A noteworthy food technologist, Donald Kline has dedicated his life to increasing the availability of healthier snack foods that retain good flavor and texture. Commencing his career in 1972 as a technical manager of four different food companies, he was promoted to quality assurance research and development manager at Snyder’s of Hanover in 1982, holding the position for a decade. For the following two years, he served Nabisco Biscuit Co. (a subsidiary of Mondelēz International) as a senior research associate before becoming the director of quality assurance at Hanover Foods Corp. until 1995. Spending the latter half of his career with Utz Quality Foods, Inc., between 1995 and 2017, he served the corporation as director of quality assurance for seven years, director of technical services for 14 years and research fellow for one year.

Since 2017, Mr. Kline has served as the principal owner of Kline Consulting Services LLC in New Oxford, Pennsylvania, where he is a consultant to the world’s largest distributor of kosher food products. He is a Certified Natural Health Professional (CNHP) and a Certified Nutritional Consultant (CNC), and he holds a certification for thermal process control of low-acid canned foods through the University of Wisconsin. Throughout his career, Mr. Kline has accrued numerous achievements, having developed a full line of gluten-free pretzels with a substantial level of whole grains under the Utz and Good Health brands in 2016. Likewise, he developed the first line of flavored sourdough pretzels during the 1980s, creating a new flavor profile, namely honey mustard and onion, as well as developed more than 100 different types of snack foods, many including non-GMO, gluten-free and organic certified, without the use of artificial ingredients and MSG, which was then marketed throughout the United States and abroad. Impressively, he further developed Good Health-branded organic black bean and rice tortilla chips and vegetable-infused pretzels.

Mr. Kline attributes his success to his perseverance and focused planning. In light of his innovation in the field, he has accrued several accolades including the Best Healthy School Snacks Award, the Gold Sofi Award and the Bronze Sofi Award, all in 2016. He has further been highlighted in a number of prominent Who’s Who publications. Happily married to his late wife Christine for nearly 40 years, Mr. Kline is the proud father of five children and grandfather of 14 grandchildren. In his spare time, he enjoys collecting rare coins and postal stamps, studying astronomy, and photography.

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