Food Safety Matters

Miguel Ramirez is a seasoned food manufacturing executive with more than three decades of operational leadership experience in the food industry. He currently serves as Vice President of Operations at Fresca Foods Inc. in Louisville, Colorado, where he has held progressive leadership roles over the past 13 years including Plant Manager, Director of Operations, and his current VP role. Prior to Fresca Foods, Miguel spent over 24 years with Butterball LLC, where he managed more than 12 production lines across a two-shift operation with a workforce of 350 employees.
Known for championing food safety culture at the operational level, Miguel brings a rare perspective to food safety conversations—that of a senior operations leader who understands that food safety and operational excellence are not competing priorities, but instead, are deeply interconnected.
Madisen Hodgson, M.S. is a food safety and quality assurance professional with nearly a decade of progressive experience spanning food manufacturing, retail bakery, beverage, and airline catering environments. She currently serves as a Quality Assurance Manager for a protein and nutritional bar manufacturer in Denver, Colorado, where she oversees the full food safety management system and leads a multi-shift quality assurance team across multiple production lines.
Madisen holds an M.S. degree in Food Safety from the University of Arkansas and carries certifications including PCQI, SQF Practitioner, HACCP Coordinator, and CP-FS. She is passionate about building strong food safety cultures, developing food safety professionals, and bridging the gap between regulatory compliance and practical, operational food safety.
In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak with Miguel and Madisen [30:31] about:
The evolution and current understanding of food safety culture in the food manufacturing industry
Operationalizing food safety culture across teams and balancing production demands with food safety priorities
Specific practices and behaviors that indicate a robust food safety culture
How leadership visibility and engagement influences employees' food safety behaviors and accountability
Challenges companies face when trying to move from a compliance-based mindset to a true culture of food safety, and how they can be overcome
Measuring the effectiveness of food safety culture initiatives by paying attention to certain indicators and utilizing feedback mechanisms
What sets a great food safety culture apart from an average or ineffective food safety culture
The future of food safety culture in light of increasing regulatory scrutiny and industry emphasis on accountability and transparency.
News and Resources
News
New Research Reveals Addictive Design, Health Harms of Ultra-Processed Foods; Calls for Systemic Change [2:48]
Study Suggests Food Processing, Not Just Nutrient Content, May Affect Health Impacts of UPFs

Global Foodborne Disease Burden Comparable to Malaria, Per Updated WHO Estimates [14:34]

After Infant Botulism Outbreak, FDA Shares Root Cause Analysis Findings from ByHeart Formula Plants [23:00]
Eight Sick, One Dead in Three-Year Listeria Outbreak Linked to Soft Cheese [25:23]
Sponsored by:
Registrar Corp 

We Want to Hear from You!
Please send us your questions and suggestions to podcast@food-safety.com

Elaine Borghi, Ph.D. is Unit Head for Monitoring and Surveillance, Nutrition, and Food Safety at the World Health Organization (WHO). Dr. Borghi contributes to the coordination of efforts for nutrition and food safety data management, the generation of regional and global-level estimates and data-sharing tools, and the facilitation of inter-department data and methods harmonization. She holds a Ph.D. from the Statistics Department of the University of Wisconsin and a master's degree in Statistics from the State University of Campinas in Brazil. Before her time at WHO, Dr. Borghi was a lecturer at the State University of Campinas for 12 years. In addition to teaching, she provided statistical support to research in agriculture planning for rural sustainable development.
In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak with Dr. Borghi [24:38] about:
How the methodology behind the new WHO global foodborne disease burden estimates has evolved since the original 2015 estimates
New insights related to national and regional differences and trends over time
How WHO compiles and validates the data on which the estimates are based, and the role that international partners and surveillance systems play in this process
Translating the data into actionable food safety interventions, as promoted by the theme of WFSD 2026, "From Burden to Solutions—Safe Food Everywhere"
How different stakeholder groups can utilize the estimates to prioritize risks, allocate resources, and strengthen food safety systems
What regional differences in the burden of foodborne illness reveal about the need for targeted interventions
The importance of also estimating and communicating the economic burden of foodborne diseases
How WHO envisions the updated estimates shaping global food safety policy, surveillance, and collaboration.
News and Resources
News
FDA Modernizes Oversight of Pesticides in Food [3:48]
Bipartisan Bill Would Give FDA Authority to Destroy Contaminated Food Imports [7:00]
'Natural' Food Dyes May Have Health Risks Too, Studies Show [13:38]
Study Suggests Sweetener May Contribute to Liver Disease [20:51]
Resources
World Food Safety Day 2026 to Coincide with Release of Updated WHO Foodborne Disease Burden Estimates
Global Foodborne Disease Burden Comparable to Malaria, Per Updated WHO Estimates
We Want to Hear from You!
Please send us your questions and suggestions to podcast@food-safety.com

Alissa Welsher, Ph.D. is a Senior Consultant at Elanco Poultry Food Safety. Dr. Welsher received her bachelor's degree in biological sciences from the University of Pittsburgh, a master's degree in poultry science, and a Ph.D. in cell and molecular biology from the University of Arkansas. Her area of expertise is in meat and poultry food safety, and she specializes in integrated pest management (IPM). 
In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak with Dr. Welsher [1:39] about:
Why pests become more problematic for poultry operations in the spring and summer months and which pets are of particular concern
How pests in preharvest poultry operations are related to food safety threats like Salmonella that persist throughout production
The importance and core pillars of a robust IPM program
How chemical solutions like insecticides can provide an additional layer of defense alongside strong IPM
Best practices for insecticide application to maximize effectiveness and mitigate resistance
Different insecticide products and how they act on insects in all life stages
The benefits of working with an expert IPM and insecticide partner like Elanco to ensure effective and proper insect control, especially moving into spring and summer.
Resources
Elanco Poultry Food Safety Solutions
Sponsored by: 
Elanco
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Please send us your questions and suggestions to podcast@food-safety.com

Brady Carter, Ph.D. is the Chief Scientific Officer at Carter Scientific Solutions. He specializes in water activity, moisture sorption, shelf-life stability, plant science, and wheat production and quality. He has 23 years of experience in research and development and previously was a Research Professor at Washington State University focusing on wheat end-use quality. Dr. Carter has pioneered work in using dynamic isotherms to investigate product stability and establish critical water activities for optimal shelf life. He also specializes in shelf-life loss and effective utilization of instrumentation to address product safety and quality issues. Dr. Carter holds a Ph.D. in Crop Science and Food Engineering and an M.S degree in Cereal Chemistry and Crop Science from Washington State University, as well as a B.A. degree in Botany from Weber State University.
In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak with Dr. Carter [41:18] about:
The basics of water activity, including how it is measured and how it differs from moisture content
The influence of water activity on food safety and shelf life, and how water activity data can support the validation of shelf-life claims
Ways manufacturers can incorporate water activity into their shelf-life and food safety testing, and during research and development when formulating products
Regulatory expectations around water activity monitoring as part of validation and verification
The realities of water activity measurement that make real-time, inline testing impractical with current technology
How water activity monitoring can help mitigate food waste
The importance of the statement, "water activity is the energy of water."
News and Resources
News
Donald Prater Becomes New Head of FDA Human Foods Program [16:54]
FDA Commissioner Steps Down, To Be Replaced by Agency's Human Foods Leader
Top U.S. Food Safety Officials Discuss Regulatory Landscape at Food Safety Summit
FDA Encourages Industry to Develop Best Practices, Use Root Cause Analyses [20:30]
FDA Finalizes Systematic Post-Market Food Chemical Review Process [21:34]
FDA Launches One-Day Inspectional Assessments [22:30]
Scientists Tackle Food Waste with More Accurate 'Sell By' Dates Based on Meat Microbial Activity [27:42]
Monitoring Data Show EU Food Mostly Compliant with Pesticide Limits [35:58]
Resources
Food Safety Rockstar T-Shirts on Amazon (BE ADVISED: they run small)
We Want to Hear from You!
Please send us your questions and suggestions to podcast@food-safety.com

To get a taste of the discussions that were happening at the 2026 Food Safety Summit, we spoke face-to-face with Roberta Wagner, M.Sc., Senior Vice President of Regulatory and Scientific Affairs for the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA); Steven Mandernach, J.D., Executive Director of the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) and Sandra Eskin, J.D., CEO of STOP Foodborne Illness; Jacob Nelson, Asset Protection Sales Manager at the Sherwin-Williams Company and Feraas Aiameh, Food and Beverage Marketing Manager at the Sherwin-Williams Company; Conrad Choiniere, Ph.D., Director of  the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) Office of Microbiological Food Safety, Vanessa Coffman, Ph.D., Director of the Alliance to Stop Foodborne Illness, and Lone Jespersen, Ph.D., Founder and Principal of Cultivate SA; and Cindy Jiang, Senior Director, Global Food Safety Risk Management, Global Supply Chain at McDonald's (retired).
In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak with:
Ms. Wagner about food ingredient safety and labeling trends, policy developments, and risk communication [2:48]
Mr. Mandernach and Ms. Eskin about progress and gaps in the implementation of FDA's Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) in the 15 years since it was passed [26:19]
Mr. Nelson and Mr. Aiameh about a facility lifecycle approach to food safety [47:37]
Drs. Choiniere, Coffman, and Jespersen about perspectives, challenges, and opportunities related food safety culture across sectors [1:16:42]
Ms. Jiang about practical applications for artificial intelligence (AI) in food safety. [1:44:37]
Sponsored by: Sherwin Williams
We Want to Hear from You!
Please send us your questions and suggestions to podcast@food-safety.com