Ep. 151. Pierce, Morales, and Quam: Behavioral Science of Food Safety in Small-Scale Retail Foodservice

Aug 8, 2023

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Andre Pierce joined the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in January 2022 as the Retail Food Protection Division Director in the Office of State Cooperative Programs (OSCP). He came to FDA with 34 years of experience at a local health department, where he built relationships, shared knowledge, and promoted quality improvement through the Voluntary Retail Program Standards. Andre earned his B.Sc. degree in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his M.P.A. from North Carolina State University.

David Morales is the Managing Supervisor for the Environmental Health Division at Arizona's Maricopa County Environmental Services Department. He joined the Department in June 2000 as a Health Inspector for the Environmental Health Division, performing health inspections for restaurants, hotels and motels, mobile home parks, swimming pools, and school grounds. David has also served as a Hispanic Liaison, Training Officer, Supervisor, and Managing Supervisor for the Quality and Compliance Division, and he currently manages the Eastern Regional Office within the Environmental Health division. He received a bachelor's degree in Zoology from Brigham Young University, and he is a Registered Sanitarian in the state of Arizona and an REHS with NEHA. He also received a Certified Public Manager certificate from Arizona State University's Bob Ramsey Executive Education Program.

Susan Quam is the Executive Vice President of the Wisconsin Restaurant Association (WRA). She joined WRA in January 1997, serving as the Executive Director of WRA's Education Foundation for her first 15 years, working to promote career opportunities and scholarships within the foodservice industry and provide continuing education programs for restaurateurs. In 2012, Susan moved to the Executive Vice President position, where she works closely with WRA's President and CEO to enact the vision of the WRA board of directors. She is also one of WRA's two registered lobbyists. In addition to WRA general advocacy responsibilities, her areas of emphasis include employment law, alcohol law, food safety regulations, food defense, nutrition issues, and state/national relations.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak with Andre, David, and Susan [34:22] about:

How FDA works with state and local regulators to reduce the occurrence of foodborne illness risk factors at retail foodservice establishments through the Food Code and the Retail Program Standards
Key initiatives and factors that Maricopa County leaders invest in or seek out to influence the behaviors of inspectors and source quality staff
Generational, staffing, and expenditure obstacles that small foodservice establishments must overcome to uphold food safety standards
How Maricopa County inspectors impact food safety behaviors in small retail or foodservice establishments through the Active Managerial Control and Cutting Edge programs
The importance of regulators forging partnerships with and understanding the challenges of the retail food sector to effectively help industry implement food safety systems and best practices
Specific considerations and training approaches for the retail foodservice sector to better connect with the new and emerging workforce.

News and Resources

FDA Updates on Chemical Safety Reassessment Work, Reveals Substances of Agency's Focus [7:09] California LGMA's "Romaine Test and Learn" Will Collect Members' Pathogen Testing Data to Improve Microbial Food Safety Knowledge [12:12] Half of U.S. Drinking Water Contaminated by Toxic PFAS, Reports USGS [17:42] Researchers Develop Tray that Alerts when Food is Contaminated by Pathogenic Bacteria [27:12] EFSA Finds No Critical Health Concerns for Herbicide Glyphosate [28:33]