Food Safety Talk 11: Somewhere on I-95

Episode 11 opens with a This is Spinal Tap reference, and a call back to an earlier episode. As usual, the guys seem to have technical difficulties, starting with Ben's need for a noise gate. It has taken a while to get this episode posted due to repeated issues relating to a Skype call with more than two people. Fortunately, Ben was able to fix it in post. Next time in might be easier to meet in person somewhere along I-95. Below are links to some of the stuff talked about on the podcast:

• Our guest Michelle Danyluk is from the University of Florida. Michelle has studied at the University of Alberta. That's in Canada.
• Michelle and Don also share a University of Georgia connection, where they both earned MS degrees.
• Michelle earned her Ph.D. in Linda Harris' lab and UC Davis.
• Ben once again shows his awesome knowledge of pop culture with WKRP in Cincinnati reference.
• For the record, Don has used some kinds of floppy disks, but not others.
• Ben's goto source for tee shirts.
• As a resident of North Carolina, Ben knows the true meaning of "Bless her heart".
• Michelle has volunteered as a judge for the Florida state science fair.
• Ben, Michelle and Don have all volunteered their time with this years First Lego League - FLL competition, which is food safety themed, with varying degrees of annoyance/success.
• Some of the more interesting FLL projects featured Glogerm and Predator Pee.
• Eventually the discussion turns to Food Safety, and Don mentions a post from Barfblog, where Doug asks the rhetorical question "Is government inspection better at ensuring safe produce?" which inspired Don to answer. Doug's post also inspired a longer and more thoughtful response from Mike Batz.
• For more on the Melon oubreak, see FDA's inspection results and their Draft Guidance, as well as the Barf Blog post concerning Roy Costa on the lack of a requirement for wash water chlorination.
• As might be expected with Don and Michelle on the call, the discussion soon turns to the Almond Board of California, who are more awesome than their Flash website implies. No discussion of almonds would be complete without a mention of the Almond Queen, LJH, the Federal Register rule which mentions our famous risk assessment, or the TERP
• The discussion turns to the relationship between large and small companies, the Vichyssoise and C. bot outbreak, and the Low Acid Canned Foods regulations and Better Process Control Schools it spawned, and well as the more modern Tester Amendment, which exempts small, local food processors and producers from the new Food Safety Modernization Act.
• Before the call ends, Don's plugs his Leafy Green Risk Webinar.
• We have yet to talk about Food safety audits, but when we do, these great USA Today competing editorials on the value of food safety audits, linked from Barfblog will be required reading.

Somewhere On I-95

Food Safety Talk 4: Ode To A Pittsburgh (Michael Batz, Guest)

Episode 4 of Food Safety Talk. In which Ben and Don can't mesh their schedules, so Don interviews Michael Batz, who turns out to be just as big a food safety nerd as Don or Ben. Like certain other podcasters, Batz insisted on using WiFi rather than a wired Ethernet connection as suggested by the experts. Although he promised to "sit real close" to his wireless base station, the quality of the call degrades toward the end. Don was prepared to drop in a few choice sound effects in case Mike dropped out completely, but in the end everything Mike had to say made it into the recording.

• University of Florida Emerging Pathogens Institute where Mike Batz works.
• Mike used to live in Baltimore, where The Wire was set and shot.
• Mike has degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Engineering and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University, which is in Pittsburg. Loudon Wainwright III has a song about Pittsburg. The movie The Wonderboys is also set in Pittsburg. The trailer is available on you tube. For the record it's only professors in the humanities that get to walk around in their bathrobes and smoke dope.
• Mike does a mean cover of I Wanna Be Sedated by the Ramones. Ask him to show you some time.
• The Ranking the Risks report that forms the basis of the interview.
• A direct link to the full report
• CSPI’s top 10 from 2009, upon which that Women’s Day article was based.
• The Journal of Food Protection where much of the high quality food safety research is published.
• “I hate writing, I love having written.” ― Dorothy Parker
• A different podcast about writing, sometimes.
• Bill Marler, who Don seems to mention every time he does a podcast.
• The all important Scallan papers, that updated the previous paper by Mead et al..
• The case-control study on Toxoplasma gondii mentioned in the interview and a full copy of the entire article
• USDA lowers pork cooking temperatures. There is at least one paper on heat inactivation of toxoplasma, which seems to suggest that the USDA's decision has a minimal effect on risk.
• The case-control study on Campylobacter and the full version
• “I know it when I see it”. I though Batz was a kindred spirt. This seals the deal. Plus the Ramones thing.
• Listeria in cantaloupe which briefly comes up at the end of the podcast.
• The podcaster approved headphones that all food safety talk guest are required to purchase.
• The song about Pittsburgh that Batz was going to bring up, but which he couldn’t remember the exact name of.

Food Safety Talk Episode 4