HIGHLIGHTS

Food Safety Matters is the podcast for food safety professionals, hosted by Food Safety Magazine—the leading media brand in food safety for over 20 years. Each episode features a conversation with a food safety professional sharing their experiences and insights on the important job of safeguarding the world’s food supply. New episodes are posted twice per month; a selection of our recent episodes are highlighted below.

Episode 158:

Blake Harris, CSCP, Technical Director, IFT's Global Food Traceability Center (GFTC) and Alison Grantham, Ph.D., Founder, Grow Well Consulting and GFTC Member

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released the Final Food Traceability Rule (FSMA Rule 204) in November 2022, with a compliance date of January 20, 2026. In this episode, Blake and Alison explore what traceability experts have seen over the past year regarding industry preparation to comply with FSMA 204 in 2026, and what advances are happening in traceability initiatives and technology.

Episode 157:

Kathy Knutson, Ph.D., PCQI, Founder, Kathy Knutson Food Safety Consulting LLC, author of Food Safety Lessons for Cannabis-Infused Edibles, and Chair of the Education Committee for the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA)

In this interview, Kathy discusses her work in the cannabis industry, including helping write the first GMP international standard for the cannabis industry with the ASTM International D37 Cannabis committee, which is due out for vote in 2024, as well as her lobbying work on Capitol Hill with the NCIA. We also discuss her 2020 book, Food Safety Lessons for Cannabis-Infused Edibles, as well as the importance of training for food safety in the cannabis sector.

Bonus Episode:

Yinqing Ma, Ph.D., Director, Compliance Policy Staff, FDA and Carol D’lima, Ph.D., Food Technologist, Office of Nutrition and Food Labeling, FDA 

In a special bonus episode to accompany Food Safety Magazine's October 19 webinar, "Beat the Recall: Effective Allergen Control in Food Manufacturing" (available on demand), we speak with two FDA experts about the agency's enforcement of allergen requirements for foods, allergen recall trends and preventable labeling errors, and the implications of the FASTER Act officially making sesame a major food allergen.

Episode 156:

Lise Korsten, Ph.D., Co-Director of the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security, University of Pretoria, South Africa

In this episode, Dr. Lise Korsten discusses her work to prevent microbial contamination of crops in Africa, global regulatory trends and future challenges affecting the food system, and the potential of emerging technologies to ensure food safety and security in an ever-changing world. She also elaborates on the work of the Global Food Safety Initiative's (GFSI's) Science Technology Advisory Group, of which she is a member.

Episode 155:

Barbara Masters, D.V.M.,Vice President of Regulatory Policy, Food, and Agriculture at Tyson Foods

Dr. Barbara Masters talks about food safety policy and leadership in the meat and poultry industry, informed by her 34 years of experience in the sector across veterinary, regulatory, advisory, and corporate roles. She speaks about her experience working as Administrator of the U.S Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) for 17 years, where she helped develop and implement HACCP and SSOP rules, regulations, and guidelines, as well as her current role at Tyson Foods and her work on the Steering Committee for GFSI.