Dr. Laura Gieraltowski leads the Foodborne Outbreak Response Team in the Outbreak Response and Prevention Branch at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, GA. She leads the team that helps coordinate the national network of epidemiologists and other public health officials who investigate outbreaks of foodborne and other enteric illnesses.

​Laura is a graduate of CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service Program. She received a Ph.D. in epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and has a Masters of Public Health degree in behavioral health sciences from Emory University Rollins School of Public Health. She has worked at the CDC since 2009 and has been involved in numerous multistate outbreak investigations leading to the identification and recall of food products.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Laura [14:39] about:

• CDC's role in foodborne outbreak investigations
• How CDC works with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture
• Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis vs. whole-genome sequencing, and why the former is no longer the standard method for DNA fingerprinting when investigating a foodborne outbreak
• How outbreak investigations become more or less complicated depending on what type of food product is involved
• Changes and advancements coming to food safety within the next 5–10 years

News Mentioned in This Episode
FDA Issues First Foreign Supplier Verification Program Warning [1:35]
FDA Tests Romaine Lettuce in Yuma Growing Region for Pathogens [3:56]
USDA to Consumers: Do Not Wash Raw Poultry [7:55]

Theodora Morille-Hinds is the vice president of global quality food safety for The Kellogg Company. She is also the 2019 recipient of Food Safety Magazine's Distinguished Service Award.

Stacey Popham is the head of food safety and quality for the Americas region of Barry Callebaut.

Dr. Mindy Brashears is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety.

Tim Stubbs is the vice president of product research and food safety for the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Theo [13:18] about:

• The greatest day-to-day challenges in her current role at Kellogg
• Partnerships with Michigan State University, University of Georgia, and more
• Celebrating women and girls in science
• How she unexpectedly got into food science
• Advice to young women who may be thinking about a science-related career

We speak to Stacey [27:59] about:

• The first-ever World Food Safety Day and how it prompted Barry Callebaut to initiate monthly Food Safety Friday meetings within the organizations.

We speak to Tim [38:48] about:

• Dairy-related research discussed during IAFP sessions

We speak to Mindy [44:55] about:

• Upcoming modernization of poultry and swine systems
• The science-based data and programs that have prompted new initiatives
• Consumer education resources safe food handling
• Goals for new Campylobacter performance standards
• New testing for Shiga toxin-producing E. coli​ besides O157:H7
• Partnering with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on cell-based meat regulations

News Mentioned in This Episode
Employee Discovery Prompts Cookie Dough Recall

Sponsored by:

MSU's Online Food Safety Program - Educating Food Safety Leaders
MSU's Online Food Safety Program - Curriculum, admissions, fees, and more

Cindy Jiang is a senior director, Global Food and Packaging Safety, Global Supply Chain & Sustainability, for McDonald’s Corporation. Her responsibilities include developing food safety strategic plans, leading the effort to establish and maintain strong global supplier food safety and quality management systems and programs, having science- and risk-based food safety standards and policies, anticipating and managing food-related emerging issues, supporting the markets with farm-to-restaurant food safety practices, and elevating the food safety culture within the corporation, supplier, and franchisee communities.  

Cindy has been the lead for McDonald’s Food Safety Advisory Council since 2002, a forum for sharing food safety knowledge and best practices among leading suppliers and external experts. She has been actively engaged with industry and government collaboration on food safety. She has served on the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) Board since 2008 and is currently a member of the Board for SSAFE and IFIC.

Cindy began her career with the McDonald’s Corporation after receiving an M.Sc. in food science and nutrition from the University of Wisconsin in 1990. She has held various positions at McDonald’s Corporation, from a food chemist to a quality assurance consultant, a senior quality assurance manager, and a director of food safety. Cindy has been actively engaged in leading the effort on harmonization of food safety standards by working with the food suppliers, the foodservice industry, certification program owners, and auditing firms since early 2007. She is a senior member of the American Society for Quality and has been a member of Institute of Food Technologists since 1989. She is also a current member of the International Association of Food Protection. She is passionate about advancing food safety for the benefit of consumers.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Cindy [19:43] about:

• The importance of meetings, team building activities, and volunteering in an effort to keep food safe
• The collaborative process McDonald's follows when new equipment needs to be developed
• McDonalds' approach to new employee training
• What regulators are looking for when they visit a foodservice establishment
• Understanding why collaboration is necessary and valuable
• Why food safety is not an area of competition
• McDonalds' three-leg stool system
• How McDonald's communicates with its many suppliers
• How McDonald's suppliers are required to have at least one GFSI benchmark certification
• Why there are so many benchmarked schemes, and why having a consolidated benchmarked scheme isn't feasible
• Government-to-government and government-to-business meetings
• Food safety culture
• Why every business within the food sector should be ready for an unannounced visit 24/7
• McDonald's and World Food Safety Day
• The ongoing challenge of meeting consumers' ever-changing expectations
• Technology, predictive analytics, and using data to predict potential foodborne illnesses and outbreaks
• How McDonald's has been delivering food in other countries years before it became a trend in the U.S.
• The importance of mastering soft skills, communication, and networking even in a science-based field

News Mentioned in This Episode
EFSA Identifies Three Food Safety Priorities for the Next 5–10 Years; Codex Agrees to Tackle E. coli in Certain Foods  [3:57]
Researchers Dissect 17 Years of Salmonella Outbreaks [8:51]
Viral Story: The Blue Bell Ice Cream Licker [11:12]  

Sponsored by:

MSU's Online Food Safety Program - Educating Food Safety Leaders
MSU's Online Food Safety Program - Curriculum, admissions, fees, and more

Joan Menke-Schaenzer is the chief quality officer at Van Drunen Farms and FutureCeuticals. There, she is responsible for the safety and quality of the company's vegetable and herb growing and processing plants—both conventional and organic—as well as their nutraceutical ingredient business. 

Joan's career has also included food safety and quality roles in manufacturing, foodservice, and retail. She's led McDonalds' global supply chain, safety, and compliance organization. She spearheaded food safety and quality at ConAgra, Walmart, and Kraft as well.

Joan served on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Food Advisory Committee and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control's Board of Scientific Counselors Food Safety Modernization Act Implementation Working Group.

Joan earned her B.Sc. in food science from the University of Wisconsin—Madison.  

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Joan [17:09] about:

• Challenges she's experienced across the supply chain at various levels of the food industry
• The importance of communication and soft skills in food safety
• How creative thinking can advance food safety success
• Her involvement in past foodborne outbreaks and how being proactive was the best decision for public health
• Issuing a recall even before a clear root cause was confirmed
• Gaining support from employers when it comes to joining industry and trade associations
• Why it's imperative to have existing relationships with regulators before a crisis occurs
• The benefits of epidemiological traceback and it can help in the event of an outbreak
• Proactively managing supply chains with GFSI audits
• Consumer research and combining that with risk assessment
• The benefits of partnering with suppliers
• How she used whole-genome sequencing to pinpoint the source of a growth niche
• Her views on blockchain and how it may not be the answer at all levels of the food supply chain
• How becoming responsible for profit and loss changed how she approached food safety decision-making
• Why it's important to build a support network throughout your career

News Mentioned in This Episode
Study: Here's Why Consumers Don't Use Thermometers When They Cook [2:36]
Updated Tomato Metrics [6:23]
Push for a Single Federal Food Safety Agency [9:54] 

Dr. Robert (Bob) Powitz is the principal and technical director of R.W.Powitz & Associates. There, he specializes in forensic sanitation services to industry, law firms, insurance companies, and government agencies. Bob has dedicated his career to food safety having worked for over 54 years to study, develop, and implement the most effective sanitation practices.

Bob has served as director of environmental health and safety and biological safety officer at Wayne State University where he also held the title of Adjunct Associate Professor in the College of Engineering. He also served as director of biological safety and environment for the U.S. Department of Agriculture as well as health director for five different towns in Connecticut. 

He is currently the public health consultant for the Bucks County, PA, Department of Corrections.

Bob received his undergraduate education in agronomy and plant pathology from the State University of New York and the University of Georgia. He holds a M.Sc. in Public Health with a specialty in institutional environmental health and a Ph.D. in environmental health, with specialties in environmental microbiology and epidemiology from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. He also has a very long list of honors including, most impressively, a spot on the Food Safety Magazine Editorial Advisory Board.

​In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Bob [35:25] about:

• The overuse of chemicals and sanitizers and why relying too much on them is a problem
• Faulty ventilation systems, condensation, and leaks—how these problems can lead to the active growth of biofilm
• His plan of action when he sees chemicals being used incorrectly in a food plant
• Integrated cleaning and measurement
• New clean-in-place methods, steam, dry ice, carbon dioxide, hydrogen peroxide, and other green ways to clean
• Why the regulatory community needs to buy into green cleaning methods
• Assessing a cleaning and sanitizing methodologies
• Why more cleaning products need to be evaluated to a standard like NSF International
• Innovating cleaning technologies that have originated in Europe, the Pacific Rim, and elsewhere.
• An example of a time he could not find the source of confirmed Listeria contamination in a ready-to-eat processing facility
• His advice to future sanitarians

Bob Powitz's Articles in Food Safety Magazine
Checking Field Thermometer Accuracy 
Chemical-Free Cleaning: Revisited 
Non-EPA Registered Cleaners and Sanitizers for Use in Food Production Facilities and Retail Food Establishments

Want more from Bob Powitz? Find more of his articles on Food Safety Magazine.

Bob Ferguson's Food Safety Insights [25:19]
Bob joins us to discuss FDA's comments regarding survey results that appeared in the April/May article:
What Industry and FDA are Thinking about FSMA Implementation—Part II

Want more from Bob Ferguson? Find more of his articles and podcast segments.

​News Mentioned in This Episode
VIDEO: Burger King Employee Caught Cleaning Table with Floor Mop [4:50]
FDA Holds First-Ever Public Hearing on Regulating CBD Products ​[9:41]
Kroger and Costco Frozen Berries Recalled a Month After FDA Announces Surprise Testing [21:28]

Dr. Robert (Bob) Powitz is the principal and technical director of R.W.Powitz & Associates. There, he specializes in forensic sanitation services to industry, law firms, insurance companies, and government agencies. Bob has dedicated his career to food safety having worked for over 54 years to study, develop, and implement the most effective sanitation practices.

Bob has served as director of environmental health and safety and biological safety officer at Wayne State University where he also held the title of Adjunct Associate Professor in the College of Engineering. He also served as director of biological safety and environment for the U.S. Department of Agriculture as well as health director for five different towns in Connecticut. 

He is currently the public health consultant for the Bucks County, PA, Department of Corrections.

Bob received his undergraduate education in agronomy and plant pathology from the State University of New York and the University of Georgia. He holds a M.Sc. in Public Health with a specialty in institutional environmental health and a Ph.D. in environmental health, with specialties in environmental microbiology and epidemiology from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. He also has a very long list of honors including, most impressively, a spot on the Food Safety Magazine Editorial Advisory Board.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Bob [15:12] about:

• What keeps him so heavily involved in food safety and sanitation
• Why it's so crucial to acknowledge and reward good methods and habits when you see them
• Why commercial food establishments don't necessarily follow state food codes
• I-D-E-A in sanitation

Bob Powitz's Articles in Food Safety Magazine
Checking Field Thermometer Accuracy 
Chemical-Free Cleaning: Revisited 
Non-EPA Registered Cleaners and Sanitizers for Use in Food Production Facilities and Retail Food Establishments

Want more from Bob Powitz? Find more of his articles on Food Safety Magazine.

News Mentioned in This Episode
FDA: Most Date Labels Are Not Based on Exact Science[8:32]
Theo Morille-Hinds to Receive Food Safety Magazine's Distinguished Service Award ​[11:20]

In this BONUS episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Jerry Heath (staff entomologist) and Sharon Dobesh (director of technical services) from the Industrial Fumigant Company (IFC) about how to set up and utilize a pest management program that is compliant with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and that also works well with a food processor's existing Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points or Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls plan.

In this BONUS episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to IFC about:

• FSMA's impact on how pest management fits into a company's overall food safety plan
• The main challenge that pest management clients want to address and learn more about
• Changes in how auditors now approach their inspection methods with new regulations in place
• Steps that a food company will need to take in order to implement or overhaul their pest program
• Mapping tools and how they help companies to better pinpoint the cause and/or source of an infestation
• How the trend of going chemical-free is changing the pest management industry
• Action thresholds and how they cannot be one-size-fits-all
• Asking the right questions when a sudden infestation or unfamiliar insect/rodent species appears
• Critical advice about keeping pristine records and documentation
• How technology is already changing the future of pest management
• Professional certification and other ways to get into the pest management field

Resources
IFC Resource Page 
Whitepaper: Implications of FSMA on Pest Management Programs

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