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In this episode of Don’t Eat Poop!, our hosts Matt and Francine are joined by Sharon Beals from SKKB LLC, straight from the Food Safety Consortium 2024.

Sharon truly cares about this work of keeping food safe. She has more than 40 years of experience in food safety, quality, and regulatory compliance, and during that time held senior-level roles across foodservice and manufacturing companies, and today she’s sharing her expertise with us.

Tune in to find out the lessons Sharon has learned throughout her career and that will help us keep food safe. They’ll talk through a culture of doing things right (even when no one is watching), the biggest food safety challenge of the next 20 years, and more.

In this episode:

💩 [01:10] Meet Sharon and her pu pu platter career

💩 [03:25] We need more people like Bob Jackson in our plants

💩 [06:26] A culture of doing the right thing

💩 [07:44] How to get people to always do the right thing

💩 [09:24] The need for a change in mindset in the industry

💩 [12:16] The two most dangerous phrases in the food business

💩 [13:25] We, in the food industry, need to learn from each other

💩 [15:04] The biggest changes in food safety during Sharon’s career

💩 [15:59] The biggest challenge for the next 20 years

💩 [18:37] The importance of having a cross-functional team

💩 [19:15] Always dealing with the crisis du jour

💩 [20:57] Supporting instead of criticizing those involved in an outbreak

💩 [22:40] Being in the industry for the right reasons

💩 [25:24] Preaching to the choir and the stories that need to be told

💩 [29:40] Our workforce should reflect our population

💩 [32:35] Learning from past food safety crises

💩 [35:18] What’s good and bad about the Food Safety Consortium 2024

Disclaimer: Episode title and content do not constitute legal or health advice.

Resources from this episode

Learn more about SKKB LLC at skkbllc.com.

Get a hold of Sharon at [email protected]. 

Catch up with Matt and Francine’s conversation with Deborah Blum, Episode 85 | The Road to Food Safety with Deborah Blum, Award-Winning Author of “The Poison Squad”.

Listen to Matt and Francine’s conversation with Steve Mandernach, Episode 90 | Rethinking How Things Are Done to Solve Food Safety Problems with Steven Mandernach from AFDO.

Noteworthy quotes from this episode

“ Don't get me started on food safety culture. Because you cannot have any niche culture – food safety, quality, personal safety, any of them – if you don't have a company culture of doing the right thing. It's not sustainable.” – Sharon Beals

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!

We'd love to hear from you!

Connect with Sharon, Francine, Matt, and the "Don't Eat Poop!" show on LinkedIn! 

Share your thoughts and feedback on the show, and feel free to offer any topics you would like to hear discussed.

Check out Francine's book Who Watches the Kitchen? on Amazon! 

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Produced by Ideablossoms