Straight, no chaser; because some food companies are better

Amy says she’s my filter, and I say dumb things when she’s not around (IAFP?).

But that’s not quite true: I say dumb things whether she’s around or not.

It must have been March when I got interviewed for the Meatingplace magazine bit that appeared today.

powell.meatingplace.aug.13Apparently I give bracing interview.

I was in Kansas, miserable because I was once again away from my family for U.S. citizenship requirements, and had found out I was going to be fired from my professoring job for bad attendance (ironic, since I spent about four of the first five months of 2013 in the U.S.

I’ve got this fog of academia slowly clearing from my brain – not as fast as a San Diego or Brisbane morning, but getting there – and again reinventing.

But, for a journey through the past, have a giggle.

A friend said I looked like a cross between Harrison Ford and Guy Fieri; far too complimentary.

No one could accuse Douglas Powell of pulling his punches. This is the guy, after all, who named his popular online food safety journal, barfblog. In a bracing conversation with Meatingplace, Powell, a professor of microbiology, food safety consultant and an “OK goaltender in pickup hockey,” discussed consumers’ concerns in meat processors’ language.

Meatingplace: Your research encompasses food safety throughout the supply chain. Where do you think the weakest links are in the meat supply chain?

Powell: The meat supply chain has done a fabulous job over the last 10 years at improving itself. That being said, when little kids get sick, it’s devastating, and when you get outbreaks of E. coli … [meat companies amy.the.look.2007have] got to step up. I think the industry has been really innovative in some [ways]. Companies like Cargill started using video surveillance for animal welfare … [a]nd pretty soon they started doing it for food safety.

Meatingplace: Where would you personally, as a microbiologist in this area, like to see more effort made by the meat industry?

Powell: What I’d like to see is for the best companies to be able to go public and brag about it. You and I both know that there are a lot of companies out there that are really good at this stuff. I want them to brag about it at retail because as a parent of five daughters, I want to buy their product. If you’re going to invest in food safety, you should get rewarded for it.

The rest of the interview is available at meatingplace.com.

 

 

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About Douglas Powell

A former professor of food safety and the publisher of barfblog.com, Powell is passionate about food, has five daughters, and is an OK goaltender in pickup hockey. Download Doug’s CV here. Dr. Douglas Powell editor, barfblog.com retired professor, food safety 3/289 Annerley Rd Annerley, Queensland 4103 dpowell29@gmail.com 61478222221 I am based in Brisbane, Australia, 15 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time