Dr. Hal King is the founder and CEO of Public Health Innovations, an ideation technology and consulting business. 

Hal is a public health professional who has worked in the investigation of foodborne and other disease outbreaks with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He has also performed funded research on causation of diseases at Emory University.

Hal has worked in the prevention of intentional adulteration of foods for U.S. Army Reserves Consequence Management Unit, then on the design and implementation of preventative controls for food safety hazards in the food industry while serving as director of food and product safety at Chick-fil-A.

Hal is past chairman of the National Restaurant Association Quality Assurance Executive Study Group, past board member of the National Council of Chain Restaurants and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and CDC Industry Partnerships, and past President of the Georgia Association for Food Protection an affiliate of the International Association of Food Protection.

Hal’s company, Public Health Innovations developed The Food Safety Lab, a website that facilitates open access to best practices in food safety for the food industry.  

He is the co-author and author of several food safety articles including numerous peer-reviewed research publications on the science of food safety and public health, holds several U.S. Patents and Patent Pending technologies. He has also authored several books including:
Food Safety Management: Implementing a Food Safety Program in a Food Retail Business and Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls Improving Food Safety in Human Food Manufacturing for Food Businesses

He is now writing a new book to help the industry ensure food safety in restaurant operations called Active Managerial Control: Implementing Food Safety Management Systems in a Retail Food Service Business.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Hal King about:

• How to design a food safety management system that can enable control of risk factors that contribute to foodborne illness
• His time at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and how it helped him to understand food safety management
• How and where food safety hazards occur in the restaurant environment
• Turnover in the foodservice industry, and how it can be a setback in terms of food safety
• How health inspections work and the important role they play in food safety
• HACCP in a restaurant environment vs. in a food manufacturing facility
• Food hazards that get the most--and least--attention at the restaurant level
• Why some restaurant chains are reluctant to implement daily monitoring and other food safety systems
• The top food safety challenge facing restaurants today 
• How spending $10,000 on food safety could potentially save millions in preventing a recall, outbreak, etc.
• How consumers' perceptions of food safety have shifted, according to multiple studies
• Industry vs. consumers: Who bears responsibility when it comes to handling and preparing foods at home?
• Educational and career advice for young professionals interested in a food safety career

Hal King's Articles Published in Food Safety Magazine:
The Supply Chain and Food Safety Culture: Foodservice
Is It Time for a "Kill Step" for Pathogens on Produce at Retail?
Implementing Active Managerial Control Principles in a Retail Food Business
Hazard Analysis and Risk-based Preventive Controls (HARPC): The New GMP for Food Manufacturing
Food Defense Perspectives within a Food Protection Landscape: An Invitation to All Stakeholders

Related Content and Resources:
The Key to a Successful Career in the Food Safety Profession
 

News Mentioned in This Episode
Delta Joins American Airlines in Suspending Use of LAX Kitchen to Listeria
Sonny Perdue's reorganization of USDA on New Food Economy
FDA Releases Small Entity Compliance Guide for the FSMA Sanitary Transportation of Human Food and Animal Food Final Rule

Suzette Stalker is Director of FSQA Program Compliance at FreshRealm Inc. Formerly, she served as Director of Food Safety, Quality, and Regulatory compliance at Target Corporation. At Target, Suzette was responsible for food safety standards and programs, covering nearly 2,000 stores and more than 60 supply chain facilities. Her work encompassed owned brand supplier manufacturing facilities, product labeling, produce farms, supply chain facilities, retail stores, and managing food recalls. Previously, Suzette led teams to develop and execute comprehensive internal audits of food safety and operational risks across Target. 

Sabrina Terada is the Manager for Food Safety Risk Management and Measurement at Yum! Brands. She is a seasoned professional in food safety and quality assurance with extensive experience at Yum! Brands, where her roles have included Manager of Global Food Safety Risk Management and Measurement and Manager of Global FSQA. In these positions, Sabrina held responsibilities supporting the Food Safety Governance Framework, coaching, and assisting business units with crisis management. 

Chris McGarvey is the Director of the Regulatory and Compliance Team for Walker Morris LLP in the UK. He has more than 25 years of experience working in both the private and public sector, and has a track record of helping clients navigate complex legal challenges in areas of highly regulated economic activity. Chris specializes in food law and led the Food Standards Agency's (FSA's) Legal Team through Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, and supply chain challenges associated with the Ukraine conflict. Chris' typical clients are Directors, Senior Managers, and specialists, particularly food scientists, who demand quick, accessible, and accurate advice. His work often has national reach and spans all four nations of the UK.

Kye Luker serves as the Chief Product Officer at FlexXray, where he leads development of the company's innovative X-ray inspection process and technology. With more than two decades of experience in the service, consumer packaged goods (CPG), and food and beverage industries, Kye brings a wealth of knowledge in continuous improvement, quality assurance, and formulations to his role.

Richard (Rick) Stier, M.S. is a consulting food scientist who has helped food processors develop safety, quality, and sanitation programs. He believes in emphasizing the importance of how these programs can help companies increase profits. Rick comes from a family background in food science, with the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) establishing an award in his mother's name—the Humanitarian Award for Service to the Science of Food in honor of Elizabeth Fleming Stier. Rick holds degrees in food science from Rutgers University and the University of California at Davis. He is also a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Food Safety Magazine.

Claire Sand, Ph.D. is a global packaging leader with 40 years of experience in food science and packaging. As founder of Packaging Technology and Research LLC, her mission is to enable a more sustainable food system by advancing innovations that extend food shelf life and reduce waste.

Dr. Sand specializes in leading cross-functional teams, developing technology strategies, and creating implementation roadmaps for complex packaging challenges across the value chain. With over 150 publications to her credit, she is a regular contributor to leading food science and packaging publications and has held adjunct faculty positions at Michigan State University and California Polytechnic State University.

Kathleen Sanzo, J.D. is Co-Chair of Morgan Lewis' life sciences industry team. She centers her practice on regulatory and compliance issues connected to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-regulated products. She leads and counsels clients on all legal and regulatory issues concerning food, dietary supplements, and cosmetic product manufacture, approval, marketing, and distribution; food, drug, and device compliance and enforcement matters; and consumer product issues regulated by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and state enforcement agencies, among other areas. A frequent author and co-author on publications related to FDA matters, Kathleen regularly speaks on these issues at industry events. She serves as Vice Chair of the Consumer Product Regulation Committee of the American Bar Association Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice, and is a member of the Food and Drug Law Institute's Medical Products Committee.