Home » Multimedia » Podcasts » Food Safety Matters » Ep. 13. Darin Detwiler: "It's more than just a job"
Food Safety Matters
Food Safety Matters is a podcast for food safety professionals hosted by the Food Safety Magazine editorial team – the leading media brand in food safety for over 20 years. Each episode will feature a conversation with a food safety professional sharing their experiences and insights of the important job of safeguarding the world’s food supply.
Dr. Darin Detwiler is the Assistant Dean of Graduate Academic and Faculty Affairs at Northeastern University in Boston, MA. He is also the Lead Academic of the MS in Regulatory Affairs of Food and Food Industry and Professor of Food Policy. In addition to being the Founder and President of Detwiler Consulting Group, LLC, Dr. Detwiler serves as the Executive Vice President for Public Health at the International Food Authenticity Assurance Organization. Dr. Detwiler serves on numerous committees and advisory panels related to food science, nutrition, fraud, and policy.
In 2004, the Secretary of Agriculture appointed Detwiler to two terms on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's national advisory committee for meat and poultry inspection. He later advised the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the Senior Policy Coordinator for a leading national food safety advocacy organization, where his committee work and presentations supported the FDA’s progress towards implementation of Food Safety Modernization Act by bringing forward the true burden of disease to various federal, state, and industry audiences.
He is a sought-after speaker and has addressed key issues in food safety at corporate and regulatory training events, as well as national and international events in Spain, Dubai, and the UK. He has been featured as a speaker before VTEC, STEC CAP, Food Safety Summit, Conference for Food Protection, National Food Policy Conference, AFDO regional events, FDA regional seminars, and multiple state public and environmental health conferences.
Detwiler is a contributing writer to numerous food industry publications and is quoted frequently by journalists across the country. A consumer food safety advocate since his son’s death from E.coli during the landmark 1993 “Jack-in-the-Box” outbreak, Detwiler has been featured in a variety of national news stories on food safety with media such as The New York Times, Food Safety News, CNN, NPR, PBS’s Frontline, CNBC, and ABC’s Good Morning America. A Navy submarine veteran, Detwiler holds a Doctorate in Law and Policy at Northeastern University with his research on state food regulatory capacity and alignment with federal policy.
In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Darin Detwiler about:
How his son's unexpected death led to an unplanned career in food policy and food safety
The positive policy changes and technological advancements the food industry has seen in the Jack in the Box outbreak in 1993
The difference between the 1993 outbreak and Chipotle's recent food safety issues
Pushback he experienced from the food industry when speaking out about his son's death and Jack in the Box's negligence
The importance of the food industry understanding that their mistakes have a lasting impact on thousands of lives
Working to make E. coli a common household term that consumers know, understand and ultimately prevent
The lack of food safety focus in schools
The evolution and trajectory of the food safety career path
We also speak with Marianne Gravely (USDA) and Hilary Thesmar (FMI) about:
How industry can support the importance of the "Clean, Separate, Cook and Chill" concept as consumers head into the Thanksgiving holiday
How consumers can prevent cross-contamination when grocery shopping for meat and poultry products
Messaging and concepts that retailers should be educating consumers about
The most frequently asked questions submitted to the USDA's Meat & Poultry Hotline
Educational materials and resources available to both retailers and consumers
About Marianne Gravely
Marianne joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Meat and Poultry Hotline staff in 1988. As the senior technical information specialist, she provides consumers with safe food handling guidance daily through phone, live-chat and email inquiries and is one of the persons behind the USDA virtual representative “Ask Karen” answering food safety questions. She also researches and writes materials for the Food Safety Inspection Service website, and handles media inquiries.Marianne has a Bachelor of Science degree in home economics with an emphasis in foods and nutrition from Hood College in Frederick, MD. She received her Master’s degree in Human Nutrition and Foods from Virginia Tech.
About Hilary Thesmar
In her role as the chief food and product safety officer and senior vice president of food safety programs for the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), Dr. Thesmar provides leadership for all safety programs for FMI’s retail and wholesale members and provides support for members on food safety training programs, FSMA training, recall plans and management, crisis management, research, and overall safety and sanitation programs. Dr. Thesmar has a Ph.D. in Food Technology from Clemson University, a Master of Science degree in Human Nutrition from Winthrop University, a bachelor’s degree in Food Science from Clemson, and she is a Registered Dietitian. She has over a decade of experience in scientific and regulatory affairs with food trade associations.
Do you have questions or guest suggestions for the Food Safety Matters podcast? Let us know!
You can leave us a voicemail anytime at 747-231-7630. You can also email us at podcast@foodsafetymagazine.com.
Beth Panko Briczinski, Ph.D. is the Senior Science Advisor for Milk Safety in the Office of Food Safety at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Casey McCue is the Conference Chair for the National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments (NCIMS) and the Director of the Division of Milk Control and Dairy Services for the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, a position he has held since 2000.
Megin Nichols, D.V.M. serves as the Deputy Division Director for the Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases at the CDC's National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases.
Brandon Carter, D.V.M. is a Food Safety Technical Advisor for Elanco Animal Health. Dr. Carter received his B.S. degree in Animal Science and his D.V.M. from Mississippi State University. He also holds an M.S. degree in Veterinary Epidemiology from West Texas A&M University. His areas of expertise are disease prevention and control for poultry, with specialized expertise in epidemiology and data analysis.
Caroline Smith DeWaal, J.D. is Senior Manager at the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN). She also serves as Deputy Chief of Party of EatSafe—Evidence and Action Towards Safe, Nutritious Food—which is a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded, five-year program running through June 2024.
Richard Pluke, Ph.D. is the Food Safety Lead and Chief of Party for GAIN's EatSafe and an international rural development professional specializing in agricultural enterprises and value chains, with over 15 years of applied development experience in South America, Asia, and Africa.
Kathleen (Kathy) Glass, Ph.D. joined the Food Research Institute (FRI) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison as a food safety researcher in 1985, where she currently serves as Associate Director. Her primary duties are to assist the food industry in assessing and developing formulation-safe foods. In addition, she trains and oversees undergraduate and graduate student independent study research, and is a regular instructor at workshops on food microbiology, preventive controls, Listeria control methods, processed meat and processed cheese safety, and dairy Hazards Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP).
Mark (Mick) Micklos, CP-FS, is an executive dedicated to food safety education and advocacy. His 27-year career includes 16 years in restaurant operations, training, and food safety, the majority of which was spent holding Director- or Vice President-level positions at Waffle House Inc.; seven years at the National Restaurant Association working on behalf of industry, culminating as Director of Food Safety and QA Programming; and most recently, as a Partner-Advisor with Active Food Safety LLC, where his work with the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) has led to breakthrough discoveries in Food Safety Management System and food safety culture behavior in foodservice establishments. Mick has served on 19 professional advisory boards and committees. He has published six articles and three book chapters, and has contributed to two guidance documents. He has earned ten awards for his work and is a frequently requested speaker on a wide variety of topics.
Barbara Kowalcyk,Ph.D., M.A.,is an Associate Professor in the Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences and the Director of the Food Policy Institute at George Washington University's (GW's) Milken Institute School of Public Health. She also has an appointment in the U.S. Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and is a fellow with the Sumner M. Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness.