TAG Talks Food Safety

Show Resources: - https://aifs.ucdavis.edu/ - Alexander CS, Smith A and Ivanek R (2023) Safer not to know? Shaping liability law and policy to incentivize adoption of predictive AI technologies in the food system. Front. Artif. Intell. 6:1298604. https://doi.org/10.3389/frai.2023.1298604 - Alexander CS, Yarborough M and A Smith (2024) Who is responsible for ‘responsible AI’?: Navigating challenges...

Every food safety professional has faced some version of this moment: a test comes back positive, a pathogen is detected, and the system kicks into gear. Product gets pulled, resources get deployed, decisions get made. And most of the time, that’s the right call. But what happens when the system responds with equal urgency to a result that poses minimal actual risk to public health? What&#82...

Whether you’re challenged by a USDA inspector, dealing with a quality sensory issue, or trying to meet both USDA and FDA requirements, TAG’s newest Director of Food Safety Nikkie Vazquez has solutions for you. In this episode of TAG Talks Food Safety, Host Lisa Lupo and Nikkie discuss these topics, and more, to help single- and dual-jurisdiction facilities keep your products compliant and safe. Th...

It’s a new world for a lot of sectors in the food industry which had not seen much of CFIA in the past. In this episode of TAG Talks Food Safety, Host Lisa Lupo discusses the CFIA inspection blitz and recent cuts with TAG’s Executive VP, Regulatory Affairs and Managing Director of TAG Canada Cameron Prince. As a former CFIA VP of Operations, he says: If you haven’t been inspected lately — be ready...

Developed by the Pillsbury Company in the 1950s for use in NASA’s food program, HACCP – Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points – has since become the foundation for food safety around the globe. In this episode of TAG Talks Food Safety, Host Lisa Lupo welcomes TAG Director of Food Safety Kate McInnes to discuss just what HACCP is, how it has become so critical to the food industry, and why it...

Your food safety manager is taking a vacation over the holidays and a number of floor workers are off. So, how do you keep food safety top of mind while managing production with a reduced crew – who are likely thinking and chatting more about getting home for cookies, presents, and family gatherings, than focusing on the task at hand! On this episode of TAG Talk Food Safety, Host Lisa Lupo welcome...

Throughout 2025, we have seen a great deal of federal focus on public health – from chemical hazards to federal agency cuts. But what does all this really mean for the food industry? In this episode of TAG Talks Food Safety, host Lisa Lupo welcomes TAG COO & EVP of Regulatory and Scientific Affairs Dr. Benjamin Miller to discuss the current trends in public health and what they mean for the fo...

Whether a food business has an internal lab or works with an external lab, the quality and testing accuracy are critical to the safety of the food being produced as well as to the operational efficiency of the business. On this episode of TAG Talks Food Safety, Host Lisa Lupo welcomes TAG’s Senior Advisor, Food Safety – a former FDA Official who led the agency’s Office of Regulatory Testing and Su...

A notice of an upcoming FDA inspection, or the unexpected arrival of an FDA investigator at your door, can be anxiety inducing for any food facility – particularly if you feel unprepared or unsure of what to expect. What if you were able to sit down and get “insider” insights from one who has been there – one who has trained the investigators – and is now on your side? On this episode of TAG Talks...

TAG EVP, Regulatory Affairs and TAG Canada Managing Director Cameron Prince discusses the trends and events that impacted the Canadian food industry in 2024 – from both within and across its borders – and how he expects those to carry over into and through 2025 to make for a challenging, changing year.

In follow up to his look back at the greatest impacts on the food industry in 2024, Dr. David Acheson speculates on where 2025 will take the industry, expecting it to be a year of change and anything but business as usual!

TAG President and CEO Dr. David Acheson gives his annual retrospective on the past year in the food industry. Discover what stands out as having had the greatest impacts on food safety in 2024, and what it did, and will, all mean for the industry. Then stay tuned in January for his predictions for 2025!

When a facility has a food safety issue, it is critical to find the root cause to solve the problem and keep it from recurring, but conducting an analysis can be a challenge. In this Episode of TAG Talks Food Safety with host Lisa Lupo, TAG Senior Manager of Food Safety Angela Ferelli Gruber explains the when, what, why and how of root cause analyses, and a simpler, “elegant” way to get to the bot...

Food Safety Culture has been an industry concept for nearly two decades. Yet there is still a great deal of confusion over exactly what constitutes a food safety culture and how to set your GPS to success. In this episode or TAG Talks Food Safety, host Lisa Lupo talks with two TAG Executive Vice Presidents – Ben Miller and Cameron Prince – on why Food Safety Culture is so difficult to define, how...

If you are an FDA-regulated food business, you’ve likely heard more acronyms related to the Traceability Rule than you can even name! ... FSMA 204 … CTEs … KDEs … FTLs … But if you haven’t yet heard of – or gotten involved with – PFT, you’re missing out! In this episode of TAG Talks Food Safety, Host Lisa Lupo discusses the non-profit, public-private Partnership for Food Traceability – PFT with tw...

Seafood companies are receiving FDA warning letters for noncompliance with Seafood HACCP regulations. Would your facility pass a magnified inspection? In this episode of TAG Talks Food Safey, host Lisa Lupo discusses with TAG Food Safety Director Ranjeet Klair the importance of HACCP in seafooda facilities and provides advice on ensuring compliance both for food safety… and to ward off those nasty...

Being “GFSI certified” is journey that begins with an initial food facility audit to a Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) standard to receive certification, then requires regular and unannounced audits to maintain that certification. The road can be long and arduous – but it doesn’t have to be! Take a journey through the world of GFSI with TAG Talks Food Safety Host Lisa Lupo and Guest Expert Ka...

FDA recently published the final rule on pre-harvest agricultural water. At more than 70 pages in the Federal Register, it’s a long rule! But the key point to remember is it focuses on the execution and results of a risk assessment to drive your compliance and corrective action. In this episode of TAG Talks Food Safety, Host Lisa Lupo discusses the rule and its impacts with TAG Manager of Food Saf...

FDA recently published the final rule on pre-harvest agricultural water. At more than 70 pages in the Federal Register, it’s a long rule! But the key point to remember is it focuses on the execution and results of a risk assessment to drive your compliance and corrective action. In this episode of TAG Talks Food Safety, Host Lisa Lupo discusses the rule and its impacts with TAG Manager of Food Saf...

With highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) having been found in dairy cows in recent months, the topic has become a media focus causing concern among both farm and city dwellers. To help separate the myths from the truth and discuss the current real situation, TAG Talks Food Safety Host Lisa Lupo talks with Dr. Ben Miller, the EVP of Regulatory and Scientific Affairs for TAG.  For continui...

Looking for food safety training for your farm workers that will keep them engaged while learning? TAG’s Dr. Angela Ferelli Gruber and UMD Dr. Shauna Henley join TAG Talks host Lisa Lupo to discuss the newly developed interactive farm risk assessment program ProduceTRAINer, available now at produceTRAINer.org. Have more questions? Contact Shauna Henley at shenley@umd.edu for information on this pr...

At the recent Summit on Food Safety in Canada, TAG spoke with attendees from across the food industry, discussing their businesses, practices and needs, and found these to be both global and unique-to-Canada. Host Lisa Lupo and TAG Director of Food Safety rehash their visit to relay the most recent food industry trends and food safety best practices.

The Intentional Adulteration – IA – Rule of FSMA has been in place since 2016, but FDA is taking a new look at food facilities this fall, moving from “Quick Checks” to Comprehensive Inspections – to include Food Defense Plan compliance and implementation. On this episode of TAG Talks Food Safety, Host Lisa Lupo speaks with TAG Director of Food Safety and Lead IA Instructor Christopher Snabes to ad...

If your first thought when someone mentions eating insects is “ICK!”, you’re not alone! Yet billions of people around the world see edible insects as standard fare or even a delicacy. In this episode of TAG Talks Food Safety, I, your host Lisa Lupo, discuss the practice of eating insects and food safety aspects of production with TAG Senior Manager of Food Safety and Entomophagy Expert Kate McInne...

There is a great deal of talk about cultured, or cultivated, meat these days, what is real and what is hype? TAG Talk Host Lisa Lupo discusses that with TAG Senior Manager of Food Safety Lily Yang, who has been working with manufacturers for safe, compliant production. For other trending topics, view · AI & the Food Industry: What “Intelligence” Might AI Convey? · Why Don't Animal Welfare Rules Fo...