Food Safety Matters is a podcast for food safety professionals hosted by the Food Safety Magazine editorial team – the leading media brand in food safety for over 20 years. Each episode will feature a conversation with a food safety professional sharing their experiences and insights of the important job of safeguarding the world’s food supply.
This special BONUS episode of Food Safety Matters focuses on Listeria Right Now, an environmental Listeria test offering molecular-level accuracy, with no enrichment and a total time to results of under one hour. This innovative food safety product was introduced at the annual IAFP meeting this year, with many people remarking that it was a “game changer”.
Because of the pervasiveness of Listeria in the environment, the risk that Listeria can be introduced into a food processing facilities can happen at any time. The goal of an environmental monitoring program is to verify the effectiveness of contamination control programs, identify microbial harborage sites, and ensure that corrective actions have eliminated organisms such as Listeria from the plant.
With the intent of helping to control this ubiquitous pathogen in food processing facilities, Neogen has developed a one-hour Listeria test that features the total elimination of the enrichment process. Neogen’s new Listeria Right Now test is fast and flexible enough to be used in a “seek and destroy” mode, as well as to identify vectors and sources of contamination.
To understand the practical applications of this innovative new pathogen test and the possibilities it brings to food processing and production we spoke with Jim Topper, a senior marketing development manager with Neogen.
In this episode, we speak with Neogen’s Jim Topper about:
Conventional environmental monitoring methods and how Listeria Right Now has moved the needle.
FDA’s guidance on Listeria testing that supports “seek and destroy” methods.
What the Listeria Right Now actually is.
Obtaining Listeria test results in under one hour and the timeline to results.
The types of validations performed for the Listeria Right Now system.
How this product will be used throughout the food industry.
Whether the product should be used for all Listeria testing.
Dr. David Acheson, is the founder and CEO of The Acheson Group and brings more than 30 years of medical and food safety research and experience to provide strategic advice as well as recall and crisis management support to food companies and ancillary technology companies on a global basis on all matters relating to food safety and food defense.
David graduated from the University of London Medical School and practiced internal medicine and infectious diseases in the United Kingdom until 1987 when he moved to the New England Medical Center and became an Associate Professor at Tufts University in Boston, studying the molecular pathogenesis of foodborne pathogens.
Prior to forming The Acheson Group, David served as the Chief Medical Officer at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and then joined the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the Chief Medical Officer at the FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN). After serving as the director of CFSAN’s Office of Food Defense, Communication and Emergency Response, David was appointed as the Assistant and then Associate Commissioner for Foods, which provided him an agency-wide leadership role for all food and feed issues and the responsibility for the development of the 2007 Food Protection Plan, which served as the basis for many of the authorities granted to FDA by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
From 2009 to 2013 he was a partner at Leavitt Partners where he managed Leavitt Partners Global Food Safety Solutions.
David has published extensively and is internationally recognized both for his public health expertise in food safety and his research in infectious diseases. He is a sought-after speaker and regular guest on national news programs. He serves on a variety of boards and food safety advisory groups of several major food manufacturers.
In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to David Acheson about:
His role in building the 2007 Food Protection Plan and how it parallels FSMA
The importance of the food safety crises that took place in 2006 and 2007
The differences between food fraud, food security, food defense and food adulteration, and how sometimes these instances do not necessarily implicate a public health risk
His advice to food companies gearing up to comply with FSMA's food defense regulations
Facing the realities of determining whether your food plant is at risk of committing a food-related crime
How to advocate for more or better resources, and how to convince the C-suite to invest in food safety
Balancing food safety goals with a company's other metrics—sales, margins, etc.
The main challenges he sees facing food companies
His views on announced vs. unannounced audits
How the Peanut Corporation of America debacle helped shape FSMA's Preventive Controls rule and how it forced some food companies to rebuild their own supply and control programs
His thoughts on how legal roadblocks keep food safety violations from ever coming to light
This special BONUS episode of Food Safety Matters brings you a discussion about an application of next-generation sequencing — metagenomics.
As the cost of DNA testing decreases, practical applications are increasing, with one of the most exciting applications available being the use of sequencing to identify microorganisms in samples, including unculturable organisms. The value proposition of the 16s metagenomic application is that you can identify spoilage organisms in your facility, eliminate them and reduce the possibility of spoiled products reaching your consumers thus reducing your overall cost of quality.
We will be speaking with Joe Heinzelmann, Director of Business development for food safety genomics at Neogen. Joe began his career as a nanotechnology chemist and has since focused on marketing and business development efforts. He graduated from Albion College with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and from Northwood University with an MBA. Joe tells us more about the practical applications of metagenomics in eliminating spoilage organisms in a food processing facility.
In this episode we speak to Neogen's Joe Heinzelmann about:
Adoption of whole-genome sequencing by federal regulatory agencies and food processing companies.
How metagenomics differs from how agencies are using whole-genome sequencing.
What 16s metagenomics is and how is it used in plants.
What kinds of data are being discovered with 16s metagenomics?
What food industry trends can benefit from next-generation sequencing.
Understanding the differences in data provided by whole-genome sequencing vs. metagenomics analyses.
After obtaining her B.Sc. in poultry science from the University of Florida and serving in the meat and poultry industry, Trish began her career in food safety in 1997 as director of process and product development at ABC Research Corporation in Gainesville, FL. In 2004, she joined SGS, Consumer Testing Services, as the regional operations director for the Americas until 2009 when she became director of food safety systems for Eurofins Scientific. She is a Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance Lead Instructor for Human Foods, an International HACCP Alliance Instructor and is currently President of her own consulting company, PA Wester Consulting, where she utilizes her broad experience in food safety testing and accredited certification auditing to support her food industry client base through the complexities of Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) implementation. In 2017, she launched the Association for Food Safety Auditing Professionals, a 501(C)(3) trade association to provide a platform to support the food safety auditing community.
She is active on numerous committees and councils, including as a member of the Food Safety Summit Education Advisory Board, and past Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) Auditor Competence and Global Regulatory Affairs Technical Working Groups.
In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Trish Wester about:
The types of audits conducted within the food industry and how they differ
How exacting standards for third-party auditing became part of FSMA
How FSMA implementation will change the way that auditing has always been performed
Auditing for food safety preventive controls vs. the robust systems that already exist for HACCP
What it will take to create audits that are as robust and viable as the ones that were performed pre-FSMA
How food plants are adapting to preventive controls rules in light of FSMA implementation and compliance deadlines
Apparent gaps in how FDA has structured FSMA regulations
How companies are working to meet FSMA compliance deadlines in a relatively short period of time
What happens when an auditor does not have specific training and experience in the food sector they’re evaluating
What kinds of skills should a qualified auditor possess
How scoring of audits works
The challenges of training an auditor to be well-versed in all FDA-regulated food sectors
If you're interested in participating in our Food Safety Insights Survey program please email your contact information to podcast@foodsafetymagazine.com.
Mike Taylor is a senior fellow at the Meridian Institute and an advisor to the Food and Society Program at the Aspen Institute. His primary interests are food safety globally and food security in Africa and other developing regions.
Until June 1, 2016, Mr. Taylor was Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He led the comprehensive overhaul of FDA’s food safety program Congress mandated in the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 and oversaw all of FDA’s food-related activities, including its nutrition, labeling, food additive, dietary supplement and animal drug programs.
Mr. Taylor served previously at FDA as a staff attorney and as Deputy Commissioner for Policy (1991–1994) and at the U.S. Department of Agriculture as Administrator of the Food Safety and Inspection Service and Acting Under Secretary for Food Safety (1994–1996). Prior to joining FDA in July 2009, he spent nearly a decade in academia conducting food safety, food security and public health policy research, most recently at George Washington University’s School of Public Health. He also served during that time as a Senior Fellow at the Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty in Africa, where he conducted research on U.S. policies affecting agricultural development and food security in Africa.
In the private sector, Mr. Taylor founded the food and drug practice and was a partner in the law firm of King & Spalding. He also was vice president for public policy at Monsanto Company and served on the boards of the Alliance to End Hunger and RESOLVE, Inc. He is currently a board member of STOP Foodborne Illness and Clear Labs, Inc. He is a graduate of Davidson College and the University of Virginia School of Law.
In this episode, we speak to Mike Taylor about:
His role at the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service following Jack-In-the-Box, when he advocated for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) for meat and poultry and Escherichia coli O157:H7 being labeled an adulterant.
His tour of the country in support of Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) implementation and how comments effected rulemaking
How after a 10-year break, academic kibitzing about implementing a modern risk-based system led to his tenure at FDA.
His advocacy for a single food agency and HACCP for all foods.
How he believes we’ve turned the corner from reaction to prevention in the age of FSMA.
His work on food safety and security issues in Africa.
His role at the Aspen Institute and oversight of the next wave of gene technology.
How the conversation has changed from what we should do to how we are going to do it.
His thoughts about the important role of food safety culture.
SafetyChain suite of food safety and quality management solutions - Supplier Compliance, Food Safety, Food Quality, CIP Optimization & Material Loss - provide the program visibility, data intelligence, and tools needed to more effectively manage your food safety and quality operations.
With SafetyChain, companies throughout the food supply chain are more effectively reducing risks, controlling costs, and ensuring everyday compliance
Dr. William Sperber is a renowned food microbiologist who has been appointed five times by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods and has been recognized for his pioneering work at the Pillsbury Co. in the development of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) food safety program model.
During his career, Dr. Sperber worked for three major food companies—Best Foods, Pillsbury and Cargill—and has become one of the world’s experts in controlling the microbiological safety and quality of foods.
A former chair of the IFT Division of Food Microbiology and the Food Microbiology Research Conference, Dr. Sperber was appointed in 2000 to the FAO/WHO roster of experts for microbiological risk assessments.
In 2001, the International Association for Food Protection presented Dr. Sperber with the Harold Barnum Industry Award, and in 2002, the American Meat Institute Foundation presented him with its inaugural Scientific Achievement Award. In 2004 he received our Food Safety Magazine Distinguished Service Award
Now retired, Dr. Sperber is a strategic advisor to Cargill’s food safety program and remains actively involved in professional activities on a personal level, including the development of a textbook on food safety and HACCP.
In this episode of Food Safety Matters we speak to Dr. Bill Sperber about:
Bill’s early life influences and what lead him to a career in food microbiology
Why Salmonella is his ‘favorite’ bacterium
The food industry before HACCP
Developing and implementing HACCP
Listeria hysteria
Canned foods regulation, pasteurization, and raw milk
Dr. Ben Chapman is an associate professor and food safety extension specialist at North Carolina State University. He received a Ph.D. in plant agriculture in 2009 from the University of Guelph. With the goal of less foodborne illness, his group designs, implements and evaluates food safety strategies, messages, and media from farm-to-fork. Through reality-based research, Chapman investigates behaviors and creates interventions aimed at amateur and professional food handlers, managers and organizational decision-makers; the gate keepers of safe food. Ben co-hosts a biweekly podcast called Food Safety Talk and tries to further engage folks online through Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest. Follow on Twitter @benjaminchapman. His research interests include consumer, retail and food safety culture, home food preservation and communicating food safety risk reduction messages. He is a member of the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) Food Law professional development group and Outreach Education professional development group and the Carolinas Association for Food Protection. He currently co-chairs the North Carolina Fresh Produce Safety Task Force and is a member of the editorial boards of Food Protection Trends and the British Food Journal. He is the chair of the Risk Communication subgroup for the North Carolina Governor’s Task Force on Food.
In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Ben Chapman about:
Supporting local retail, foodservice and consumer food safety through NC State Extension
Co-founding Barfblog with Doug Powell and how it supports food safety efforts
Emerging of niche markets like petting zoos and agritourism
Developing NC State’s Master Food Volunteer program
Working in food safety as a career
Researching cookbooks for food safety instructions made Ben famous for two days
Translating and communicating risk to consumers and businesses
Using social media to arm the right people with the right messages
Starting the Food Safety Talk podcast with Don Schaffner
Using reality-based research
Developing social media projects to engage citizen scientists