Flowers for the Heroes in Hairnets: Boosting the Profession of Food Safety
Early in my career, I spent 15 years working as an environmental health reporter. People I met were often curious about the issues I reported on. Oddly, I've found this is much less true of food safety.
Fast-forward to my later career supporting science communications for the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences (IANFS), a nonprofit food and nutrition science research organization. When I tell people I write about food safety, it often seems like their eyes glaze over. I seldom get follow-up questions. It's as if they take for granted the work of ensuring what we put in our bodies is safe.
This strikes me as an odd contrast with the enthusiasm for environmental issues. How is the safety of food less interesting or less relevant than the air we breathe and the water we drink, which also enter our bodies?
This needs to change. Food safety professionals need better PR, not only to give credit where credit is due but also to ensure that a consistent stream of young talent is entering and innovating in the field.
The attractions are multiple: interdisciplinary work, an important mission, variety, steady employment, growing demand for talented workers, using science to solve problems, and a chance to make a difference. The other attraction for young people is that food safety roles are evolving into more strategic functions adjacent to compliance, systems-facility engineering, and quality leadership. With the extent of global trade in food, young workers exploring food safety as a career can be assured that many positions deal with international issues as well as the tracking of important systems, flows of goods, and risks.
Raising the Profile of Food Safety
As food safety professionals, we need to talk up the benefits and rewards of working in this space with young people to spark interest. Food science needs young talent, and can offer a lot to workers committed to safe food.
As organizations, there's more we can do to celebrate the profession of food safety, as well. We can plan and support food safety research that responds to academic, industry, and government priorities, as the IAFNS Food Microbiology, Food Chemical Safety, and Packaging Committees do.
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The Food Microbiology Committee developed a novel liquid sanitizer for dry food processing facilities that make foods like cereals, spices, and kibble. This provides an alternative sanitizing tool that is less likely to catch fire than traditionally used alcohol-based sanitizers. Further refinements are on the way to enhance sensory properties, making this novel sanitizer a potential game-changer for dry production facilities.
The Food Chemical Safety Committee supports research in heavy metals, tracking their uptake into crops and how farmers can make food safer. It identified a critical need for a deeper understanding of the interrelationships among soil characteristics, mitigation options, and resulting levels of toxic elements such as cadmium and lead in rice and leafy greens.
The Food Packaging Safety and Sustainability Committee works to expand scientific knowledge on toxicology, exposure, and risk assessment of food packaging substances and potential contaminants. The committee also works to identify and resolve barriers to the adoption of safe, recycled packaging in support of a more sustainable food supply. Recent efforts tracked the fate of additives through multiple recycling lifecycles and explored exposure to microplastics.
We can also do more to celebrate the profession of food safety. With the extent of global trade in food, sophisticated tracking of important systems, technologies, flows of goods, and risks is international, science-based, and rewarding.
Awards and Recognitions for 'Pathogen Slayers'
In addition, more awards and recognitions could help boost the profile of emerging talent to reinforce their professionalism and impact. STOP Foodborne Illness has a 40 Food Safety Professionals Under 40 recognition program. In addition, IAFNS' Emerging Leaders Awards are granted to promising young researchers in food safety and nutrition. While there are other food safety awards out there, there are not enough of them.
The Privilege of Being Essential
Perhaps the greatest reward we can emphasize to young people is the opportunity to do essential work. Because pathogens can emerge at any time in a food's journey from the field to the store shelf, we need "pathogen slayers" monitoring processes and potential contamination at every juncture. At my first food safety conference, I was surprised to hear the slightly war-like talk of researchers describing "kill steps" and "kill ratios." Now, I cherish what these pathogen slayers can do.
At the start of our careers, we are often encouraged to "make ourselves invaluable." Food safety work is exactly that: essential for global society. Where would we be on a daily basis if thousands of food safety workers, researchers, managers, and leaders were not as alert and knowledgeable as they are? What if navigating each day involved major skepticism and due diligence about potential risks from the food options available? The world would be more threatening and anxious. Yet, this essential work is not celebrated and recognized enough.
Whether they know it or not, consumers rely on the unsung heroes in food safety to ensure health and confidence. Let's do more to make them know it!
