Food Safety Talk, a bi-weekly podcast for food safety nerds, by food safety nerds. The podcast is hosted by Ben Chapman and barfblog contributor Don Schaffner, Extension Specialist in Food Science and Professor at Rutgers University. Every two weeks or so, Ben and Don get together virtually and talk for about an hour.  They talk about what’s on their minds or in the news regarding food safety, and popular culture. They strive to be relevant, funny and informative — sometimes they succeed. You can download the audio recordings right from the website, or subscribe using iTunes.

The guys start off the show discussing starting a food safety talk live morning show under the pseudonyms of Ace and Lefty. Ben tells Don that he’s watching an old Judd Aptow show, Undeclared  on Netflix. Don says he doesn’t even have time to watch Ben’s favorite Canadian show, the oft-mentioned The Newsroom. The guys then quickly celebrate their AARP episode birthday and talk about Ben’s dad love of medieval times and Medieval Times. Ben announces that he’s on his way to his hometown of Port Hope, Ontario (that’s in Canada) and will be watching Float Your Fanny Down the Ganny – a celebration commemorating a flood. Ben shares a recent dream that he had about the Conference for Food Protection and being uninvited.

In outbreak flashblack Don and Ben talked about a 2004 Salmonella outbreak associated with sliced roma tomatoes sold through Sheetz gas station delis. The Sheetz outbreak was notable from a lawsuit  and communication standpoint. Although it looked at as a teachable moment, Don and Ben evaluated and critiqued the messages that the Partnership for Food Safety Communication put out at the time of the outbreak.

The guys then talked about a restaurant inspection media exposes and their impacts, Don and Ben agree that they don’t always get it right but have a place. Ben’s friends Jim Chan and Dominic Losito both retired Public Health Inspectors, pulled back the curtain on inspections on a CBC show, Marketplace – that Ben also appeared on in 2008. Their discussion continued to disclosing and translating restaurant inspection results for the masses. Don provided some insight into his ongoing Rutger’s cafeteria food safety project and the potential impacts of having extra outside eyes on running a kitchen — supplemented with micro sampling.

Ben then put Don to the test on a question he received on using vinegar as a sanitizer in a food business. Don passed the test.

In a short after dark, Don suggested a puzzle game, Monument Valley for Ben to check out.