Hal King, Ph.D., is a recognized leader in public health. He's worked in government, industry, and education. Currently, Hal is the managing partner at Active Food Safety, a new advisory services and digital products company. He is also the founder and CEO of Public Health Innovations, a public health strategy and design company. In addition, Hal serves as an associate professor of public health at the University of Georgia.

As a public health professional, Hal has investigated foodborne and other disease outbreaks at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And, he's performed federally funded research on the causation and prevention of infectious diseases at Emory University School of Medicine. Hal also worked in the prevention of intentional adulteration of foods and food defense for the Army Force Health Protection. Another one of his prior roles was as the director of food and product safety at Chick-fil-A. There, he designed and led the company's food safety management program for 11 years.

Hal is the author and co-author of several books, articles, and chapters on public health interventions, including safe food manufacturing and food allergen controls in foodservice. His newest book, Food Safety Management Systems, is published as part of the International Association for Food Protection's Food Microbiology Series by Springer.

Hal was the recipient of the 2018 NSF International Food Safety Leadership and Innovation Award. He was our featured guest in Ep. 14. Also, Hal penned the cover story in our August/September 2020 issue: Breaking the Chain of Infectious Disease Transmission in a Retail Foodservice Business. Finally, Hal is a member of the Food Safety Magazine editorial advisory board.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Hal [21:34] about:

• What compelled him to write a new book about foodborne illnesses and outbreaks in the foodservice industry
• Why the content of his book did not change as the pandemic emerged
• What food safety management systems are...and what they are not
• Whether COVID has really changed the process of food safety
• The value and purpose of third-party audits and health inspections
• Foodborne illness risk factors that cause outbreaks
• Making the change from in-person training to digital
• How demographics play in role in the future success of restaurants
• Air recirculation and air disinfection
• Common staff mistakes being made at the retail and foodservice level
• The future of food safety management systems in restaurants

Bob Ferguson's Food Safety Insights [13:40]
Bob joins us to discuss his article featured in our August/September 2020 issue.

Want more from Bob Ferguson? Find more of his articles and podcast segments.

News Mentioned in This Episode
OSHA and FDA Develop Checklist to Protect Food Industry Employees Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic [4:45]  
NAMI and OSHA Team Up to Fight COVID-19 in Meatpacking and Processing Plants [5:59]
USDA Announces Public Meeting on Salmonella: State of Science [10:36] 

American Frozen Food Institutes (AFFI)'s response to China's claims of detecting coronavirus on food, food surfaces, or packaging 
AFFI's FAQs 
Video response

Campbell Mitchell, M.B.A. is Head of Food Safety and Compliance for Kraft Heinz North America. He has more than 30 years of international experience in food safety, quality management, and risk mitigation. Prior to joining Kraft Heinz, Campbell served as Vice President of Quality and Safety at Fairlife LLC, a $4-billion Coca-Cola-owned dairy brand. He has also held senior leadership roles with Kerry Group and Almarai in the Middle East. Additionally, he founded a consultancy that supported Tiger Brands in Africa.

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.