Don't Eat Poop! A Food Safety Podcast

🍽️ Francine and Matt are building a global, fun, and inclusive Food Safety Family! From the C-suite to the kitchen, they’re making safe food the norm everywhere.
👉 Follow Francine and Matt on LinkedIn for more food safety insights and updates.

If your fridge could talk, would it confess to crimes against food safety? 

In this hilariously relatable episode of Don’t Eat Poop!, our hosts Matt and Francine tackle a topic every food safety professional knows, but many still neglect at home: cleaning out the refrigerator. From expired blue cheese dressing with a personality of its own to mystery leftovers that defy identification, this episode dives into food safety compliance at home, proper storage habits, and the real risks of ignoring expiration dates.

Spoiler: your condiments are probably guilty.

In this episode:

00:00:00 Deep Cleaning Your Refrigerator
00:04:59 The Hidden Danger of Condiments
00:14:43 Safe Thawing Practices
00:23:46 FIFO: First In, First Out
00:27:26 Fridge Sanitation Schedules

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

Noteworthy quotes from this episode
“ When you're cleaning out leftovers, and your question isn't, 'What is this?’ but ‘What was this?’ that’s not good.” – Matt Regusci

“ Folks, it's time to clean out your refrigerator and get rid of those condiments from last summer. Get rid of them!” – 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!

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

We'd love to hear from you!

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

📕 Check out Francine's book Who Watches the Kitchen?

🎙️ BE A GUEST ON DON’T EAT POOP!

Fill out this form to tell us more about yourself. We’ll reach out via email within 30 days with next steps if you’re selected.
_______
Produced by Ideablossoms

🍽️ Francine and Matt are building a global, fun, and inclusive Food Safety Family! From the C-suite to the kitchen, they’re making safe food the norm everywhere.
👉 Follow Francine and Matt on LinkedIn for more food safety insights and updates.

Food safety regulations can sometimes feel like a bureaucratic maze, but behind the scenes, regulators, inspectors, and food businesses are all trying to accomplish the same thing: keeping people from getting sick.

In this episode of Don’t Eat Poop!, our hosts Matt and Francine sit down with Steven Mandernach from AFDO (the Association of Food and Drug Officials) to unpack the complex world of food safety inspections, regulatory collaboration, and the future of food safety compliance.

From government shutdowns affecting inspectors to the evolving relationship between state regulators, the FDA, and food businesses, the conversation dives deep into how the system really works and where it could work better.

In this episode:
00:00:00 The AFDO, FDA, and USDA
00:06:27 Food Code Interpretation Gaps
00:11:12 Food Facility Inspection Realities
00:22:07 Industry and Regulator Partnerships
00:34:32 Food Safety Workforce Challenges
00:47:02 Compensation And Staffing
00:51:38 The Role of Lawyers in Food Safety

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

Resources from this episode
Connect with Steven here.
Listen to our last conversation with Steven:
Rethinking How Things Are Done to Solve Food Safety Problems with Steven Mandernach from AFDO | Episode 90

Noteworthy quotes from this episode
“I'm not sure it's a science major. I think we could find someone with critical thinking skills, good time management, and who communicates well, and I could turn them into a good food safety inspector.” – Steven Mandernach

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!

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

We'd love to hear from you!

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

📕 Check out Francine's book Who Watches the Kitchen?

🎙️ BE A GUEST ON DON’T EAT POOP!

Fill out this form to tell us more about yourself. We’ll reach out via email within 30 days with next steps if you’re selected.
_______
Produced by Ideablossoms

🍽️ Francine and Matt are building a global, fun, and inclusive Food Safety Family! From the C-suite to the kitchen, they’re making safe food the norm everywhere.
👉 Follow Francine and Matt on LinkedIn for more food safety insights and updates.

In this episode of Don’t Eat Poop!, our hosts Matt and Francine sit down with leadership powerhouse Tia Glave, co-founder of Catalyst Food Leaders, to discuss the one thing most food safety professionals overlook: culture and behavior change.
If your HACCP plan is flawless but your team still rolls their eyes at food safety training, this episode is for you.
Because here’s the hard truth: food safety compliance isn’t a paperwork problem. It’s a people problem.
Recorded at the Food Safety Consortium, Tia explains why technical brilliance won’t move your organization forward unless you can explain the why in a way that actually resonates, from preventing foreign material contamination to navigating food safety audits for foodservice.

In this episode:
00:00:00 Why Culture Drives Food Safety
00:05:17 Behavior Change Takes Time
00:11:46 Connecting To Personal Values
00:19:01 Budgets, Strategy, And Buy-In
00:27:57 Traceability And Change Management

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

Resources from this episode
Connect with Tia here. 
Past episodes with Tia:
Food Safety Talk with Tia Glave and Jill Stuber from Catalyst | Episode 36
Food Safety Voices: Communicating Effectively in Challenging Times (LinkedIn Live) | Episode 106

Noteworthy quotes from this episode
“I don't need to be the voice of food safety culture as a food safety professional. Everyone knows I care about it. I need that maintenance tech to be talking about it. I need the finance team to be talking about it in a meeting. I need someone else who I didn't even know heard me to be talking about it in their circles. That's what we need. We need that commitment, and you get it through connecting to their values.” – Tia Glave

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!

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

We'd love to hear from you!

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

📕 Check out Francine's book Who Watches the Kitchen?

🎙️ BE A GUEST ON DON’T EAT POOP!

Fill out this form to tell us more about yourself. We’ll reach out via email within 30 days with next steps if you’re selected.
_______
Produced by Ideablossoms

🍽️ Francine and Matt are building a global, fun, and inclusive Food Safety Family! From the C-suite to the kitchen, they’re making safe food the norm everywhere.
👉 Follow Francine and Matt on LinkedIn for more food safety insights and updates.

In this episode of Don’t Eat Poop!, our hosts Matt and Francine are discussing Francine's favorite virus: Norovirus. 
It's no surprise this foodborne illness made an appearance at the 2026 Winter Olympics, and it's also no surprise that our hosts had a thing or two to say about this super spreader event.
Tune in for some laughs, a shortage of condoms, all you need to know about the super bug that is Norovirus, and more.

In this episode:
0:00:00 Matt's life fostering medically fragile kids
0:07:05 Olympics + free condoms = more Norovirus?
0:14:53 The Poop Cruise: the cruiseship from hell
0:18:26 The science behind the spread of Norovirus 
0:26:37 Francine's Norovirus outbreak care packages

Disclaimer: Episode title and content do not constitute legal or health advice.
Resources from this episode
Watch Trainwreck: Poop Cruise.

Catch up with Episode 152, where we talk about the economics of foodborne illnesses.

Read The Conversation article Matt and Francine refer to in this episode.

Noteworthy quotes from this episode
“ Norovirus is like a super bug, man. It has good survival skills. I gotta hand it to Norovirus. It is a maximum survivalist. So, making sure to thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water is essential.” – Matt Regusci

“ 2,800 athletes were there the first week. Now, they've been handing out these free condoms since 1988, and I wonder if there's a correlation between the close contact and the Norovirus.” – 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!

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

We'd love to hear from you!

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

📕 Check out Francine's book Who Watches the Kitchen?

🎙️ BE A GUEST ON DON’T EAT POOP!

Fill out this form to tell us more about yourself. We’ll reach out via email within 30 days with next steps if you’re selected.
_______
Produced by Ideablossoms

🍽️ Francine and Matt are building a global, fun, and inclusive Food Safety Family! From the C-suite to the kitchen, they’re making safe food the norm everywhere.
👉 Follow Francine and Matt on LinkedIn for more food safety insights and updates.

In this episode of Don’t Eat Poop!, our hosts Matt and Francine are celebrating the podcast's 3 Year Anniversary with a blast from the past: the salmon in the dishwasher, the podcast's first inside joke.

If you've been listening for a while, you probably know that cooking your salmon in the dishwasher is a BAD idea. Now, tune in to discover all the other things that people put in their dishwashers and what experts have to say about it.

Thank you for listening, and here’s to another year of the Don’t Eat Poop! Podcast.

In this episode:
0:00:00 A party trick for your Super Bowl watch party
0:07:18 Why cooking in a dishwasher is a BAD idea
0:15:36 Part 1: Strangest things put in dishwashers
0:19:07 Questionable ways to thaw poultry and more
0:23:56 Part 2: Strangest things put in dishwashers
Disclaimer: Episode title and content do not constitute legal or health advice.

Resources from this episode
Catch up with our "fun" episode from a couple of weeks ago, Episode 153.

Watch the Netflix series about the Australian lady who killed in-laws with Beef Wellington.

Learn more about Norovirus at the start of the 2026 Winter Olympics on this LinkedIn post by Francine.

Find the full Consumer Reports Matt and Francine are referring to here.

Check out Francine’s book Who Watches the Kitchen? for more crazy stories people shared during training.

 Noteworthy quotes from this episode
“ Appliances are designed to perform specific tasks quickly and efficiently, so take advice from the people who make the dishwashers and leave [the food] to the cooking ranges and ovens. Amen.” – Matt Regusci

“ When I was training, I had people tell me that they thawed their poultry in the dryer. Can you imagine a turkey tumbling in your clothing dryer?” – 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!

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

We'd love to hear from you!

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

📕 Check out Francine's book Who Watches the Kitchen?

🎙️ BE A GUEST ON DON’T EAT POOP!

Fill out this form to tell us more about yourself. We’ll reach out via email within 30 days with next steps if you’re selected.
_______
Produced by Ideablossoms