Dr. John Spink is the director of the Food Fraud Initiative at Michigan State University (MSU). Over the years, John's research has focused on economically motivated food adulteration, including the use of adulterant substances, counterfeit products, stolen goods, smuggled goods, tampering and intentional mislabeling. His leadership positions include product fraud related activities with the International Organization for Standardization, Global Food Safety Initiative's (GFSI's) Food Fraud Think Tank, and U.S. Pharmacopeia. 

John's global activities include engagements with the European Commission, INTERPOL and Operation Opson, New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries. He also serves as the advisor on food fraud to the Chinese National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment. John's outreach includes MSU’s biannual Food Fraud Massive Open Online Course that offers free training and certificates online.

In addition to John's many involvements throughout the food industry, he is also a frequent contributor to Food Safety Magazine.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to John Spink about:

• MSU's work in studying how companies and governments make decisions related to food
• Food safety vs. food fraud and why these two entities deserve to be looked at separately
• Why food fraud prevention is more important than simply discovering new cases of food fraud
• The many different types of food fraud and how criminals are getting even more sophisticated with their methods
• The Food Safety Modernization Act: where food fraud fits in, and where it doesn't
• Sudan red, melamine, horse meat and how these food fraud cases have brought the problem to the forefront
• Upcoming regulations and requirements for companies who want to be GFSI-compliant
• The Codex Alimentarius global food code
• How criminology, consumer behavior and other disciplines play a role in food fraud prevention

John Spink's Articles Published in Food Safety Magazine
Food Fraud Vulnerability Assessment and Prefilter for FSMA, GFSI and SOX Requirements (Feb/March 2017)
Economically Motivated Adulteration: Broadening the Focus on Food Fraud (Aug/Sep 2014)
COVER STORY: Economically Motivated Adulteration: Another Dimension of the Expanding Umbrella of Food Defense (Oct/Nov 2013)

Related Content:
MSU Joins Codex for New Food Fraud Undertaking
IUFoST Bulletin Examines Worldwide Food Fraud Problem
Trends and Solutions in Combating Global Food Fraud
The Food Safety Challenge of the Global Food Supply Chain

About Don Schaffner
Dr. Donald W. Schaffner is Distinguished Professor and Extension Specialist in Food Science at Rutgers University. He has published over 150 peer reviews papers on a variety of topics including handwashing, cross-contamination, quantitative microbial risk assessment and predictive food microbiology. Dr. Schaffner has served on a variety of national and international expert committees, including service to U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization. He is active in several scientific associations including the International Association for Food Protection where he is a past-president. He holds a B.S. in Food Science from Cornell University and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Food Science and Technology from the University of Georgia. Don co-hosts a podcast—Food Safety Talk—on microbial food safety. 

Resources Mentioned in This Episode
Congressional Research Service on Food Fraud (included Food Protection Risk Matrix)
GFSI White Paper: Position Paper on Mitigating the Public Health Risk of Food Fraud
SSAFE
Codex Alimentarius
Handwashing: Cool Water as Effective as Hot for Removing Germs
Quantifying the Effects of Water Temperature, Soap Volume, Lather Time, and Antimicrobial Soap as Variables in the Removal of Escherichia coli ATTC 11229 from Hands
 

Would you like to tell us what you think about Food Safety Matters so far? Do you have a suggestion on who we should interview? Are there hot topics you'd like us to cover? Email us at podcast@foodsafetymagazine.com.

Helena Bottemiller Evich is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Food Fix. She previously led coverage of food and agriculture at POLITICO for nearly a decade, winning numerous awards for her work, including a prestigious George Polk Award for a series on climate change and two James Beard Awards for features on nutrition and science. In 2022, she was a James Beard Award finalist for a deep dive on diet-related diseases and COVID-19. Helena is also a sought-after speaker and commentator on food issues, appearing on CNN, MSNBC, CBS, BBC, NPR, and other outlets. Her work is widely cited in the media and has also been published in the Columbia Journalism Review and on NBC News.

Frank Yiannas, M.P.H. is a renowned food safety leader and executive, food system futurist, author, professor, past president of the International Association of Food Protection (IAFP), and advocate for consumers. Most recently, he served under two different administrations as the Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a position he held from 2018–2023, after spending 30 years in leadership roles with Walmart and the Walt Disney Company.

Drew McDonald is the Senior Vice President of Quality and Food Safety at Taylor Fresh Foods in Salinas, California, where he oversees the quality and food safety programs across the foodservice, retail, and deli operations under both FDA and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) jurisdictions. Mr. McDonald works with an impressive team developing and managing appropriate and practical quality and food safety programs for fresh food and produce products. He has more than 30 years of experience in fresh produce and fresh foods.

John Besser, Ph.D. worked for ten years as Deputy Chief of the Enteric Diseases Laboratory Branch at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where he was involved in national and global programs to detect, characterize, and track gastrointestinal diseases. Prior to CDC, Dr. Besser led the infectious disease laboratory at the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) for 19 years and served as a clinical microbiologist at the University of Minnesota Hospital for five years. He currently works as an independent contractor and consultant. Dr. Besser is the author or co-author of more than 70 publications. He received his Ph.D. and M.S. degree from the University of Minnesota.

Craig Hedberg, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Minnesota and Co-Director of the Minnesota Integrated Food Safety Center of Excellence. He promotes public health surveillance as a prerequisite for effective food control, and his work focuses on improving methods for collaboration among public health and regulatory agencies, academic researchers, and industry to improve foodborne illness surveillance and outbreak investigations.

In this year-end episode of Food Safety Matters, we round up the top stories of 2025, covering U.S. federal food safety policy changes under the Trump Administration, MAHA- and state-led moves against food additives of concern and ultra-processed foods, infant formula safety, science on Listeria and biofilms, ongoing monitoring of avian flu, and AI food safety applications.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to legal expert Brian P. Sylvester, J.D. about the rapidly evolving U.S. food regulatory landscape under the MAHA movement, and how food companies can prepare for state and federal policy changes regarding food dyes, GRAS ingredients, ultra-processed foods, and other areas.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Jay Berglind, the CEO of Aegis Foods and the maker of Fearless Eggs, known for its novel pasteurization process. Jay discusses the science behind Fearless Eggs’ method and what sets it apart from traditional pasteurization, and the importance of food safety innovation.

Tom Black is the First Assistant Secretary of the Exports and Veterinary Services Division at the Australian Government's Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry. In this role, he is responsible for regulating and facilitating Australia's exports of animal commodities and certified organic products, while also providing the overarching technical food safety framework for both food exports and imports.

Gabor Molnar, Ph.D. is an Industrial Development Officer at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), technically leading UNIDO's food safety work. As part of his responsibilities, Dr. Molnar designs and implements food safety capacity-building initiatives, mostly in Asia and Africa. He also represents UNIDO in various global forums, including the Codex Alimentarius Commission. Dr. Molnar is the main organizer of the Vienna Food Safety Forum (VFSF) and specializes in the domain of digitalization for food control and safety systems. Dr. Molnar holds a Ph.D. from Université Laval, as well as multiple master's degrees and certifications.