Filtering by Tag: Recalls

Food Safety Talk 218: Chromebooks Are Moldy

Added on August 21, 2020 by Don Schaffner.

After a brief bit of Skype and software talk the guys move on to important topics like what you call the metal things that catch the rain from your roof, podcasting microphones and project management software. Don talks about his recent adventure with mushrooms (no, not that kind of mushrooms), before a deep dive into Salmonella in onions, and the risks of getting the epidemiology wrong. The guys also talk about the recent FDA findings regarding Cyclospora in Florida water, and what it might mean or not mean. The show ends with a whirlwind tour of listener feedback on chives vs. green onions, SARS-CoV-2 on food packaging, moldy bread, Ben's dislike of "an abundance of caution" and how we can do risk better risk communication during food recalls.

Food Safety Talk 150: Rambunctious Ramble in the Jungle

Added on April 15, 2018 by Don Schaffner.

The show opens with Ben recounting of his thoughts on Temple Grandin's talk in North Carolina, and the Humboldt Broncos tragedy. Don mentions his shout out on Do By Friday. Ben starts off by the nominal food safety talk regarding sock microwaving and the Cold Pressure Council seal. Don counters with the NJ Panera outbreak which seems to be part of FDA outgoing multistate outbreak of E. coli O157:H7. Next up are blockchain and Canadian food recalls. Listener feedback covers restaurant grading, killing lobsters, glitter, flour heating, milk spoilage, farmers market and recipe safety.

Food Safety Talk 122: Isn't that Ampersand?

Added on March 24, 2017 by Don Schaffner.

This episode opens with an interesting discovery about the messages app then quickly veers into popular culture, and almost as quickly back to food safety. Food safety talk on rice and Bacillus cereus is followed by a discussion of the Salmonella in truffle oil outbreak at Fig & Olive restaurants. The discussion then turns to recalls and when to go public. A recent Listeria recall linked to cheese made from pasteurized milk leads to talk about raw milk, followed by a brief segue into North Carolina life, and then on to a recent Lysol ad, and the five second rule. The show wraps up with a discussion of recipe safety, followed by what Ben thinks might be the best after dark ever.

Show notes so you can follow along at home:

Food Safety Talk 62: Uncomfortably Numb

Added on June 15, 2014 by Ben Chapman.

The show opens with Don talking about his visit to the dentist right before the podcast. The conversation turns to Don's dentist and his job satisfaction, and on to other important jobs, like airline pilots. Ben then talks about his talk in Nashville about behavior change and his first visit to the the Conference for Food Protection, which evolves into a discussion of handwashing and hot air hand dryers. The outbreak flashback segment is in the parking lot this week, but a listener question from the Bob and Melinda Gates foundation is not. Before the question is answered however, disco music, video games, author Alan Moore, the movie Mystery Men, the Keith Richards biography and YYZ must all be discussed. Eventually they get around to answering Bob's question regarding recalls and discuss the difference between recalls and market withdrawals From there the discussion moves to a Hershey's soy lethicin recall in Canada, FDA's reportable food registry, a Clostridium perfringens outbreak and a recent article from The Acheson Group blog. The show ends with a Pink Floyd reference, and in the After Dark, Don discusses the hazel app on his Mac.

Food Safety Talk 33: Fresh Produce Punk Rock Hippieness

Added on February 7, 2013 by Don Schaffner.

Don starts by battling Skype again while Ben gets organized. The guys shared their favorite Starbucks coffee orders, which Don takes to go in his Marco-approved ™ Contigo travel mug. While these mugs can be challenging to wash, the guys agreed that washing them (or other dishes) in the bathroom was never a good idea. Even John Gruber knows that storing dishes in the bathroom is a bad idea, as he pointed out in a recent episode of The Talk Show. Ben then went into a coffee-fuelled rant about Getting Things Done, his favorite Canadian TV series ‘The Newsroom’, The Lumineers, Bad Religion and The Wire’s Stringer Bell. Don countered with Fat Boy Slim, the Luther, Bramwell, Ripper Street, and Transmetropolitan.

After a shout-out to Renee Boyer’s Food Safety class at Virginia Tech they talked about listener Bridgette’s link to “Dear Abby - Changing baby on eatery table takes the cake” and her comment that perhaps that common sense isn’t that common at all.

Next on the agenda was a discussion of the recent CDC report on foodborne disease attribution and how fresh produce is associated with greatest amount of foodborne illness, while poultry is linked to the greatest number of deaths. Don explained how the MDP’s retail sampling results match up reasonably well with actual illness estimates, according to his crude risk assessment. Ben was looking for information on what people could do to reduce the risks, as Don recently shared on WebMD. Ben was also surprise by the amount of deaths associated with norovirus (shown in the Technical Appendix 1 of the CDC report), the majority of which are associated with nursing homes. As the guys dug deeper into the results they unearthed more questions than answers and they cautioned against blindly trusting data. As Don learned from reading Chumbawuba liner notes.

Ben and Don then discussed the recent Food Safety News article “Does The “No Illnesses” Language Belong in Recall Notices?” and whether the wording impacts on how consumers react.

The focus then turned to the FSIS “Let's Talk Chicken” podcast. The guys found the scripted nature very difficult to connect with. Instead they found CDC’s approach in “Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse” much more engaging. Don felt that passion was important in podcasting and cited the Obsession times Voice talk by Merlin Mann and John Gruber at SXSW. Don also noted that he listens to Neutral, and his new favorite podcast, for the voice, and not the content.

In the after dark the guys chatted about using American Apparel for making T-shirts, creating Food Safety Talk Decals, iPads, Ben’s hockey obsession and 2 Little Superheroes.

Food Safety Talk 33: Fresh Produce and Punk Rock Hippieness