This episode features a panel of the Food Safety Preventive Control Alliance (FSPCA)'s lead instructors. They discuss virtual food safety training in the age of COVID.

Connie Landis Fisk is a northwest regional extension associate for the Produce Safety Alliance (PSA). PSA has a temporary policy allowing its trainers to deliver their Grower Training Course remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Connie offers a weekly office hour to share tips and answer questions about using Zoom for those remote trainings.

Amanda Evans-Lara is a principle food safety consultant and compliance specialist with HACCP Mentor, a website that provides tools, tips, and training to help food businesses comply with global, customer, and regulatory Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) and food safety requirements. She has over 28 years of experience working with Australian and international food businesses. Amanda is an FSPCA lead instructor for Preventive Controls for Human Food and Intentional Adulteration Vulnerability Assessments courses. 

Charles Kalish is a managing member and co-founder of Food Safety Guides, a food safety and quality consulting and training firm that specializes in remote consulting. He is a lead instructor for FSPCA's Preventive Controls (Human and Animal), Foreign Supplier Verification Programs, and Intentional Adulteration Vulnerability Assessment courses. Charlie is also a Safe Quality Food (SQF) trainer and lead instructor for the International Food Protection Institute (IFPTI)'s Instructor Skills Training.

Michael Kalish is a managing member and co-founder of Food Safety Guides. He is a lead instructor for FSPCA's Preventive Controls (Human and Animal), Foreign Supplier Verification Programs, and Intentional Adulteration Vulnerability Assessment courses. Michael is also an SQF trainer and lead instructor for IFPTI's Instructor Skills Training.

A special thanks to our friend and previous podcast guest Kathy Gombas (Ep. 26) for spearheading this discussion. Kathy is a member of FSPCA's Steering Committee. She also serves on Food Safety Magazine's Editorial Advisory Board.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to the panel [12:23] about:

• The features, benefits, and ins and outs of using Zoom, Google Hangouts, and other digital platforms to perform food safety certification courses
• Maintaining high levels of participation and engagement during online training
• How training and testing policies and procedures have changed to fit a virtual format
• Conducting oral exams vs. standardized tests online
• Challenges and limitations of web-based teaching and training

News Mentioned in This Episode
Salmonella Newport Outbreak Linked to Onions [3:46]
FDA Announces New Protocol for the Development and Registration of Treatments for Preharvest Ag Water Antimicrobial [5:40] | Water Disinfection: A Practical Approach to Calculating Dose Values for Pre- and Postharvest Applications (2001)
Pillsbury Announces "Safe to Eat Raw" Products [10:03]  

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.