On this week’s show, NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg, editor-in-chief Jeff Klineman and reporter Adrianne DeLuca discuss the ‘Pie-pline’ of Hubigs from New Orleans, elsewhere, and the changing climate around keto-branded foods. Later, we hear from John Johnson, senior counsel at law firm Shook, Hardy and Bacon, to delve into a recent report from the Reagan Udall Foundation, its implications on the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and potential solutions to systemic issues within the federal agency's human food program. 

Show Highlights:

01:15: The NOSH team discusses Jeff’s favorite New Orleans delicacy, complete with a history lesson. Then the team gets into the recent sale of baking mix brand Birch Benders and what the move may mean for keto-claiming companies. 

14:20: John explains that while the report highlighted many systemic issues the FDA has been grappling with for nearly a century, it failed to delineate between the two modes the agency operates within: day-to-day operations and crisis management. He suggests that if the agency wants to increase consumer confidence, it might be best to review its external communication plans. 

19:44: Later, John aims to correct the narrative around the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act, which many claim was supposed to lead the agency toward preventative operations rather than reactionary when it came to food safety actions like recalls. 

“The deeper question [from the report] is how does the FDA effectively do its job, which gets to this metaphysical question of how does FDA know it's doing a good job in the food space? And the answer is an elusive concept of consumer confidence.”

• John Johnson, Shook, Hardy and Bacon