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.

Over 20,000 people sick, five different versions of the same denial, and a produce giant that helped write the very traceability rules it's now dodging. In this episode of Don’t Eat Poop! Matt and Francine dig into the Cyclospora outbreak tied to Taylor Farms lettuce and the Taco Bell connection everyone's talking about.

They break down how Bill Marler builds a case against a company, why epidemiology (not a lab test) is what actually proves where an outbreak came from, and why Taco Bell's fast, transparent response is saving its reputation while Taylor Farms' spin is making things worse.

In this episode:

💩 00:00:00 Lettuce Ordering Mishaps
💩 00:05:05 Bill Marler's IAFP Article and Cyclospora Update
💩 00:10:32 How Epidemiology Proves an Outbreak's Source
💩 00:13:31 Taco Bell vs. Taylor Farms' Response on Cyclospora
💩 00:17:12 The Jensen Farms Cantaloupe Case
💩 00:21:02 Lettuce Sales Drop 20%
💩 00:22:35 Taylor Farms' Shifting Statements
💩 00:26:38 Taylor Farms Helped Write the Traceability Rules It's Now Sidestepping
💩 00:30:52 Why Taylor Farms Will Be Remembered in This Outbreak

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

Resources from this episode
Use the code POOP for a 25% discount for the Food Safety Consortium Conference: https://www.eventleaf.com/e/FoodSafetyConsortium 

Take a look at the Bill Marler articles mentioned in this episode:
At IAFP I Was Told It Was American Sewage, Not Mexican Lettuce. That Gets the Parasite Half Right and the Continent Entirely Wrong. 
Here Is Everything Taco Bell Has Said About Cyclospora. The Company Was Already Pulling Lettuce When It Told Reporters Nothing Had Been Confirmed. 
Taylor Farms Has Now Written Five Different Versions of the Same Statement. The Newest One Says It Ran Two Thousand Samples and Found Nothing. Ohio Just Added 1,437 Cyclospora Cases in a Week and the Fifty-State Count Crossed Twenty Thousand.

Noteworthy quotes from this episode
“If you needed a positive test for a product to confirm that product really was sold and consumed and got that person sick, consumers would rarely get compensated for anything. And you don't. In food safety law, epidemiology works.” – Matt Regusci

“I'm astounded at the arguments that people are coming up with about why it's not and why it can't be Taylor Farms when there's so much evidence pointing to the fact that it is.” – 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 culture has been the industry's favorite buzzword for years, but what does it actually look like once you're standing on the production floor? 

Food safety writer and consultant Azure Edwards joins Francine and Matt to talk about the real gap between the policies companies write down and the decisions people make when the pressure is on to get product out the door. This episode covers training, data feedback loops, and where AI genuinely helps versus where it falls short. 

Spoiler alert: the industry's problem was never a lack of data. It's turning that data into something the floor and the C-suite can actually act on.

In this episode:

💩 00:00:00 Introducing Food Safety Consultant Azure Edwards
💩 00:05:07 The Gap Between Training Requirements and Production Floor
💩 00:06:31 Food Safety as a Business Structure
💩 00:09:07 Building Actionable Modules for Food Safety Culture
💩 00:10:44 Food Safety Data Feedback Loops
💩 00:15:29 Why Floor-Level Reality Gets Diluted Before It Reaches Leadership
💩 00:21:16 Getting Food Safety Into Decisions Earlier
💩 00:28:15 Azure’s Career Across Produce, Beef, Seafood, and Lab Testing
💩 00:35:18 Where AI Actually Helps in Food Safety

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

Resources from this episode
Connect with Azure Edwards on LinkedIn and on her website (Pacific Blue Horizon Group). 

Azure’s Food Safety Tech Articles: https://foodsafetytech.com/?s=Azure+Edwards 

Azure’s Food Safety News Articles: 
The food industry’s training problem is the system it keeps paying for
Food safety and the Campbell Soup Company

Episode discussing Azure’s article: The Failures of the Food Industry's Pizza and Stick Approach to Food Safety | Episode 154

Noteworthy quotes from this episode
“ When people are in a situation where they have to make a decision, it's gonna be the one that's gonna give them the result that they need, and oftentimes that's just getting it out the door and keeping their job.” – Azure Edwards

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.

The FDA's top produce safety post sat empty for over a year, and when it comes to leafy greens, berries, and bagged salads, that's not a small gap. Now Dr. Donna Garren has the job, arriving with a three-decade resume that reads like a tour of nearly every food trade association in the country. 

In this episode of Don’t Eat Poop!, Matt and Francine ask the question nobody else seems to be asking: does the person in the seat actually change outcomes?

This episode is a deep dive into Garren's career, what the Office of Produce Safety actually does, and whether decades of political skill can move an agency stuck in reactionary mode.

Spoiler alert: She's not bringing a magic wand. She's bringing decades of relationship capital, and that might be exactly what this role needs.

In this episode:

00:00:00 Meet Dr. Donna Garren, FDA's New Director of Produce Safety
00:04:25 Garren's Food Science Roots
00:07:24 Two Decades of Lobbying
00:17:55 What the Office of Produce Safety Actually Does
00:22:57 Garren vs. Her Predecessor: Political Skill vs. Scientific Pedigree
00:28:33 Stakeholder Engagement and Training ( Industry Outreach and Consensus-Building) 
00:34:47 Translating Science for Farmers

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

Noteworthy quotes from this episode
“I think the FDA has been in reactionary mode as opposed to preventative mode.” – Matt Regusci

“You can't keep doing what we've been doing. You've gotta do something different.” – 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.

Fountain soda ice that turns pink overnight. Gas station sushi. A charcuterie board that's been sitting out since noon. 

In this episode of Don’t Eat Poop!, our hosts Matt and Francine play a rapid-fire game of "Would You Eat It?" testing real-world food safety risks like bacteria growth, mold contamination, and foodborne illness exposure against their own personal judgment calls.

From the five-second rule to bulging cans of chicken broth (a classic botulism red flag), the hosts debate food expiration dates, cross-contamination, safe food handling, and where their personal risk tolerance lines actually sit. 

Spoiler alert: even two food safety experts have their guilty-pleasure blind spots when it comes to food poisoning prevention (raw cookie dough, anyone?).

In this episode:

00:00:00 Would You Eat It? The Five Second Rule
00:04:06 Gas Station Sushi, Rare Burgers and Childhood Habits
00:06:54 Bacteria Contamination in Self-service Ice Machines and Soda Fountains
00:09:21 How Long Is Too Long in the Temperature Danger Zone?
00:10:59 Sell-by Dates, Expiration Dates and Real Life
00:12:54 Cross Contaminaiton Prevention and Salmonella Risk
00:17:03 Moldy Bread and Wild Mushroom Foraging Risks
00:17:56 Sharing Food and Drinks: Saliva Transfer Risk
00:20:09 Bulging Canned Goods and Botulism

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

Noteworthy quotes from this episode
“Anything that's been in the car overnight, no. Disgusting. Yuck. There's no redeeming value.” – Matt Regusci

“They can kill you quickly. You grab the wrong mushroom, you'd be dead very quickly.” – 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.

Nearly 7,000 people are sick, the CDC's own case count can't keep up with what individual states are finding on their own, and six months ago the agency quietly stopped requiring labs to track Cyclospora at all. 

In this episode of Don’t Eat Poop!, our hosts Matt and Francine break down how an outbreak this size is unfolding in near-total darkness. This episode covers what Cyclospora actually does to the body, where the current outbreak started, and the funding cuts that gutted the surveillance system meant to catch it. 

When you stop counting the sick, the numbers go down, but the problem doesn't.

In this episode:

00:00:00 The Educated Food Safety Guess That Turned Out to Be True
00:04:46 A Food Safety Project Three Years in the Making
00:08:04 Tracking the Cyclospora Outbreak
00:12:27 What Is Cyclospora? Symptoms, Transmission, and Sources
00:17:53 1,645 Confirmed Cyclospora Cases and Nearly 7,000 Suspected
00:19:03 Suspected Sources and the Taco Bell Connection
00:23:49 CDC Funding Cuts and the FoodNet Tracking Rollback
00:28:28 How a Systemic Contamination Event Actually Happens
00:35:29 The Supplier is Confirmed — It's Taylor Farms
00:47:02 Taco Bell's Statement and IFPA's Pushback on the Produce Link

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

Resources from this episode
Have a look at the articles mentioned in this episode:
Two Friends Warn About Cyclospora. In the Morning I’ll Carry the Same Message to Puerto Vallarta: We Stopped Counting the Sick and Holding those to Account
Cyclospora by State: Three Different Counts — the CDC’s, the State’s, and the Media’s
CDC, FDA link Taco Bell lettuce supplier to multistate cyclosporiasis outbreak
The Cyclospora Outbreak Now Has Two Names on It — Taylor Farms and Taco Bell. Both Have Been Here Before and So Have I
Parasitic Outbreak Linked to Taylor Farms Lettuce Supplied to Taco Bell

Noteworthy quotes from this episode
“When you have 7,000 potential cases, it is a systemic problem.” – Matt Regusci

“Of course the numbers are gonna decline. They're not counting 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
_______