— OPINION —
Boar’s Head’s deadly Listeria outbreak serves as a stark reminder that the food safety issues Upton Sinclair exposed over a century ago in “The Jungle” still persist. The impact of Sinclair’s work, which revealed the hidden dangers of food production, resonates today as modern food safety lapses
Continue Reading Lessons lost
— OPINION —
In the landscape of food safety, the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) represents a monumental shift towards preventing contamination rather than merely responding to it. A new element of FSMA is the Food Traceability Final Rule (FSMA 204), which is designed to enhance the ability to
Continue Reading Undermining food safety: The threat of legislative rollbacks on FSMA 204
The recent Supreme Court decision to eliminate Chevron deference marks a pivotal shift in how federal agencies interpret and enforce laws. Established in Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. (1984), Chevron deference allowed courts to defer to Executive Branch agencies’ interpretations of ambiguous statutes. This principle provided
Continue Reading Safeguarding food safety post-Supreme Court’s decision on Chevron Deference
Co-author Tyler Williams, Director of Scientific Services, PathoSans
— OPINION —
Each of the authors of this article serves a specific role for our respective organizations. But we are united by a belief in the importance of food safety as a critical public and personal health issue that impacts everyone.
Continue Reading Think about food safety not just as a job, but as a mission for everyone
— OPINION —
In the aftermath of the groundbreaking plea agreement with Family Dollar Stores LLC, entailing a fine and forfeiture totaling $41.675 million for storing food, drugs, medical devices, and cosmetics in unsanitary conditions, we are starkly reminded of the imperative for stringent regulatory enforcement within the domain of
Continue Reading The cost of doing nothing just went way up
— OPINION —
Today, September 18, would be my son, Riley Detwiler’s 32nd birthday.
Earlier this year, I had the privilege and heartache of being part of the recently released Netflix documentary, “Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food.” In addition to offering insights from my food safety career over the past 30 years
Continue Reading Poisoned: A memorial and a call for courage in food safety
On Wednesday, Jan. 20, I sat through a few meetings, delivered a presentation on food safety labeling, and was interviewed for a podcast on food safety. All of this work took place at my home as we are in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, I joined
Exactly 24 years ago today my 16-month-old son Riley died from E.coli/HUS during the 1993 “Jack in the Box” outbreak. He was the last of the four young children who paid the ultimate price for failures in food safety protocols at that time.
The landmark outbreak is often referred to
Continue Reading His chair at the table is still empty
The third-annual Food Safety and Analysis Congress, held earlier this week at Cripps Court Auditorium on the beautiful campus of the University of Cambridge in England, brought together leaders from industry and academia to discuss the latest on foodborne illness surveillance and food fraud. I traveled to the event
Continue Reading Change is what’s predictable about the future of food safety
Kenneth Kendrick, missing Monday from the federal courthouse in Albany, GA, did not hear the praise that came from a witness during a pivotal day in the world of food safety. Kendrick is a former assistant plant manager of the Plainview, Texas, peanut processing facility once owned by the now-defunct
Continue Reading Praise for an Unlikely ‘Whistleblower’
