Barbara interviews Deirdre Schlunegger, the CEO of Stop Foodborne Illness. Stop Foodborne Illness is a national nonprofit public health organization dedicated to the prevention of illness and death from foodborne pathogens. Their mission is to promote sound food safety policy and best practices, build public awareness and assist those impacted by foodborne illness.
Stop Foodborne Illness was founded in 1993 in the wake of the Jack-in-the-Box E. coli outbreak by a group of foodborne illness victims and friends in order to address the void they saw in the national food policy arena.
Since then, Stop Foodborne Illness has become a respected leader in consumer advocacy and is regularly consulted by government officials, industry leaders, academia, public health organizations, members of Congress, and the media on issues concerning food safety.
Deirdre joined Stop Foodborne Illness in August 2010 bringing over 25 years of nonprofit and leadership experience. She serves as an advisory member of the Joint Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition and is a participating member of the Safe Food Coalition and the Make Our Food Safe Coalition and serves as Commissioner of the International Food Science Certification Commission.
If you would like to become involved with Stop Foodborne Illness's advocacy work, you can call them directly at 773-269-6555 or visit StopFoodborneIllness.org.
In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Deirdre Schlunegger about:
The founding of Stop Foodborne Illness
How the organization has helped to motivate regulatory reform, particularly via the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Food Safety Modernization Act
Stop Foodborne Illness's consumer outreach efforts, especially for food outbreaks and recalls
Consumer materials made available via Stop Foodborne Illness on topics such as handwashing, grocery shopping, food handling and preparation
Positive cultural shifts that have taken place within the organization to a more cooperative approach with industry
The impact of telling stories to workers in the food industry vs. relying on training/technical videos
The Stop Foodborne Illness honor wall, a collection of stories from families who have been personally impacted by foodborne illness
The Dave Theno Food Safety Fellowship
Future projects and collaborations with food companies, government groups, and consumer communities
Dr. Lee-Ann Jaykus is a William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor in the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences at North Carolina State University, having been employed with the university for over 22 years.
Dr. Jaykus received a Ph.D. (1993) in environmental sciences and engineering from the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. She previously earned B.Sc. (1979) and M.Sc. (1982) degrees in food science from Purdue University, as well as serving in industrial positions for seven years. Her research efforts are varied but she is best known for her work in food virology. She is currently serving as the scientific director of the USDA-NIFA Food Virology Collaborative. Also called NoroCORE, the Collaborative is a seven-year, $25 million project intended to reduce the burden of disease associated with enteric viruses, particularly noroviruses. Prevention and control of norovirus contamination and subsequent transmission is one of her particular passions.
Dr. Jaykus’ professional activities have included membership on the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods, on several Institute of Medicine-National Research Council consensus committees, and on the executive board of the International Association for Food Protection, for which she served as president in 2010-2011. Dr. Jaykus has also worked closely with the FDA Office of Foods in facilitating the implementation of risk-based food safety management systems. She has taught food microbiology/safety on the undergraduate and graduate levels, has mentored over 50 graduate students and post-doctoral research associates and authored or co-authored over 150 scientific publications.
In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Lee-Ann Jaykus about:
How NoroCORE got started, including the major players and institutions that have contributed to the initiative's success and outreach efforts
Why NoroCORE focuses so much on engaging stakeholders from the foodservice industry
The history of norovirus first identified in the 1960s
Work done by Baylor College of Medicine to produce replication of norovirus for the first time
Human challenge studies, popular among cash-strapped college students but necessary for continued and timely norovirus research
The most surprising findings she's come across in her years researching norovirus
Clarifying the source of norovirus
What foodservice can do to prevent norovirus outbreaks from occurring
Social media's effect on educating the public about norovirus
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
Will Daniels is president of the produce division at IEH Laboratories and Consulting Group. In this role, Will is responsible for lab and consulting services for the produce industry. Prior to joining IEH, Will was president and CEO of Fresh Integrity Group, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in operations and food safety consulting for the fresh produce and perishables industries. He was recently involved in the cold-pressed juice industry, working with two startups to develop their operations. Prior to his involvement with start-up companies, Will was with Earthbound Farm from 1999 until 2014. Having leadership roles in both quality assurance and operations, he helped the company grow from a small, regional salad producer to the nation’s largest grower, packer, and shipper of organic produce. As Earthbound Farm’s Chief Food Integrity Officer, Daniels was responsible for food safety, food quality, and the company’s organic integrity program. Before joining Earthbound Farm, Will worked for 15 years as a consultant in the foodservice sector; working in the back of the house designing menus, introducing food safety and, improving costs; he even had his own catering business.
Will is a sought-after speaker and has addressed key issues in food safety in the produce industry at meetings of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Restaurant Association, the Institute of Food Technologists and the International Association for Food Protection. He was the keynote speaker at the 2013 Food Safety Summit in Washington, DC, was one of the Packer 25 annual list of produce leaders for 2013 and was named one of the food industry’s top food safety leaders by Marler/Clark’s Food Safety News in 2013. He has also been featured in a variety of national news stories on food safety with media such as The New York Times and ABC News’s Good Morning America; he is the author of two book chapters, “Effectively Managing through a Crisis,” in Microbial Safety of Fresh Produce, published by Wiley in 2009 and “Pathogen Testing in Fresh Produce: Earthbound Farm,” in Global Safety of Fresh Produce; A Handbook of Best Practice, Innovative Commercial Collations and Case Studies, published by Woodhead Publishing in 2014. An active leader in the food industry, Will serves on a variety of boards and technical committees.
In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Will Daniels about:
How Earthbound Farm responded to a deadly E. coli 0157:H7 outbreak linked to fresh spinach
The complexities and challenges of the supply chain
Balancing food safety needs with marketing objectives
The importance of education along every point of the supply chain
Low product pricing and its effect on food safety
Misconceptions about FSMA regulations
Getting the C-suite to understand the value of investing in food safety
Dr. Hal King is the founder and CEO of Public Health Innovations, an ideation technology and consulting business.
Hal is a public health professional who has worked in the investigation of foodborne and other disease outbreaks with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He has also performed funded research on causation of diseases at Emory University.
Hal has worked in the prevention of intentional adulteration of foods for U.S. Army Reserves Consequence Management Unit, then on the design and implementation of preventative controls for food safety hazards in the food industry while serving as director of food and product safety at Chick-fil-A.
Hal is past chairman of the National Restaurant Association Quality Assurance Executive Study Group, past board member of the National Council of Chain Restaurants and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and CDC Industry Partnerships, and past President of the Georgia Association for Food Protection an affiliate of the International Association of Food Protection.
Hal’s company, Public Health Innovations developed The Food Safety Lab, a website that facilitates open access to best practices in food safety for the food industry.
He is now writing a new book to help the industry ensure food safety in restaurant operations called Active Managerial Control: Implementing Food Safety Management Systems in a Retail Food Service Business.
In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Hal King about:
How to design a food safety management system that can enable control of risk factors that contribute to foodborne illness
His time at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and how it helped him to understand food safety management
How and where food safety hazards occur in the restaurant environment
Turnover in the foodservice industry, and how it can be a setback in terms of food safety
How health inspections work and the important role they play in food safety
HACCP in a restaurant environment vs. in a food manufacturing facility
Food hazards that get the most--and least--attention at the restaurant level
Why some restaurant chains are reluctant to implement daily monitoring and other food safety systems
The top food safety challenge facing restaurants today
How spending $10,000 on food safety could potentially save millions in preventing a recall, outbreak, etc.
How consumers' perceptions of food safety have shifted, according to multiple studies
Industry vs. consumers: Who bears responsibility when it comes to handling and preparing foods at home?
Educational and career advice for young professionals interested in a food safety career
Dr. Darin Detwiler is the Assistant Dean of Graduate Academic and Faculty Affairs at Northeastern University in Boston, MA. He is also the Lead Academic of the MS in Regulatory Affairs of Food and Food Industry and Professor of Food Policy. In addition to being the Founder and President of Detwiler Consulting Group, LLC, Dr. Detwiler serves as the Executive Vice President for Public Health at the International Food Authenticity Assurance Organization. Dr. Detwiler serves on numerous committees and advisory panels related to food science, nutrition, fraud, and policy.
In 2004, the Secretary of Agriculture appointed Detwiler to two terms on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's national advisory committee for meat and poultry inspection. He later advised the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the Senior Policy Coordinator for a leading national food safety advocacy organization, where his committee work and presentations supported the FDA’s progress towards implementation of Food Safety Modernization Act by bringing forward the true burden of disease to various federal, state, and industry audiences.
He is a sought-after speaker and has addressed key issues in food safety at corporate and regulatory training events, as well as national and international events in Spain, Dubai, and the UK. He has been featured as a speaker before VTEC, STEC CAP, Food Safety Summit, Conference for Food Protection, National Food Policy Conference, AFDO regional events, FDA regional seminars, and multiple state public and environmental health conferences.
Detwiler is a contributing writer to numerous food industry publications and is quoted frequently by journalists across the country. A consumer food safety advocate since his son’s death from E.coli during the landmark 1993 “Jack-in-the-Box” outbreak, Detwiler has been featured in a variety of national news stories on food safety with media such as The New York Times, Food Safety News, CNN, NPR, PBS’s Frontline, CNBC, and ABC’s Good Morning America. A Navy submarine veteran, Detwiler holds a Doctorate in Law and Policy at Northeastern University with his research on state food regulatory capacity and alignment with federal policy.
In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Darin Detwiler about:
How his son's unexpected death led to an unplanned career in food policy and food safety
The positive policy changes and technological advancements the food industry has seen in the Jack in the Box outbreak in 1993
The difference between the 1993 outbreak and Chipotle's recent food safety issues
Pushback he experienced from the food industry when speaking out about his son's death and Jack in the Box's negligence
The importance of the food industry understanding that their mistakes have a lasting impact on thousands of lives
Working to make E. coli a common household term that consumers know, understand and ultimately prevent
The lack of food safety focus in schools
The evolution and trajectory of the food safety career path
We also speak with Marianne Gravely (USDA) and Hilary Thesmar (FMI) about:
How industry can support the importance of the "Clean, Separate, Cook and Chill" concept as consumers head into the Thanksgiving holiday
How consumers can prevent cross-contamination when grocery shopping for meat and poultry products
Messaging and concepts that retailers should be educating consumers about
The most frequently asked questions submitted to the USDA's Meat & Poultry Hotline
Educational materials and resources available to both retailers and consumers
About Marianne Gravely
Marianne joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Meat and Poultry Hotline staff in 1988. As the senior technical information specialist, she provides consumers with safe food handling guidance daily through phone, live-chat and email inquiries and is one of the persons behind the USDA virtual representative “Ask Karen” answering food safety questions. She also researches and writes materials for the Food Safety Inspection Service website, and handles media inquiries.Marianne has a Bachelor of Science degree in home economics with an emphasis in foods and nutrition from Hood College in Frederick, MD. She received her Master’s degree in Human Nutrition and Foods from Virginia Tech.
About Hilary Thesmar
In her role as the chief food and product safety officer and senior vice president of food safety programs for the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), Dr. Thesmar provides leadership for all safety programs for FMI’s retail and wholesale members and provides support for members on food safety training programs, FSMA training, recall plans and management, crisis management, research, and overall safety and sanitation programs. Dr. Thesmar has a Ph.D. in Food Technology from Clemson University, a Master of Science degree in Human Nutrition from Winthrop University, a bachelor’s degree in Food Science from Clemson, and she is a Registered Dietitian. She has over a decade of experience in scientific and regulatory affairs with food trade associations.
Do you have questions or guest suggestions for the Food Safety Matters podcast? Let us know!
You can leave us a voicemail anytime at 747-231-7630. You can also email us at podcast@foodsafetymagazine.com.
