Her Story
About Joy
Joy Akinola is a food quality and safety professional with over 15 years of experience in auditing, laboratory research, QA/QC, and regulatory compliance. She currently serves as a Food Auditor at U-Shift LLC, where she assesses restaurant operations, sanitation, and food safety standards while supporting corrective improvements. Her background includes food science research on food components and products, laboratory testing, manufacturing quality control, and new product development, with work experience across Nigeria, South Africa, and the United States. She holds a BSc in Food Science and Technology from 2007 and an MSc in Food Safety and Quality Management from 2024, and is currently pursuing a doctorate. She is also HiSEP certified and GMP certified. Joy attributes her success to her faith, international industry exposure, supportive mentors, openness to learning, and passion for food science. She advises young women entering the field to recognize that food is life, pursue their careers with determination, enjoy the process, connect through organizations and fellowships, be team players, and never give up on their dreams.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Joy
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to God who has really helped me, having access to the food industry from different country perspectives in Nigeria, South Africa, and the U.S., meeting amazing people who have taken interest in holding my hands and helping me walk through every phase in my career, being open to learning, and just being passionate about what I do as a food scientist.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I have ever received is never to give up on any project. Whatever project I set out to do, no matter how difficult it is, I have to remain optimistic and pursue that project because sometimes the project that we intend to give up on would just be the best project that would move us to the next phase of success in our careers. I look beyond the struggles or the challenges and keep my eyes on the end of that project, on the goals that I have set.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would advise young women entering this field to realize that food is life and we are what we eat, so the industry is very demanding especially in research. Have the determination to pursue the career, enjoy the career, enjoy the process, enjoy the journey even if it might not go as planned. Get into organizations and fellowships, connect with colleagues, take advantage of academic platforms, be a team player, deliberately engage with other people, support ongoing projects, and never give up on the dream.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge is contamination because just when you feel that you have controlled it from one angle, it shows up on the other angle, and the speed at which microorganisms spread is almost as fast as the speed of light. For new product development, the saturation of products and ensuring the product appeals to consumers after all the analysis and market surveys is another challenge.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
One of my greatest values is honesty because working in the food industry requires making sure everything you are doing on any project is the right thing and being able to defend the work. Another value is being joyful - I want to do the work joyfully from the place of joy and excitement. Transparency is important as I want to be open as I work with people. Love is also key - I do the work from the place of love because the next customer could be a family member and I want them to have a healthy meal.
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.