Steven Mandernach is the executive director of the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO), which unites high-level regulatory officials, industry representatives, trade associations, academia, and consumer organizations. Prior to becoming executive director in 2018, Steve was the bureau chief for food and consumer safety at the Iowa Department of Inspections. He is a past president of AFDO and current co-chair of the Association’s Laws and Regulations committee. He has a J.D. from Drake University Law School.

Ernest Julian, Ph.D. is chief of the Center for Food Protection for the Rhode Island Department of Health, a position he has held for the last 30 years. Prior to this, he was with the Connecticut Department of Health for 14 years. He is president of the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) and he has served as AFDO’s representative to the Council to Improve Foodborne Outbreak Response (CIFOR), and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s FSMA Surveillance Workgroup. Ernie is also an adjunct assistant professor of Health Services, Policy, and Practice at Brown University.

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In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Steve and Ernie [26.51] about:

  • Current efforts to improve recall notifications and outbreak response at the retail level
  • The need for additional funding to conduct more laboratory work and more epidemiologists
  • What it means to shift resources to improve food safety
  • Physicians' ability to test for foodborne pathogens, and how is helpful during an outbreak investigation
  • Food safety culture as an issue for regulators, not just industry
  • Programs that teach retail level inspectors how to conduct environmental sampling, regardless of whether or not an implicated, contaminated food is still on the market
  • Figuring out how to deal with emerging trends (online food selling, meal delivery apps, etc.) before they become widespread
  • Pinpointing the exact risks associated with home meal delivery kits
  • Creating distance between sources of contamination and ready-to-eat foods at concentrated animal food operations
  • The change in food safety culture needed at the farmer's level after decades of using manure for fertilizer
  • Rhode Island's process of investigating individual cases of listeriosis

Steve Mandernach's Articles in Food Safety Magazine
Keeping Food Safe in the C-Store Environment 
Unsung Heroes: State and Local Public Health Officials Innovating Outbreak Investigations
Responding to Harvey and Irma: Rapid Response Teams Take Action  
Building an Integrated Food Safety System One Brick at a Time 
Integrating the Nation's Food Safety System: What You Need to Know 

Ernie Julian's Articles in Food Safety Magazine
Where the Rubber Meets the Road: RRTs in Action
Creating the Rapid Response Road Map: Collaboration Points the Way Forward

Resources:
AFDO Retail Webinars (Hepatitis A and Norovirus)

Bob Ferguson's Food Safety Insights [16:35]
Bob joins us to discuss his article featured in our February/March 2020 issue:
Food Safety Priorities and Plans for 2020: Part 2

Want more from Bob Ferguson? Find more of his articles and podcast segments.

News Mentioned in This Episode
FDA Approves Costco as First Participant in FSMA's VQIP [8:24]
FDA Warns Jimmy John's and Sprouts Unlimited After Outbreak [10:24]
U.S. Welcomes Imports of Previously Banned Brazilian Beef [12:00] 

The 2019 n-CoV Coronavirus Is Not a Food Supply Threat