Shawn Stevens is an attorney and founding member of the Food Industry Counsel, a law firm that provides food safety legal and regulatory consulting services exclusively for food industry clients, ultimately helping them anticipate, navigate, and resolve their most pressing food safety challenges. 

As a food industry consultant and lawyer, Shawn works throughout the U.S. and abroad with food industry clients (including the world’s largest growers, processors, restaurant chains, distributors, and grocers) helping them protect their brand by reducing food safety risk, complying with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture food safety regulations, managing recalls, and defending high-profile foodborne illness claims.

Shawn also speaks regularly to audiences on a wide variety of emerging scientific, regulatory, and food safety legal trends. He authors columns for food industry publications, and he is quoted regularly by national media publications such as TIME Magazine, the New York Post, and Corporate Counsel. 

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Shawn Stevens about:

• What he sees as the biggest food safety challenges his clients are facing
• The Jack in the Box outbreak and how it changed the food industry
• An overview of what happens during FDA's Food Safety Modernization Act inspections
• His advice for food companies that expect to undergo a FSMA inspection
• What a food company should do in the event of a recall—before, during, and after
• The benefits of conducting a high-level mock recall
• Consumer responsibility vs. manufacturer/processor responsibility when it comes to ready-to-eat food products
• The concept of ready-to-prepare foods
• How food safety regulations are beginning to mimic those in the pharmaceutical industry
• Food companies' biggest liability
• How he would approach food safety in his own food company
• Trends in recall insurance and whether FDA will create thresholds for Listeria monocytogenes

News Mentioned in This Episode
FDA Investigation: Cyclospora Illnesses Linked to McDonald's Salads Supplied by Fresh Express
FDA Commissioner's Statement on Recent Cyclospora Illnesses
South Africa Listeria Outbreak Declared Over
FDA Sampling Assignment-Cyclospora in Fresh Herbs
FDA: Avoid Frozen Desserts and Drinks Made with Liquid Nitrogen

Sponsored by:

Everything Food Safety in One Place in Real-Time
KLEANZ is the only complete Food Safety Compliance Solution that focuses on risk mitigation, driving continuous improvement, and adhering to all applicable compliance requirement while managing resources. KLEANZ protects your customers and brand.

KLEANZ Food Safety Compliance (In-Depth)
KLEANZ Food Safety Compliance (Quick Facts)
KLEANZ.com

In this bonus episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Jenny Du, Ph.D., Co-Founder of Apeel Sciences, about Apeel—a clean alternative to traditional post-harvest produce coatings and treatments—its transparent approach to disrupting an $11 billion industry.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Sandro Tarchini of the Cardano Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing the blockchain ecosystem, about the applications for blockchain throughout the food supply chain and how it can improve farm-to-retail traceability and transparency.

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.