Former Hormel Foods Corp. CEO Joel Johnson was re-elected as a director of Ecolab Inc. on Thursday.

Johnson started his career at Hormel in 1991 as executive vice president of sales and marketing. He retired as the company’s CEO in 2006. Johnson has served as an independent director for Ecolabs since 1996.

The St. Paul based company is a provider of food safety and infection prevention products. C. Scott O’Hara, executive vice president of H.J. Heinz Co., was also re-elected as a director of Ecolabs.

The shareholders also elected Arthur Higgins to the board of directors. Johnson, Higgins and O’Hara’s terms end in 2013.