Ep. 69. Popham, Cramer, Leighton: Prioritizing food safety during COVID-19

Stacey Popham is the vice president of quality and food safety for the Americas region of Barry Callebaut. Prior to this, Stacey held the same role at Treehouse Foods. Before then, she spent 13 years at Kraft Foods in various quality and R&D roles.

Mike Cramer is the senior director of food safety and quality assurance for Ajinomoto Windsor where he's served for 26 years. Mike is also a longstanding member of Food Safety Magazine's Editorial Advisory Board.

​Sean Leighton is the vice president of food safety, quality, and regulatory affairs at Cargill. Before that, Sean spent 13 years with Coca-Cola (U.S., Canada, and Europe) in various roles spanning quality, food safety, and environmental sustainability. Sean is also a member of Food Safety Magazine's Editorial Advisory Board.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Stacey [10:26], Mike [29:58], and Sean [52:54] about:

• How food safety and quality roles have shifted to address many challenges brought forth by COVID-19
• Communicating and assuring employee safety and food safety
• Slower line speeds, social distancing, and other measures in place to keep food facilities clean and virus-free
• Helping employees differentiate between COVID-19 symptoms vs. cold/allergy symptoms
• Maintaining a consistent supply chain
• New ways to work with on-site suppliers and service providers
• Creative solutions and approaching food safety virtually
• Lessons learned and new approaches going forward

News Mentioned in This Episode
FDA Provides Temporary Flexibility Regarding the Egg Safety Rule During COVID-19 Pandemic While Still Ensuring the Safety of Eggs [4:17]
FDA to Temporarily Conduct Remote Importer Inspections under FSVP Due to COVID-19 [4:41]
Trade Show Postponements and Updates [6:44]

Sponsor: Michigan State University
Michigan State University Online Food Safety Program
Online MS in Food Safety Program
Curriculum: Online MS in Food Safety Program

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