USANA Hires Dr Carsten Smidt as VP of Research and Development

SALT LAKE CITY, July 2, 2012 -- USANA Health Sciences, Inc., a global nutritional company, today announced that it has hired Dr. Carsten Smidt, FACN as its new vice president of research and development. Dr. Smidt, who has more than 20 years of scientific experience in the nutritional industry, will oversee all functions of USANA's award-winning R&D department.

Prior to USANA, Dr. Smidt worked for Mead Johnson Nutritionals where he helped develop and market the well-known energy drink, Boost®. He also held multiple executive R&D positions at Pharmanex (Nu Skin), where he developed more than 50 percent of the company's product portfolio, over a span of ten years.

"We are excited to have Dr. Smidt join our impressive group of in-house scientific experts," said USANA's Chief Executive Officer, Dave Wentz. "As we plan USANA's next 20 years, we expect to continue developing innovative ways of spreading nutrition globally. With his experience in product development and strategy, and our shared desire to create a world free of pain and suffering, we are confident that together we will accomplish great things."

Dr. Smidt, who earned his doctorate in Nutrition Science and Physiological Chemistry from the University of California at Davis, is an active member of the American College of Nutrition (FACN), the American Society of Clinical Nutrition (ASCN), the American Society for Nutritional Sciences (ASNS), the German Society for Nutrition (DGE), and the Senior Scientific Advisory Council (SSAC) of the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN).

He will begin his new position at USANA's corporate office effective immediately.