Recent foodborne illness numbers tell a frustrating story. Despite a massive influx of new regulations and oversight, incidence rates for major pathogens look remarkably similar today as they did in 1999.
In the fourth episode of Smarter Food Safety, host Frank Yiannas sits down with Dr. Martin Wiedmann, professor at Cornell University and one of the world's leading experts in food microbiology. Together, they examine why the industry's current approach has stalled and what operators must do differently to start bending the curve.
Ecolab is proud to sponsor the podcast and help bring these critical conversations to the professionals working to build a safer, more resilient supply chain.
Hazard-based vs. risk-based approaches
For decades, the food industry has relied heavily on hazard-based thinking. The prevailing logic has been that finding a pathogen anywhere in a facility constitutes a crisis. But treating every positive swab as an equal threat often misallocates critical resources.
Martin argues that this mindset is fundamentally holding the industry back.
"We have not truly transitioned to risk-based food safety, and that means we're putting the resources in the wrong places. We need to conceptually change how we address foodborne illness." — Dr. Martin Wiedmann
By focusing on true risk, companies can better prioritize the interventions that meaningfully prevent human illness.
Overcoming the fear of whole genome sequencing
Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) is a game-changing tool for tracing outbreaks and understanding contamination routes. Yet, a large portion of the industry still hesitates to use it.
Many operators worry that sequencing pathogens found in their plants might inadvertently link them to human illnesses, exposing them to regulatory or legal action. But ignoring the data just leaves operators flying blind.
"Don't let fear stop you from at least looking for it. Try to define what the risk is and how big it is.” — Dr. Martin Wiedmann
When operators embrace WGS as an internal diagnostic tool, they can better identify resident strains and eliminate contamination routes long before a product ever leaves the facility.
Addressing the blind spots of supplier verification
In today's complex supply chain climate, unannounced sourcing changes have become a growing vulnerability for food manufacturers. Operators often fall into the trap of assuming that, because they’re buying from a familiar vendor, an ingredient's origin and risk profile have remained unchanged. But that’s not always the case.
"Sometimes we don't realize a change is happening. We get an ingredient we assume is coming from the same facility, and it's not…that’s a blind spot. — Dr. Martin Wiedmann
To close that blind spot, operators will need to be far more proactive about supplier verification. Both Frank and Martin point out the pitfalls of relying on negative COAs (Certificates of Analysis) from foreign suppliers without independent verification.
Assuming that a piece of paper guarantees safety—or that a previously validated safety plan will automatically cover a new ingredient source—is a dangerous oversight.
Ensuring food safety culture is backed by microbiological science
In recent years, “food safety culture” has become a dominant buzzword across the industry. But what does it mean? For some operations, these initiatives turn into generic corporate messaging that ignores the underlying science.
"I think people have missed the boat with rah-rah food safety culture. You’ve got to know the science, and I think we're at the point where it's kind of jumped the shark." — Frank Yiannas
Culture works alongside scientifically validated procedures to ensure food safety activities are not only effective as outlined but also respected from the lowest to the highest levels of the organization. Behavioral science and administrative controls only work when they are built on a foundation of rigorous microbiological science and sanitary design—then followed by everyone.
Validating what works
A common pitfall in many food safety programs is the confusion between validation and verification. Facilities often spend immense amounts of time and capital verifying that a process is being followed consistently, without ever validating whether that process effectively controls the target pathogen in the first place.
"Chemical documentation doesn't tell me a procedure is working. It's usually not that the sanitizer doesn't kill the pathogen—it's that it doesn't reach it." — Dr. Martin Wiedmann
Ensuring that processes are both scientifically validated (at the process/chemistry level) and consistently verified through active environmental monitoring shifts operators from merely following a checklist to actively preventing an outbreak.
Challenging our own assumptions
Both Frank and Martin agree that if the industry simply repeats the same food safety strategies over the next decade that it has used for the past twenty years, no one will see the foodborne illness numbers decline as much as hoped.
To make significant improvements, operators need to revisit the basics regularly to ensure they are set up for success.
“Make sure you’ve got cleaning and sanitation, preventive maintenance, and sanitary equipment design buckled down. It's going to reduce your risk tremendously." — Dr. Martin Wiedmann
Doing a comprehensive evaluation and remediation like this can be a time-intensive project, but it’s the most tangible, effective way to reduce the risk of an outbreak and move the needle on foodborne illness statistics one organization at a time.
This episode of Smarter Food Safety is available now, wherever you get your podcasts.
To learn more about the host, Frank Yiannas, and why Ecolab is partnering on this show, read our profile here
Episode Field Notes
Terms and resources worth bookmarking for food and beverage operators this year.
Hazard vs. Risk: A critical distinction in food safety management. A hazard is anything that has the potential to cause harm (like the presence of a pathogen), while risk is the likelihood that the hazard will cause illness under specific conditions: https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/food-safety-hazard-and-risk
Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS): A powerful laboratory technique used to determine the complete DNA makeup of an organism, allowing investigators to trace foodborne pathogens to their exact source with unprecedented precision: https://www.fda.gov/food/science-research-food/whole-genome-sequencing-wgs-program
Food Safety Culture: The shared values, beliefs, and norms that affect mindsets and behaviors toward food safety in, across, and throughout an organization. As discussed in the episode, it must be grounded in science: https://en-at.ecolab.com/stories/food-safety-culture
Cleaning Validation: Moving from hazard-based compliance to substantive risk reduction requires bulletproof prerequisite programs. Learn how Ecolab partners with food and beverage processors to validate sanitation protocols and ensure your chemistry is reaching pathogens: https://www.ecolab.com/solutions/validation-and-technical-support