Early 21st Century Emerging Food Issues

September is National Food Safety Education Month, a time dedicated to raising awareness about safe practices that prevent foodborne illness.  On this final day of September we look back to review how far we have come.

In this lecture video taken from one of Dr. Detwiler’s previous courses (2014), he discusses a few notable outbreaks and recalls as well as  discusses testing, holding, and modern reforms (FSMA, country-of-origin and GMO labeling, etc.) that reflect public demand for transparency, even as large processors have driven the biggest recalls and some industry factions resist stronger testing-and-hold rules. History echoes: Roosevelt’s 1906 push for inspection met opposition, yet durable safety requires law, enforcement, and culture change…not lip service. While USDA’s stamp signals sampling (not safety), leaders like BPI and Costco showed proactive stewardship by adopting test-and-hold and broader pathogen screening ahead of mandates. The through-line is clear: economics, politics, geography, and society all shape food safety, but informed consumers and responsible firms move it forward. The final charge is civic, not just technical: be the “Hercules” who turns standards into practice so prevention, not recall, defines the system.

Watch now: “Early 21st Century Emerging Food Issues” [10:53]

#FoodSafetyMonth #FoodSafetyCulture #FoodSafety #FSMA #History #HerculeanEffort