Guangwei Huang is the associate director of food research and technology at the Almond Board of California and has been with ABC since 2001. He directs and manages research on almond quality, safety and processing technology, utilizing co-products and technologies for harvesting. He also conducts trade education events and food professional outreach activities.

Guangwei played an instrumental role in developing the almond mandatory pasteurization rule, including some of the guidelines based on extensive research that are now widely followed by other nut and low moisture food industries. Presently, his work includes finding more value-added options for almond coproducts, including hulls, shells and woody biomass, and he’s working toward developing better solutions to reduce dust during almond harvest.

He came to California in 1990 and before joining ABC, Guangwei worked for the dried fruits and nuts, Mexico frozen foods and organic baby foods industries and in almond processing in California. Previously, he spent seven years with the China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment to develop Chinese national methods and standards for pesticide residues and contaminants in foods. 

Guangwei holds a bachelor’s in sanitary inspection and technology from Sichuan University and a master’s in food science from UC Davis. He is a member of Institute of Food Technologists and International Association for Food Protection and served as secretary and president for Chinese American Food Society and on the board of directors for Chinese Institute of Food Science and Technology.

Guangwei was born and grew up in China, but he calls the Central Valley his home where he and his wife have lived for more than half their lives and raised a daughter and a son.