This special BONUS episode of Food Safety Matters focuses on Allergens. Concerns about food allergens have been around now for quite some time, and the food industry has done a respectable job of proactively guarding against unintended food allergens in their products. However, with the introduction of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), continued globalization of the food supply and increased regulatory activities, food manufacturers will need to keep diligent in their food allergen control plans.

To explore how the food industry can improve their odds of avoiding allergen risks, Food Safety Magazine’s Editorial Director, Barbara VanRenterghem, speaks with Tim Hendra from Neogen. Tim has been with Neogen for 21 years, specializing in diagnostic applications such as rapid testing and allergens. He has been a very active member of technical committees at various food industry associations, such as the Food Allergen Research and Resource Program (FARRP) and International Association for Food Protection (IAFP), and has co-authored several food allergen handbooks.

In this episode, we speak to Neogen’s Tim Headra about:

• Why allergens continue to be such an important issue for food manufacturers.
• Food allergen trends and recalls
• Risks to consumers and the business in the food industry
• How manufacturers and retailers can work together when allergen recalls occur
• Importance of transparency (for manufacturers)
• Reasons for allergen recalls other than mislabeling
• What the “Big 8” allergens mean on a global scale, and what allergens in other countries mean for the U.S.
• Efforts to harmonize allergen lists and threshold levels between countries
• Detecting allergens vs. proteins, and the relationship between the two
• FSMA and food allergen control programs, types of allergen testing kits and methods
• Limitations with PCR tests and LC-MS methods vs. ELISA tests
• What food manufacturers can do when they are faced with allergen issues

Resources

Visit Neogen’s Allergen website for information on Neogen’s complete line of allergen solutions. 
Food Allergen Monitoring Handbook
Validation and Verification Handbook

To speak to a Neogen representative call 1-800-234-5333

Sponsored by:

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.