In this episode of Don’t Eat Poop!, our hosts Matt and Francine are joined by Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times-bestselling author Deborah Blum, at the 2024 FDA Retail Food Seminar & IEHA Annual Education Conference.

She is the author of “The Poison Squad”, one of Matt’s favorite food safety books.

Together they explore her outrageous findings from the time before regulations that she shares in the book, as well as ways to make things change for the better.

In this episode:

💩 [00:59] Meet Deborah and “The Poison Squad” book

💩 [03:41] Food in the 19th and early 20th century wasn’t as safe as we think

💩 [08:23] Dr. Wiley, the Poison Squad, and low-dose toxicology

💩 [12:57] The embalmed milk scandals

💩 [17:48] Important regulatory movements in the US and their scandals

💩 [23:01] Good regulations with insufficient funds and little enforcement

💩 [29:06] Francine’s experience as a health inspector

💩 [31:20] How to make a difference and the holes in regulations

💩 [32:44] We’ve come a long way but not far enough

💩 [34:34] The challenges of being an informed consumer

💩 [37:04] The power of cookbooks for education

💩 [41:57] Why our lifespan increased over the last century

💩 [44:07] The “good old days”

💩 [46:23] The ongoing battle against food adulteration

💩 [48:30] Food safety in the future

💩 [50:45] Consumers misdirected anger and Boar’s Head outbreak

💩 [55:19] Revolution by inch

Disclaimer: Episode title and content do not constitute legal or health advice.

Resources from this episode

Learn all about Deborah Blum and her books at deborahblum.com.

Noteworthy quotes from this episode

“Back to your question, ‘How do we make things change for the better?’ We have people like you. We get the word out. We let people know that there are these issues. We don't quit talking about them. Eventually, we get change. It's never as fast as I want it to be. I've come to accept that sometimes you get revolution by inch.” – Deborah Blum

We hope you enjoy this episode!

Remember to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast on your favorite podcast platform. Together, we can raise awareness and make a positive impact in the world of food safety!

We'd love to hear from you!

Connect with Deborah, Francine, Matt, and the "Don't Eat Poop!" show on LinkedIn!

Share your thoughts and feedback on the show and feel free to offer any topics you would like to hear discussed.

Check out Francine's book Who Watches the Kitchen? on Amazon!

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Produced by Ideablossoms

In this episode of Don’t Eat Poop!, our hosts Matt and Francine are joined by Patrick Quade, Founder and CEO of Iwaspoisoned.com, at the 2024 FDA Retail Food Seminar & IEHA Annual Education Conference.

They talk about Iwaspoisoned.com, which is a food safety crowdsourcing website. People can come to the website and report a food safety issue, and that data is then used to detect outbreaks, clusters, and trends in real time.

Tune in to hear about the great impact this technology can have in food safety by allowing companies to prevent instead of react to challenges.

In this episode:

💩 [01:28] Meet Patrick Quade

💩 [03:16] How Iwaspoisoned.com came to be

💩 [07:43] Food poisoning reporting and underreporting

💩 [09:56] How Iwaspoisoned.com evolved into a business

💩 [12:14] Concerns around the name Iwaspoisoned

💩 [14:03] How they were able to foresee Chipotle’s series of foodborne illness outbreaks

💩 [17:40] How they deal with inaccurate reports

💩 [22:10] Making it easy to report

💩 [23:31] Study on Norovirus outbreaks and Iwaspoisoned.com reports

💩 [27:07] Iwaspoisoned.com around the world

💩 [28:16] Handling unusual or criminal reports

💩 [30:22] Brand-specific insights

💩 [32:47] Encouraging consumer, government, and industry participation

Disclaimer: Episode title and content do not constitute legal or health advice.

Resources from this episode

Check out iwaspoisoned.com.

You will find the post on LinkedIn that helps explain what Patrick’s B2B company, DineSafe, does here.

Catch up with the episode Matt and Francine talk about a woman charged with murder for allegedly poisoning her ex-husband's family with Beef Wellington: Episode 38.

Noteworthy quotes from this episode

“We detected the first major Chipotle outbreak in real time, Simi Valley in 2015, and most of their subsequent outbreaks in real time. They lost 10 billion in market cap from top to bottom, from their peak at the start of their string of food poisoning outbreaks to the bottom.” – Patrick Quade

We hope you enjoy this episode!

Remember to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast on your favorite podcast platform. Together, we can raise awareness and make a positive impact in the world of food safety!

We'd love to hear from you!

Connect with Patrick, Francine, Matt, and the "Don't Eat Poop!" show on LinkedIn!

Share your thoughts and feedback on the show and feel free to offer any topics you would like to hear discussed.

Check out Francine's book Who Watches the Kitchen? on Amazon!

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Produced by Ideablossoms

In this episode of Don’t Eat Poop!, our hosts Matt and Francine are looking into their very own crystal ball and diving into “The Future of Food Safety” on their Keynote at 2024 FDA Retail Food Seminar & Annual Education Conference.

They talk about what golden calves they think are going to die over the next couple decades and why they're going to die with emerging technology and increase in consumers.

As usual, they say what needs to be said regardless of how controversial. So tune in for a very insightful episode.

In this episode:

💩 [01:12] The origins of “Don’t Eat Poop!”

💩 [05:52] Matt’s and Francine’s backgrounds

💩 [08:10] Assessments and data management are going to change

💩 [08:56] Federalism is too complicated for food safety

💩 [12:10] Boar’s Head Listeria Outbreak: questions and lessons

💩 [15:15] Future of accountability in food safety

💩 [17:01] The possibility of getting fired for doing your job

💩 [20:38] Emerging technologies and the demand for food safety data

💩 [25:19] Kitchen robots and the challenges of inspecting them

💩 [28:58] Marketing that doesn’t meet the FDA Food Code

💩 [30:13] The need for food safety in politics

💩 [31:40] Being a health inspector, a thankless job

Disclaimer: Episode title and content do not constitute legal or health advice.

Resources from this episode

Catch up with previous episodes mentioned:

Episode 80 | Don’t Drink Poop! Olympians Swimming in the Seine

Episode 53 | Good Job! You’re Fired. Food Safety: The Industry You Can Lose Your Job by Doing It Too Well

Episode 63 | The Future of the Fast Food Industry and Robot Food Safety (the one about Flippy, the kitchen robot)

Noteworthy quotes from this episode

“Where we see the future going is not a political issue, but it is a voter issue and consumers are voters. And this is going to be a huge impact. And as congress, as state administrators, and as local councilmen and women start looking at this, they're going to see that it doesn't matter. It is a nonpartisan issue and consumers are going to make a lot of changes over the next decade.” – Matthew Regusci

“We're here, guys. Technology isn't stopping. It's going to continue to go. We're not going to slow it down and they move at a much faster pace than we do. By the time we get there, they're going to be doing something else. And we need to make them care about food safety before they kill somebody. And they're not looking to do that. That's not what they want to do, they just don't understand food safety.” – Francine L Shaw

We hope you enjoy this episode!

Remember to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast on your favorite podcast platform. Together, we can raise awareness and make a positive impact in the world of food safety!

We'd love to hear from you!

Connect with Francine, Matt, and the "Don't Eat Poop!" show on LinkedIn!

Share your thoughts and feedback on the show and feel free to offer any topics you would like to hear discussed.

Check out Francine's book Who Watches the Kitchen? on Amazon!

_______

Produced by Ideablossoms

In this episode of Don’t Eat Poop!, food safety industry veterans Matt and Francine are taking you through a list of 29 common foods that are approved in the United States, but banned in other countries.

Prepare yourself to be surprised by the bad foods and thoroughly entertained by our hosts and the stories of how they consume these products in their daily lives.

In this episode:

💩 [02:21] Skittles

💩 [03:30] Mountain Dew

💩 [04:48] Little Debbie Swiss Rolls

💩 [08:05] Frosted Flakes, Honey Bunches of Oats, and Rice Krispies

💩 [09:04] Coffee-mate

💩 [09:35] MSG in food

💩 [11:29] Stove Top stuffing

💩 [11:59] Drumstick frozen dairy desserts

💩 [12:36] Wheat Thins

💩 [12:50] Gatorade

💩 [13:17] Pop-Tarts

💩 [13:33] Farmer John Pork Breakfast Sausage Links

💩 [13:45] Lucky Charms

💩 [14:53] Tostitos Salsa Con Queso Dip

💩 [15:32] Ritz Crackers

💩 [16:38] Fresca

💩 [17:23] Pillsbury Biscuits

💩 [19:16] Sunkist Soda

💩 [19:21] Betty Crocker Fudge Brownie Mix

💩 [19:39] Pillsbury Pie Crust

💩 [19:51] Raspberry Jell-O

💩 [20:33] Doritos Light

💩 [20:49] Arby's Sourdough Breakfast Bread, Croissant, and French Toast Sticks

💩 [20:59] Fast food and memories

💩 [23:28] Genetically engineered papaya

💩 [25:32] High fructose corn syrup

💩 [25:54] Farm-raised salmon

💩 [28:24] Chicken that's been chlorinated

💩 [29:43] Meat with ractopamine

💩 [30:29] Bread tainted with potassium bromate

💩 [31:01] Dairy with rBST or rBGH hormones

💩 [33:14] Sanitation in cruise lines

Disclaimer: Episode title and content do not constitute legal or health advice.

Resources from this episode

If you want a visual of the really cool mugs that Matt and Francine are using, you can check out this post that Francine made to thank Steve for hers.

We hope you enjoy this episode!

Remember to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast on your favorite podcast platform. Together, we can raise awareness and make a positive impact in the world of food safety!

We'd love to hear from you!

Connect with Francine, Matt, and the "Don't Eat Poop!" show on LinkedIn!

Share your thoughts and feedback on the show and feel free to offer any topics you would like to hear discussed.

Check out Francine's book Who Watches the Kitchen? on Amazon!

_______

Produced by Ideablossoms

In this episode of Don’t Eat Poop!, our hosts Matt and Francine welcome back an esteemed guest onto the podcast, the food safety expert and advocate Dr. Darin Detwiler.

He’s here to spread the word about the Global Glove Safety Day initiative, taking place on September 18th, during Food Safety Education Month. This day serves as a compelling reminder that food safety is truly #InOurHands, both in a literal and figurative sense.

Of course, they also tackled some big food safety issues that need to be discussed like the need for audits and inspections to have real consequences, how policy is not keeping up with changes in the industry, the slap in the wrist nature of corporate responsibility enforcement, and more.

In this episode:

💩 [01:22] Meet Dr. Darin and learn about his work

💩 [05:34] Food safety in the US vs. in the rest of the world

💩 [08:54] Pros and cons of federalism for food safety

💩 [11:31] Boar’s Head and the need to revamp audits and inspection processes

💩 [21:00] Policy, innovation, and the speed of change in the food industry

💩 [27:11] Corporate responsibility and culture around food safety

💩 [32:38] Startling findings about gloves and why they are problematic

💩 [42:15] Examples of glove misuse

💩 [48:14] Global Glove Safety Day and Dr. Darin’s son’s tragic story

💩 [54:24] The defeat of discovering your gloves aren’t safe

💩 [57:04] A food safety insight from the Netherlands

Disclaimer: Episode title and content do not constitute legal or health advice.

Resources from this episode

Learn more about Global Glove Safety Day here.

Catch up with Dr. Darin Detwiler's previous episodes on the Don't Eat POOP! A Food Safety Podcast:

• Episode 13 | Don't Eat Poison! Dr. Darin Detwiler’s Story of Heartbreak, Food Safety Awareness, And Advocacy
• Episode 43 | Unveiling Silent Stories of Food Safety with “Food Safety Icon” Dr. Darin Detwiler

Watch the documentary “Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food” on Netflix.

Noteworthy quotes from this episode

“I'm so enthusiastic about this idea of Global Glove Safety Day, the idea of if food safety is in our hands, then maybe we should get it right when it comes to gloves.” – Dr. Darin Detwiler

We hope you enjoy this episode!

Remember to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast on your favorite podcast platform. Together, we can raise awareness and make a positive impact in the world of food safety!

We'd love to hear from you!

Connect with Dr. Darin, Francine, Matt, and the "Don't Eat Poop!" show on LinkedIn!

Share your thoughts and feedback on the show and feel free to offer any topics you would like to hear discussed.

Check out Francine's book Who Watches the Kitchen? on Amazon!

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Produced by Ideablossoms

In this episode of Don’t Eat Poop!, our hosts Matt and Francine are turning their attention to the Olympics where some of the athletes were unfortunately drinking poop while competing in the river Seine.

You’ll hear all about the controversial situation, including the “cleaning” of the Seine River and the Olympic athletes that fell ill after swimming in the polluted river waters.

They also take a detour to talk about potable and non-potable water and take a long hard look at the failings of the certification process in the industry.

In this episode:

💩 [01:27] Olympians’ dedication and lifestyle

💩 [04:27] The controversial and questionably effective Seine River cleanup

💩 [08:44] 8 Olympian triathletes got sick and the lack of real answers

💩 [13:55] The problematic non-potable water survey question

💩 [19:38] Issues with qualifications and certifications in the food safety industry

💩 [24:51] Balancing calling out what’s bad and elevating what’s good

Disclaimer: Episode title and content do not constitute legal or health advice.

Noteworthy quotes from this episode

“I think there are a lot of people in the industry that say the sky is falling so frequently, people just tune them out. If all you do is bash the industry for being terrible, for food safety and quality, the industry is not going to listen to you.” – Matthew Regusci

“These people, a lot of them, not all, a lot of them have some sort of certification saying that they're qualified to do what they do. At the very minimum, they should know what potable water is. We need to change our certification process or how we qualify people for these positions because clearly there's a problem.” – Francine L Shaw

We hope you enjoy this episode!

Remember to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast on your favorite podcast platform. Together, we can raise awareness and make a positive impact in the world of food safety!

We'd love to hear from you!

Connect with Francine, Matt, and the "Don't Eat Poop!" show on LinkedIn!

Share your thoughts and feedback on the show and feel free to offer any topics you would like to hear discussed.

Check out Francine's book Who Watches the Kitchen? on Amazon!

_______

Produced by Ideablossoms

In this bonus episode of Don’t Eat Poop!, Francine and Matt are joined by a very special guest, Bill Marler, a leading expert in food safety. Together, they dive into the Boar’s Head Listeria outbreak, shedding light on how things went so wrong and why it’s crucial for food companies to take responsibility when outbreaks like this occur.

You’ll hear about Boar’s Head’s food safety failures, the rise in Listeria cases across the U.S., and why transparency and accountability are the only way forward for companies involved in outbreaks.

Bill shares powerful insights from his decades of experience in food safety law, including how government agencies and corporations can prevent future tragedies.

In this episode:

💩 [01:25] Bill Marler shares his background and work in food safety law
💩 [05:20] Breaking down the Boar’s Head Listeria outbreak: What happened? Why is it deadly?
💩 [12:34] Francine’s take as a former inspector: How did this plant stay open?
💩 [18:44] Matt discusses the disconnect between corporate HQ and the facility level
💩 [27:00] The role of transparency in food safety and crisis management
💩 [39:15] Legal implications: What companies need to know in the wake of an outbreak
💩 [50:18] What consumers can do to prioritize food safety in government policy

Disclaimer: Episode title and content do not constitute legal or health advice.

Resources from this episode

Food Safety News: What you need to know about the Boar’s Head Listeria Outbreak

Food Safety News: House and Senate should act now on Boar’s Head plant

Noteworthy quotes from this episode

“What does a company do if something like this happens? First, understand the science. If they tell you it’s your product, it’s your fault. Own it and take action.” – Bill Marler

“This isn’t just about Boar’s Head. It’s about transparency and how companies handle their mistakes. The whole industry is watching.” – Francine L. Shaw

“I’m never surprised anymore about what happens in the food industry. But it’s shocking to see these kinds of inspection reports get ignored.” – Matthew Regusci

We hope you enjoy this episode!

Remember to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast on your favorite podcast platform. Together, we can raise awareness and make a positive impact in the world of food safety!

We'd love to hear from you!

Connect with Bill Marler, Francine, Matt, and the "Don't Eat Poop!" show on LinkedIn!

Share your thoughts and feedback on the show and feel free to offer any topics you would like to hear discussed.

Check out Francine's book Who Watches the Kitchen? on Amazon!

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Produced by Ideablossoms

In this episode of Don’t Eat Poop!, our hosts Matt and Francine are joined by Carly Bader, Manager of Science at Willow Industries, a cannabis decontamination technology company.

Just like foods and beverages, cannabis can also be contaminated with microbial diseases such as salmonella and E. coli. In this episode, you’ll learn more about that as well as some ways used to make cannabis safe for all consumers.

Also, tune in to hear about Carly’s exciting first experience at the Food Safety Consortium.

In this episode:

💩 [00:49] Meet Carly and Willow Industries

💩 [01:36] Cannabis contamination explained

💩 [02:50] Using food safety expertise in the cannabis industry

💩 [03:41] Ozone vs. irradiation in cannabis decontamination

💩 [05:13] The food safety side of the cannabis industry

💩 [06:17] Carly’s experience with the Food Safety Consortium

💩 [09:27] Trust in the cannabis industry

Disclaimer: Episode title and content do not constitute legal or health advice.

Resources from this episode
Register for the Food Safety Consortium 2024 here.

Willow Industries website willowindustries.com.

Noteworthy quotes from this episode

“We're not the redheaded stepchild, we are just scientists, just like anyone else. And I often have said, you know, if it was Tortillas or bread or meat on my side of the industry… It's just the same. If it's a leafy green or a green bud of weed, I feel like we all have here a collective trust in consumer safety and a trust in science.” – Carly Bader

We hope you enjoy this episode!
Remember to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast on your favorite podcast platform. Together, we can raise awareness and make a positive impact in the world of food safety!

We'd love to hear from you!

Connect with Carly, Francine, Matt, and the "Don't Eat Poop!" show on LinkedIn!

Share your thoughts and feedback on the show and feel free to offer any topics you would like to hear discussed.

Check out Francine's book Who Watches the Kitchen? on Amazon!

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Produced by Ideablossoms