1673580302
Don't Eat Poop! A Food Safety Podcast

Advertise on podcast: Don't Eat Poop! A Food Safety Podcast

Rating
★★★★☆
4.2
from
23 reviews
This podcast has
194 episodes
Language
English
Date created
2023/02/21
Latest episode
2026/11/10
Average duration
39 min.
Release period
7 days

Description

Tune in every Tuesday for a brand new episode of Don't Eat Poop! A Food Safety Podcast. Join Francine L. Shaw, the savvy CEO of Savvy Food Safety, and Matthew Regusci, compliance connoisseur and founder of Fostering Compliance, as they serve up the latest in food safety with a side of laughter. Explore the ins and outs of food systems, responsible food practices, and food safety regulations. Stay informed about food safety awareness and the not-so-occasional food recall. Delve deep into the complexities of the food supply chain with our dynamic duo, who blend expert insights with a pinch of food safety humor. Whether you're knee-deep in the food safety industry or just passionate about what's on your plate, this podcast promises a fresh take on staying safe while eating well. Expect candid conversations, personal anecdotes, and occasional guest appearances that spice up the discussion. Shaw and Regusci bring their combined decades of experience to the table, making each episode as informative as it is entertaining. From industry trends to must-know food safety news and regulations, they've got your back (and your lunch). In essence, Don't Eat Poop! A Food Safety Podcast is not just about imparting information; it's about fostering a culture of food safety. By shedding light on the intricacies of the food supply chain and the latest food safety news, it aims to promote awareness and encourage responsible food practices among consumers and industry professionals alike. When it comes to food safety, knowledge is power, and a good laugh is the best seasoning. At the heart of every episode is one golden rule: Don't Eat Poop!

Unlock Don't Eat Poop! A Food Safety Podcast podcast Email contact info,
Listeners & Audience details

Email contact information

Direct podcast contact details

Listeners

Audience numbers & engagement insights

Audience details

Podcast Insights

Podcast episodes

Check latest episodes from Don't Eat Poop! A Food Safety Podcast podcast


Farm to Front Door: Safe Home Meat Delivery | Ep 192
2026/11/10
🍽️ 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. Farm to Front Door: How Walden Local Meat Is Rewriting the Rules of Home Delivery | Episode 192 Home meat delivery has a cold chain problem, and the industry knows it. Francine L. Shaw has been one of its loudest skeptics. So what happens when she sits down with a food safety leader who has an answer for every question she throws at her? Recorded live at the Food Safety Consortium, Francine and Matt Regusci talk with Jessica McDonald, who runs quality and food safety at Walden Local Meat, about managing roughly 100 SKUs from regenerative farms, through processors, all the way to members’ doorsteps.  Spoiler alert: the safeguards that make home delivery work aren’t expensive or complicated. They just take the diligence most companies skip. In this episode:💩 Cold open: why home delivery is a known industry problem💩 Live from the Food Safety Consortium (and the interviews that lost their audio) 💩 Meet Jessica McDonald of Walden Local Meat💩 Cooler bags, liners and dry ice: how every order is packed 💩 Teaching members dry ice do’s and don’ts (no, you can’t breathe fire)  💩 The Walden Regenerative Way and animal integrity (no Botox for cows) 💩 Verifying farmers: site visits, grazing plans and feed receipts 💩 Temperature tracking cards and member feedback loops 💩 Owning the whole chain, from farm to fork 💩 Does regenerative pay? Farmer premiums and protein per acre  Disclaimer: Episode title and content do not constitute legal or health advice. Resources from this episode Walden Local Meat Food Safety Consortium Noteworthy quotes from this episode “We’re doing challenge studies to make sure we’re using the correct amount of dry ice for worst-case scenario.” — Jessica McDonald “There are companies that are so much bigger that just aren’t going to the effort to take these steps.” — 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, Jessica, 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 Don't Eat Poop!
Welcome to Area 51: Supplements, Claims, and the Product Safety Nobody Validates | Episode 191
2026/11/03
🍽️ 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. Welcome to Area 51: Supplements, Claims, and the Product Safety Nobody Validates | Episode 191 A company gets caught. A new LLC shows up in Suite 108, and Suite 107 quietly stays open as the “warehouse.” Welcome to Area 51 of product safety, the place that officially doesn’t exist. Recorded live at the Food Safety Consortium, this episode features Trevor Morones, president and chief quality officer of Control Point Holdings. He talks with Francine and Matt about supplement claims, unpermitted operations, process authorities, and why leadership has to show up at every level. Spoiler alert: if you can’t validate it and keep verifying it, you can’t claim it, no matter how good it looks on Instagram. In this episode: 💩 Cold open: Suite 107, Suite 108, and Area 51 💩 Meet Trevor Morones and Control Point Holdings 💩 Product safety starts with one question: “Who’s your team?” 💩 Supplement claims and the FDA’s attention 💩 Probiotics: the count at what point? 💩 New LLCs, unpermitted spaces, and coffee roasters who think they’re exempt 💩 Mom, Instagram, and mushroom supplements 💩 Drug interactions, heavy metals, and supply chain verification 💩 Becoming a process authority under 9 CFR 💩 Cosmetics, serums, snail secretions, and collagen 💩 Meeting Dr. Darren Detwiler and the Thought Leader Product Safety Innovation Summit 💩 The four A’s and how to join the Control Point community 💩 Seek and Destroy: a Listeria tabletop exercise with a cybersecurity twist 💩 Food and cannabis under one roof at the Food Safety Consortium 💩 What conferences need more of: leadership at every level  Disclaimer: Episode title and content do not constitute legal or health advice. Resources from this episode Control Point HoldingsNoteworthy quotes from this episode “It’s important that operations don’t try to market something they can’t actually validate. We have to validate and then continue to verify something.” – Trevor Morones “If we’re trying to provide supplements to people for health and well-being, let’s do it in a way that’s transparent and it can be traceable.” – Trevor Morones 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, Trevor, 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 Don't Eat Poop!
Food Cybersecurity Is Food Safety
2026/10/27
🍽️ 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. Securing What Feeds Us: Why Every Food Cyberattack Is a Food Safety Incident | Episode 190 When hackers took over refrigeration systems in grocery stores across France, the cybersecurity world focused on how they got in. Almost nobody asked the bigger question: what happened to the food? Kristin King says that blind spot is exactly what puts our food supply at risk. Recorded live at the Food Safety Consortium, Francine and Matt sit down with Kristin King, operational technology security expert, host of Bites and Bytes, and author of Securing What Feeds Us, to talk about where cybersecurity and food safety collide, and about what it is really like to be a woman in a male-dominated industry. Spoiler alert: In the food industry, a cyberattack is a food safety incident until someone proves it isn’t. In this episode: [01:39] Live from the Food Safety Consortium with Kristin King [03:37] Animal food safety, zoo commissaries, and “gorilla salad” [07:32] The JBS ransomware attack and food and agriculture as critical infrastructure [08:44] Founding her firm, launching Bites and Bytes, and writing Securing What Feeds Us [16:48] More than 400 publicly reported food sector incidents in seven years [17:50] The book’s atlas of global food and ag cyber incidents [25:25] If it doesn’t need to be on the internet, don’t put it there [27:25] Insurance, nation-state attackers, and “acts of war” [36:30] Allyship and finding your advocates [40:40] Where to find Kristin, her book, and her podcast [43:37] The book’s dedication to everyone who touches food Disclaimer: Episode title and content do not constitute legal or health advice. Resources from this episode Securing What Feeds Us by Kristin KingBites and Bytes podcastKristin’s firm, AnzenSage JBS ransomware attack coverage French grocery store refrigeration hack coverage Food Safety ConsortiumNoteworthy quotes from this episode “Anytime there is a cybersecurity incident within food, it is automatically a food safety incident until someone tells me otherwise. And it needs to be treated that way first.” — Kristin King “Things have to change, but it is not my responsibility to change it. My responsibility is to remind people to be good human beings and that when they see something they need to say something and that’s the truth about it.” — Kristin King 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, Kristin King, 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 Don't Eat Poop! A Food Safety Podcast
Infant Formula Botulism Outbreak: The Supplier Link l Episode 189
2026/10/20
🍽️ 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. Infant Formula Botulism: One Supplier, Two Brands | Episode 189 Two infant formula brands, made by different companies on different continents, sickened babies with botulism seven months apart. The thing they had in common wasn’t a factory. It was an ingredient, sourced from the same organic whole milk supplier and spray-dried at the same facility, and nobody in the chain was testing for botulism. Francine and Matt break down how the outbreak was traced upstream, why “we never tested for that” keeps showing up in outbreak investigations, and what it would take for companies to get ahead of risks they don’t even know exist yet. Spoiler alert: food safety keeps getting treated as an expense until an outbreak forces it to become an investment. In this episode: 💩 01:16 The CDC names the supplier behind the infant formula botulism outbreak 💩 06:56 The Marler Blog breakdown: one ingredient, two brands 💩 10:49 The sub-supplier problem: brands may not know where their ingredients originate 💩 17:09 Risk assessments by product and region 💩 22:44 Food safety budgets: investment or expense? 💩 33:31 Francine’s experience auditing for insurance companies 💩 41:40 From The Jungle to Jack in the Box 💩 44:54 Matt’s advice: get out of your silo  Disclaimer: Episode title and content do not constitute legal or health advice. Resources from this episode Marler Blog: Infant formula botulism outbreak supplier tracebackFood Safety News coverage of the infant formula botulism outbreakCDC outbreak notice: Infant botulism linked to infant formulaPrevious episode: The WanaBana lead-in-cinnamon recallPrevious episode: Cyclospora outbreakThe Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg The Jungle by Upton Sinclair Noteworthy quotes from this episode “They see it as an expense until they have some kind of major outbreak. And then suddenly it’s important for a while.” – Francine L. Shaw “If you’re bored in food safety, you’re really doing something wrong.” – Matt Regusci 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.
Food Safety Culture Across Borders with Food Safety Manager Santoshi Muriki | Episode 188
2026/10/13
🍽️ 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 India, Santoshi Muriki watched inspectors stay quiet and management toss her proposals in the trash. In the US, she found unannounced audits, stricter rules, and the same old problem: people cutting corners when nobody's watching. In this episode of Don't Eat Poop!, Matt and Francine sit down with food safety manager Santoshi to compare food safety culture in India and the US, from scheduled-only audits and quiet bribes to the risk-based supplier program she built to get ahead of recalls. Spoiler alert: Perfect paperwork doesn't prove a strong food safety culture. Sometimes it's the biggest red flag in the building. In this episode: 💩 00:00:00 Meet Santoshi: From Produce Processing in India to US Warehousing 💩 00:04:15 Food Safety Culture: What People Do When Nobody's Watching 💩 00:08:27 Food Safety in India vs. the US: Traceability, Enforcement & Audits 💩 00:12:19 Being a Woman in Food Safety Leadership in India 💩 00:16:32 Quality vs. Operations 💩 00:21:33 When Food Safety Records Look Too Good to Be True 💩 00:26:17 Building a Risk-Based Supplier Program to Prevent Recalls 💩 00:31:23 Advice From Frank Yiannas & Preparing for FSMA 204 💩 00:33:45 Women in Food Safety & Getting Junior Pros to Conferences Disclaimer: Episode title and content do not constitute legal or health advice. Resources from this episode Connect with Santoshi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lakshmi-santoshi-muriki-39974946/  Women in Food Safety: https://www.womeninfoods.org/  Food Safety Consortium: https://foodsafetyconsortium.org/  Santoshi's articles on Food Safety Tech: https://foodsafetytech.com/?s=santoshi  Check out episode 187 with the Food Safety Girl from Jamaica: https://savvyfs.com/machetes-hostages-jerk-pans-food-safety-inspections-in-jamaica-with-food-safety-girl-allison-richards-episode-187/  Noteworthy quotes from this episode “ Food safety culture is what people do when nobody is watching.” – Santoshi Muriki 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 _______
Machetes, Hostages & Jerk Pans: Food Safety Inspections in Jamaica with Food Safety Girl Allison Richards | Episode 187
2026/10/06
🍽️ 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. Ever had someone sharpen a machete while you work through your inspection checklist? Allison Richards has. With over 15 years of food safety inspections in Jamaica, she has also been told by owners to take her shoes off at the door and has been locked inside a store until they decided the inspection was over. In this episode of Don't Eat Poop!, Matt and Francine sit down with Allison, better known as The Food Safety Girl. They swap inspection war stories and dig into consumer education, food insecurity, cold chain, canning, street food, and the new Caribbean chapter of Women in Food Safety. Spoiler alert: Fear doesn't fix food safety. Education, relationships, and informed consumers do. In this episode: 💩 00:00:00 Meet The Food Safety Girl, Allison Richards 💩 00:04:37 Food Safety Has to Be Fun 💩 00:06:53 Allison's Crazy Food Safety Inspection Stories 💩 00:17:10 Cockroach Popsicles and the Kangaroo Oxtail Rumor  💩 00:19:50 Food Tourism and Consumers as Agents of Change  💩 00:23:45 Food Safety Compliance Through Relationships  💩 00:27:35 Food Insecurity Is More Than Food Production  💩 00:34:11 Canning, Frozen Plantains, and the Processed Food Debate 💩 00:36:48 Street Food in Jamaica 💩 00:40:07 The Caribbean Chapter of Women in Food Safety Disclaimer: Episode title and content do not constitute legal or health advice. Resources from this episode Connect with Allison Richards on:  InstagramLinkedInTikTokLearn more about Women in Food Safety: https://www.womeninfoods.org/  Check out our episode with Melody Ge on Women in Food Safety: Food Safety Insights From Both Sides of the Audit with Melody Ge, CTO at EAGLE Certification Group | Episode 142 Noteworthy quotes from this episode “Consumers are really the agents of change. They're the ones spending. They have the spending power.” – Allison Richards 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 _______
Food Safety Culture vs. Training vs. Leadership: Everybody Knows the Rules and Still Screws Up | Episode 186
2026/09/29
🍽️ 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. Everybody knows the food safety rules. So why do we keep screwing this up?  After a summer shaped by the Taylor Farms Cyclospora outbreak, Francine and Matt dig into whether the real problem is training, behavior, leadership, or culture. They use Taylor Farms, Taco Bell, and Chipotle to show where accountability really lands and how to win buy-in from the people who make the decisions. Spoiler alert: Knowing the rules has never been the problem. Getting people to buy in is. In this episode: 💩 00:00:00 Three Years, 186 Episodes of Food Safety  💩 00:03:05 Training vs. Behavior vs. Leadership vs. Culture 💩 00:06:47 Taylor Farms Food Safety Culture 💩 00:10:53 The Parent Company Owns the Outbreak 💩 00:14:17 Food Safety Culture from Corporate to Facilities 💩 00:16:41 Hiring for the Right Food Safety Behaviors 💩 00:21:41 Fire Them or Move Them? Positional vs. Personal Influence 💩 00:27:39 Building Food Safety Buy-In From the Middle 💩 00:30:16 Where Food Safety Pros Fail  💩 00:33:11 Speaking the Language of the CEO, CFO, and COO 💩 00:36:36 Cadence and Dialect Matter in Food Safety Communication 💩 00:44:04 No Food Safety Culture Without Leadership Disclaimer: Episode title and content do not constitute legal or health advice. Resources from this episode The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg: https://www.amazon.com/dp/081298160X  Missed last week's conspiracy talk? Catch up here: https://savvyfs.com/largest-cyclospora-outbreak-in-us-history-over-what-the-cdc-isnt-saying-episode-185/  Noteworthy quotes from this episode "Everybody knows the rules, so why do we keep screwing this up?" – Francine L. Shaw "Most of the time you can't play by the rules to change a culture." – Matt Regusci 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 _______
Largest Cyclospora Outbreak in US History “Over”: What the CDC Isn't Saying | Episode 185
2026/09/22
🍽️ 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 largest Cyclospora outbreak in U.S. history is over, according to an anonymous federal official who told a reporter before anyone told the public. The CDC's own outbreak page still says "open." In this episode of Don’t Eat Poop, Matt and Francine dig into the numbers nobody's updating and ask a question they've never asked in 185 episodes: is this incompetence, or something worse? This episode breaks down the outbreak data agencies stopped counting, the consumer trust numbers still falling, and the case for and against a full-blown conspiracy. In this episode: 💩 00:00:00 Cyclospora Outbreak Declared "Over"  💩 00:08:21 The Outbreak Numbers Nobody's Updating 💩 00:11:19 Consumer Confidence In Free Fall 💩 00:13:03 Congress Sends 13 Letters, Gets Zero Cyclospora Outbreak Answers 💩 00:16:05 Incompetence or Food Safety Conspiracy 💩 00:20:54 Is The Whole Food System Broken? 💩 00:23:08 Could Someone Be Weaponizing A Broken System? 💩 00:36:45 How Matt Got A Broken Industry To Adopt Compliance Disclaimer: Episode title and content do not constitute legal or health advice. Resources from this episode Check out Bill Marler’s article discussed in this episode: Unnamed Federal Officials Told the Washington Post They Are About to Declare the Largest Cyclospora Outbreak in U.S. History Over. The National Count Is Still Climbing, 8,137 Confirmed Illnesses Have No Named Source, and Congress Is Still Waiting for an Answer. Noteworthy quotes from this episode "If you don't count [the victims], they don't matter. They don't exist." – Francine L Shaw "This is either absolute pure incompetence, or it's a conspiracy, and I could believe in both, or both simultaneously." – Matt Regusci 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 _______
The Food Safety Blame Game: Cyclospora, Taylor Farms, and Who Really Pays | Episode 184
2026/09/15
🍽️ 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 30,000 confirmed Cyclospora cases this summer, and the CDC's own math says the real number could be over a million. So why did it take so long to get straight answers about where it came from? In this episode of Don't Eat Poop!, Matt and Francine tear into the Cyclospora outbreak tied to Taylor Farms lettuce and Taco Bell, and the industry-wide habit of pointing fingers instead of fixing problems. They break down how the contamination likely happened, why Taylor Farms' size makes it nearly impossible to avoid its product, and what Roger Hancock's crisis-communication playbook gets right. Spoiler alert: the companies that survive an outbreak aren't the ones that dodge blame, they're the ones that communicate fast and own it. In this episode: 💩 00:00:00 The Food Safety Blame Game 💩 00:08:51 The Real Cyclospora Outbreak Numbers 💩 00:11:10 How Cyclospora Likely Got Onto The Lettuce 💩 00:13:52 Taylor Farms, Private Label Confusion, And Dodging Blame 💩 00:17:37 Article: What Restaurants Can Learn From The Lettuce Recall 💩 00:21:43 Supply Chain Consolidation And "Too Big To Fail" 💩 00:26:02 Restaurant Recall Plan: Communicate Quickly And Clearly, Or Lose Consumer Trust 💩 00:30:49 Taco Bell Vs. Taylor Farms: A Case Study In Doing It Right 💩 00:33:36 Why Mock Recalls Fall Apart Under Pressure Disclaimer: Episode title and content do not constitute legal or health advice. Resources from this episode What Restaurants Can Learn From the Lettuce Recall:  https://www.fsrmagazine.com/feature/what-restaurants-can-learn-from-the-lettuce-recall/  Episodes with Roger Hancock: Creating a Recall-Ready Food Safety Industry | Episode 42All Recalls Are Not the Same, But Here’s How You Can Be Ready For When One Comes with Roger Hancock, CEO of Recall InfoLink | Episode 114How the FDA Wants YOU to Fix Food Safety Recalls with Roger Hancock, CEO of Recall InfoLink | Episode 126 Noteworthy quotes from this episode “Today's topic is the food safety blame game, and the industry has been doing this probably since its inception.” – Matt Regusci “Can we just stop arguing about whose fault it was and try to figure it out?” – 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 _______
2026 Outbreak Overload: 21 Recalls & More Than 30,000 Sick | Episode 183
2026/09/08
🍽️ 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. Cyclospora cases have topped 30,000. Eggs, jalapeños, blueberries, and infant formula are all being recalled at the same time. In this episode of Don’t Eat Poop!, Matt and Francine ask the question everyone's TikTok feed is already joking about: is there anything left in the food pyramid that hasn't been recalled? The episode walks through every major outbreak of the summer, one pathogen at a time, before digging into the supply chain quirk (the terminal market) that makes some recalls nearly impossible to fully contain. In this episode: 💩 00:00:00 The New Food Pyramid 💩 00:05:16 2026 Outbreak Update by Pathogen 💩 00:09:21 Driscoll And The PFAS Strawberry Whistleblower 💩 00:11:02 The Egg Recall: 19 Million Eggs 💩 00:14:01 Salmonella In Jalapeños Hits Over Two Dozen States 💩 00:17:28 How Consolidation Created The Terminal Market Workaround 💩 00:21:51 Who's Liable When A Recall Traces Back To A Terminal Market 💩 00:29:52 Starbucks Sandwiches And A Trunk Full Of Egg Salad Disclaimer: Episode title and content do not constitute legal or health advice. Resources from this episode The FDA Is Investigating 11 Foodborne Outbreaks Right Now — Here’s What to Know About Each One: https://www.foodandwine.com/fda-foodborne-outbreak-investigations-12034027  CDC Current Outbreaks: https://www.cdc.gov/foodborne-outbreaks/outbreaks/index.html  Get the Facts: Is the number of food recalls rising? What data shows: https://www.kcra.com/article/us-food-recalls-trend-analysis/73415731  Noteworthy quotes from this episode “Francine and I do not lack content, but we would really like it if these outbreaks came out every other month or so, so we could keep up with them.” – Matt Regusci “We'd be talking about the eggs right now if the lettuce wasn't so bad because the eggs are bad, too. The lettuce is so bad that the eggs are kinda just sliding under the radar.” – 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 _______
Cyclospora Outbreak: Why the White House Went Silent | Episode 182
2026/09/01
🍽️ 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 21,000 Americans are confirmed sick with Cyclospora, and three different government sources can't agree on the actual number. When the administration finally addressed it, the best they offered was a joke. In this episode of Don’t Eat Poop!, Matt and Francine break down what accountability was supposed to look like, and the eight concrete fixes still sitting on someone's desk. They walk through the math behind the conflicting case counts, why the government's own numbers may be undercounting sick Americans by a factor of 10 or more, and the specific policy changes that could stop the next outbreak from disappearing into a spreadsheet. Spoiler alert: the real number of people sick could be well over a million, and nobody in Washington wants to say so. In this episode: 💩 00:00:00 Bill Marler's Article: Govt’s Response to Cyclospora 💩 00:06:09 CDC's Three Conflicting Case Counts 💩 00:08:32 The Government’s Flawed Food Safety Advice 💩 00:09:48 The White House's Silence So Far 💩 00:11:15 Extrapolating The Cyclospora Case Count 💩 00:13:42 Eight Recommended Fixes For The FDA 💩 00:19:51 Reviving The Microbiological Data Program 💩 00:24:48 FSMA 204 And The Water Rule 💩 00:29:06 The Economic Cost Of Outbreaks Disclaimer: Episode title and content do not constitute legal or health advice. Resources from this episode Use the code POOP for 25% off the Food Safety Consortium Conference: https://www.eventleaf.com/e/FoodSafetyConsortium  Check out the article we’re discussing in this episode:  Food Safety News: The Fifty-State Cyclospora Count Is 20,927 This Morning. The President Has Said One Thing About It. The Secretary Says It Is Under Control. Here Is What They Should Have Said Instead. Noteworthy quotes from this episode “ I do believe the states should be able to make their own laws, but I do think that the federal government should also have laws pertaining to food safety, and those laws should be statistics.” – Matt Regusci “Food safety's not political. We're talking about people's well-being.” – 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 _______
Taylor Farms Cyclospora Outbreak: Epidemiology and the Cost of Getting It Wrong | Episode 181
2026/08/25
🍽️ 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 _______
Closing the Food Safety Culture Gap: Data, Training & AI with Azure Edwards of Pacific Blue Horizon Group | Episode 180
2026/08/18
🍽️ 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 forFood 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 _______
FDA's New Director of Produce Safety: Can Dr. Donna Garren Make a Change? | Episode 179
2026/08/11
🍽️ 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 _______
Would You Eat It? Food Safety Risks Ranked | Episode 178
2026/08/04
🍽️ 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 _______

Podcast reviews

Read Don't Eat Poop! A Food Safety Podcast podcast reviews


4.2 out of 5
23 reviews
★★★★★
Community drama queen 2024/10/17
Terrifying, entertaining, and informative!
It’s amazing how Matt and Francine manage to both inform and entertain on such a serious topic. The best food safety podcast out there.
★★★★☆
Julian Poundstone 2024/04/16
Casual food safety banter, annoying dude
I’ve listened to several episodes. Why is the male host such a jerk to the female host on the show? It’s clearly recorded live and he likes to spring ...
★☆☆☆☆
The creator is the bad 2024/03/05
???
Bruh we know not to eat poo-poo bruh
★★★★★
j(gdrgjshrthfhgjrcrth 2023/03/23
Poo bum poo bum
Great podcast
★★★★★
Tlregu 2023/03/18
Great information and entertaining
You don’t have to be a food saftey industry nerd to enjoy this podcast, as a mom and human I enjoy the food safety tips (like how to organize your fri...
★★★★★
Kathy B. 013 2023/02/25
Fun and Informative
Food Safety Nerds Rejoice! A fun, fresh and informative podcast filled with food related news and food safety tips!
check all reviews on apple podcasts

Podcast sponsorship advertising

Start advertising on Don't Eat Poop! A Food Safety Podcast relevant audience podcasts


What do you want to promote?