Food Safety Matters

Sara Mortimore, VP for Food Safety at Walmart, discusses managing food safety, global consistency, continuous improvement, and technology trends in the food industry. She emphasizes the importance of trust with consumers and caring about food safety while adapting to changing retail trends.

The podcast discusses food safety concerns and regulations in 2023, including FDA's reorganization, infant formula safety, allergen guidelines, food traceability, food additives legislation, PFAS contamination, retail foodservice safety, and the impact of the documentary 'Poisoned'.

Sherry Brice, Chief Supply Chain Officer at W.K. Kellogg Co., discusses her career spanning food safety, business leadership, and teamwork. She shares insights on connecting food safety and supply chain operations, communicating the value of food safety to a business, and engaging with teams throughout a company. The episode highlights the importance of leveraging learning experiences, building business acumen, and fostering a supportive environment for long-term success.

Matt Brosseau, engineer and operations manager in the powdered infant formula industry, discusses the importance of equipment qualification in ensuring food safety. He highlights the significance of understanding and defining requirements for equipment qualification and offers services through Path Forward Consulting. Additionally, Matt explains the process of equipment qualification and emphasizes the importance of integrity and client prioritization.

Blake Harris and Alison Grantham discuss food processors preparing for FSMA 204 traceability requirements, including the use of antimicrobial blue light for treating listeria contamination, the importance of nomenclature and traceability, improving traceability with Ambient IoT, implementing traceability systems, the impact of FDA's final traceability rule on GDSC standards, and the importance of cooperation and technology in meeting traceability requirements.

Justyce Jedlicka, Food and Beverage Regulatory Liaison in North America for MilliporeSigma, and Andrew Lienau, Food Regulatory and Validation Senior Expert at MilliporeSigma, discuss the threats posed by Cronobacter to food safety and public health, the challenges in preventing contamination, the development of a PCR-based detection method for Cronobacter, industry standards and regulations for control, and MilliporeSigma's involvement in developing innovative testing technologies.

Dr. Kathy Knutson discusses food safety considerations and regulations for cannabis-infused edibles. Topics include challenges in transitioning to the cannabis industry, the importance of packaging and labeling, the need for a federal regulatory framework, and the value of training in various roles for food safety.

Yinqing Ma, Director of Compliance Policy Staff at the FDA, and Carol D’lima, Food Technologist at FDA, discuss allergen recalls and labeling errors, FDA's enforcement of food allergen requirements, and ongoing efforts to protect food allergic consumers.

Dr. Lise Korsten, food safety expert, discusses the implications of FDA's infant formula compliance program, concerns around glyphosate, polluted water's impact on fresh produce, innovative technologies for contamination prevention, and the knowledge gaps in food safety.

Dr. Barbara Masters, VP of Regulatory Policy at Tyson Foods, talks about the meaning of 'Never let a good crisis go to waste' in food safety policy. She discusses her involvement in developing landmark regulations, FDA's efforts to prevent Chronobacter illnesses, and building relationships in food safety policy.