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Meet Dr. André Gordon – Caribbean Science Titan

KINGSTON, Jamaica – How many of us can say that our work has revolutionised how Caribbean people  produce, consume and export food? Chances are very few.

However, there are individuals among us who, when they see an opportunity to lend their expertise to champion causes that promote overall growth and development of the region, do not hesitate.

Meet Dr. André Gordon - Caribbean Science Titan
Dr. André Gordon

One such individual is Dr. André  Gordon, Managing Director of Technological Solutions Limited (TSL), a Jamaican-based company which provides scientific and technical services to the  Caribbean’s  manufacturing, distribution, food service hospitality and export sectors.

He is also the Chief Executive Officer/Principal Consultant of TSL Technical Services Limited (TTSL) a consulting company.

Most  recently he launched TSL Laboratory Services Limited (TSL Labs), the first and only privately-owned laboratory in the Caribbean region to be certified by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA),

André Gordon has over 30 years of experience in providing solution-oriented technical assistance to various players in the food industry.

He has served small, medium and large enterprises in the private sector and support institutions throughout the Caribbean, Canada, Western and Southern Africa, the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union (EU).

A former Deputy General Manager, Technical Services for  food and financial services giant, GraceKennedy & Co. Ltd., Dr Gordon conceptualised and built the Grace Technology Centre, a First World technical and R&D facility which he managed for three years.  During this period, the rate of new product introduction surpassed any other in the company’s history.

In 1996 he led a management buyout of the operations and formed TSL, which is the only private sector-owned organisation of its kind in the Caribbean.  The new entity’s laboratory was the first laboratory in the region to have been ISO 9002 certified.

TSL also recently  partnered with  French company BioMerieux which last year acquired Invisible Sentinel to bring its cutting-edge technology to  the Caribbean  to test for food contaminants.

He has led the development of over 80 commercially successful new products and, through TSL, has provided technical support  and training  to well over 300 companies in agricultural, food service, distribution, hospitality, export  and manufacturing businesses, as well as  regional governments, and international organisations.

Dr. Gordon is widely recognised as the leading expert in Food Safety and Quality Systems training and systems implementation in the region by bodies such as the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP), the Centre for Development of Enterprise and regional Bureaux of Standards, among others. He is also recognised as a Thermal Process Authority by the US Food and Drug Administration, and has routinely trained in, and developed thermal processes accepted by the FDA since 1996.

He has successfully designed and led market access initiatives in several areas of the agri-food sector.He has been instrumental in guiding  several   Caribbean agro-processors into the U.S. and UK markets for the first time.

He has contributed to the development and implementation, at various levels, of the National Export Strategies of Jamaica, Dominica and Grenada and has also worked to strengthen the export sector of several other Caribbean countries. In this regard, he has worked extensively with various Caribbean Bureaux of Standards.

He co-headed a research team on a study of coconut water production that identified  a means of easily assessing and improving  the quality of the product for a growing market.

The now completed research project involved assessing the state of the industry and developing solutions for the challenges being faced to improve its viability.

The study formed the basis of a guidance document produced by the FAO that is being used globally by the coconut water industry.   It has been cited over 50 times in international research literature, and Dr. Gordon has received commendation for this accomplishment from ResearchGate, the number one networking site for scientists and published researchers.

In 2013, Dr. Gordon was granted the designation of Certified Food Scientist (CFS) by the Institute of Food Technologists , as part of the historic inaugural class of 2013, one of just under 300 such designates in the world at the time.

Widely published in international fora, he is the author of more than 80 scientific publications and three books, Handbook for the Export of Fruit and Vegetables (2010); Food Safety and Quality Systems in Developing Countries, Volume 1: Export Challenges and Implementation Strategies (2015); and,  most recent (2016), Food Safety & Quality Systems in Developing Countries Volume II.

A Professional Member of the Institute of Food Technologists and the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP), Dr. Gordon is a graduate of the University of the West Indies, from which he gained a B Sc.and M.Phil. Degrees,   and the University of Guelph, Ontario, where he gained a PhD with Distinction, in Food Science and Food Processing.

He is the recipient of many awards including the Shell Scientific Research Council Young Scientist Award and the Soden Fellowship from the University of Guelph (Canada).

South Florida Caribbean News

The SFLCN.com Team provides news and information for the Caribbean-American community in South Florida and beyond.

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