, we suggest referring to our tech data sheets and online order form for the latest details. Our breadth of testing options helps you maximize your testing budget by providing the results you seek in a cost-efficient manner.

Medallion Labs is ready to use our testing options, expertise, and skills for your testing needs. Connect with us or call 1-800-245-5615 to discuss the criteria and testing needs for your food products.