In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we talk with Dr. Vanessa Coffman of the Alliance to Stop Foodborne Illness, as well as two industry representatives and Alliance members: Sherry Brice-Williamson, Vice President of Global Quality and Food Safety at the Kellogg Company, and Megan Kenjora, Senior Manager of Food Safety Culture at The Hershey Company. Vanessa, Sherry, and Megan discuss the Alliance’s work to drive food safety culture throughout industry, as well as Sherry and Megan’s experiences collaborating with other industry members of the Alliance to achieve non-competitive food safety goals.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we talk to Dr. David Acheson, President and CEO of food safety consultancy The Acheson Group, about a variety of pressing topics for the food industry, such as the declaration of Salmonella as an adulterant in poultry, Cannabis edibles regulations, compliance with the agricultural water rule, modernizing recalls, mitigating the risk of PFAS, and others. Dr. Acheson has a background in internal medicine and infectious diseases, and also served as the Chief Medical Officer at FDA’s CFSAN.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we talk to Michael (Mike) Cramer, author of Food Plant Sanitation—now in its third edition! Mike has nearly 43 years of experience in food safety and quality assurance (FSQA) and sanitation at meat and poultry processors and major frozen foods producers, having retired from Ajinomoto Foods North America in 2021. He discusses his learnings throughout his time in industry and provides guidance, resources, and valuable insights for both experienced and up-and-coming FSQA professionals looking to implement effective sanitation programs and foster healthy food safety cultures at their organizations. 

In this bonus episode of Food Safety Matters, Dr. Alissa Welsher, Associate Senior Consultant at Elanco Poultry Food Safety, discusses why integrated pest management (IPM) is a crucial part of food safety management on farms and in food processing plants, as well as how poultry operations can develop an IPM program and minimize the spread of pathogens and disease from pests.

Part of Food Safety Magazine’s series with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), titled, “Evolution of a New Era: Advancing Strategies for Smarter Food Safety,” this episode of Food Safety Matters discusses the agency’s commodity-specific strategies to prevent foodborne illness outbreaks through FDA's Foodborne Outbreak Response Improvement Plan under the New Era of Smarter Food Safety initiative. We are joined by Stephen Hughes, Prevention Coordinator in the Office of Food Safety at FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, and Dr. Jennifer McEntire, Chief Food Safety and Regulatory Officer at the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA).

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we talk with Kimberly (Kim) Livsey about the interworking of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) investigations of and responses to food safety incidents and foodborne illness outbreaks through the Incident Command System and Incident Management Teams (IMTs). Kim is a Senior Emergency Response Coordinator in FDA's Office of Regulatory Affairs' Office of Human and Animal Food Operations who has led a number of IMTs, including for a recent, high-profile foodborne illness outbreak.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we talk with Michael (Mike) R. Taylor about the regulatory changes that have occurred since the Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak of 1992–1993. He served as Administrator of UDSA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) during a time of great transformation within the agency, and is currently a board member for Stop Foodborne Illness. Mike talks about how his previous work at FDA informed his work at USDA; what it was like to negotiate with industry on new Salmonella and E. coli standards, as well as HACCP regulations; the evolution of food safety culture and the concept of taking accountability for prevention; and the personal impact of the stories of foodborne illness outbreak victims.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak with prominent foodborne illness attorney Bill Marler about the deadly 1993 E. coli outbreak in ground beef served by Jack in the Box restaurants along the U.S. West Coast. Marler defended Brianne Kiner, the most seriously injured survivor of the outbreak, as well as hundreds of other victims in a class-action lawsuit. The story of this outbreak—which led to regulatory changes by USDA to declare E. coli an illegal adulterant in ground beef—and its ensuing legal and industry battles, is told in the book Poisoned by author Jeff Benedict. As the central figure in Benedict's book, Marler tells his story of the 1993 outbreak, as well as his outlook on the future of food safety legislation in the U.S.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we chat with Dr. John Butts, Principal at Food Safety By Design LLC and the Advisor to the CEO at Land O' Frost Inc., about Upton Sinclair’s groundbreaking 1906 novel, The Jungle. We discuss parallels between today’s food safety landscape and the food safety challenges of the meatpacking industry in the early 20^th century, as well as where the next half-century may take the food sector.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we interview Deborah Blum, author of The Poison Squad, which chronicles the passage of the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act and the work of its primary advocate, Dr. Harvey Wiley. Deborah discusses her most shocking discoveries about the 19^th century diet, how the political and scientific landscape shaped food industry regulations, the role that media played in disseminating Dr. Wiley’s findings, and themes that can be observed from the events of The Poison Squad that are still relevant today.

We also spoke to Larry Keener, President and CEO of International Product Safety Consultants Inc., to get an industry professional’s point of view on the events of The Poison Squad, the evolution of food safety since that time, and the book’s themes that are still relevant today.