The Acheson Group

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’s the cost of that response, not just in dollars but in wasted food, wasted energy, and resources diverted from threats that matter more? And who gets to decide what “safe enough” actually means? In this new series of external-expert TAG Talks from The Acheson Group, TAG COO & EVP of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs Dr. Ben Miller welcomes Dr. Martin Wiedmann, lead author of “Balancing Food Safety and Sustainability: Trade-off Risk Assessments and Predictive Modeling,” to answer such questions, discuss why the food safety field needs to get more rigorous about weighing the unintended consequences of its own interventions, and propose new tools, including AI-assisted risk negotiation, to help with that.

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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.

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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. CFIA inspectors are coming, and they are enforcing the law.

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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 is important for all food industry personnel to understand its core principles and application to today’s processes.

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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 welcomes TAG Food Safety Director Ranjeet Klair to provide some tips on keeping Food Safety in the Holidays – while still keeping with the Holiday Spirit.

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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 food industry.

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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 Surveillance to discuss lab assessments, audits, and accreditation for quality. Give TAG a call to assist with yours!

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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 Food Safety, I, your host Lisa Lupo, welcome a special guest! Until a few months ago, Don Kautter was an FDA official charged with training the agency’s investigators on facility inspections. Now he’s a Senior Advisor, consultant, and premier instructor for TAG. Get the insider story from he who’s been there!

The post What Does FDA REALLY Expect When Inspecting? An Insider View from one who’s been there appeared first on .