Kristy Appelhans

Dr. Kristy Appelhans is the vice president of Global Consumer Safety at Herbalife. To date, she brings more than 20 years of experience working in a diverse capacity within the health and fitness industry. Dr. Appelhans completed her undergraduate education in clinical nutrition in 2003 and subsequently completed her doctorate in naturopathic medicine in 2007. She has been in private practice since 2009. In 2016, Dr. Appelhans also earned a master’s in regulatory affairs. As the head of Global Consumer Safety at Herbalife, Dr. Appelhans oversees a comprehensive global post-market safety vigilance and compliance program, as well as nutrition safety education for employees and consumers.

With Dr. Appelhans' leadership, Global Consumer Safety’s dynamic team of health, science and consumer relations professionals are able to support Herbalife’s markets globally in properly managing, assessing and addressing all health-related inquiries, including adverse events and product quality complaints. Additionally, Dr. Appelhans is the key point person for implementing appropriate operating procedures, technologies and standardized nomenclature necessary for the company to conduct meaningful post-market data trending and signal detection in the interest of consumer safety.

Amongst her numerous publications related to global food and dietary supplement safety and surveillance, Dr. Appelhans recently coauthored a collegiate textbook chapter on post-market safety surveillance in the book “New Product Development in Nutraceutical and Functional Foods: From Concept to Market.” She also participates frequently in industry trade webinars and symposia to fuel collaboration and knowledge sharing amongst industry professionals and to help set standards and best practices in consumer safety vigilance.

Dr. Appelhans is also frequently involved in various industry-related harmonization and regulatory projects, including advisory contributions. Notably, she participated in the completion of the International Alliance of Dietary Supplement Association's Global Guide to the Handling of Adverse Event Complaints.

To further channel her love for fitness, health, and science, Dr. Appelhans is a regular judge and competitor in professional level natural bodybuilding and fitness contests. Some of her favorite Herbalife products include Simply Probiotic, Formula 1 Banana Caramel flavored shake, and Herbalife24® Rebuild Strength protein shakes.