Item 13: An African Food Podcast

Abena Foli was born and raised in Ghana until 2006, when she immigrated to the US. Her passion for food comes from her farmer-father who taught her how to blend spices, and how to cook. Since high school, Abena has been passionate about combining her love for food, with her love for the sciences. This led her to pursue her Master’s degree in Food Science specializing in Food Safety Microbiology, after her Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry. She has over 8 years practical food industry experience, starting off as a product developer, and subsequently transitioning to food labeling compliance and regulatory affairs.Abena’s work experiences exposed her to the gap of authentic West African retail products, excellently packaged in formats relatable to the American home cook standards, and complaint with the US FDA labeling regulations. This led her to start POKS Spices in 2016 to help Americans Discover FlavorFULL Goodness of the bold flavors of West Africa via Spicy Authentic West African Seasonings. Leveraging he