Meet the Food Safety Leadership Team

Meet FoodHandler’s Food Safety Leadership Team:

Jeannie Sneed, PhD, RD

Dr. Sneed has been an educator and researcher in foodservice operations and food safety for over 30 years. She retired as a professor and administrator from Kansas State University where she also served as a research professor for the Center of Excellence for Food Safety Research in Child Nutrition Programs funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. NSF International awarded her the Lifetime Achievement Award for Food Safety Education and Research in 2007. She holds a PhD in foodservice management with a minor in organizational behavior from The Ohio State University.

Catherine Strohbehn, PhD, RD, CP-FS

Dr. Strohbehn has been an educator and researcher in the areas of foodservice management and food safety since 1986. She is certified by the National Environmental Health Association as a professional in food safety. She is professor emeritus (August 2018) and extension specialist at Iowa State University where she also oversees the Food Safety Project website. She has developed many extension programs and materials in areas such as general food safety, buying local produce, and school nutrition operations. In 2010, she was recognized by NSF International with the Educator Award in 2010. She holds a PhD from Iowa State University.

Both Dr. Sneed and Dr. Strohbehn are registered dietitians with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and are registered ServSafe® instructors with the National Restaurant Association. They have received nearly $10 million in Federal, state, and private sources for research and education projects, with the majority focused on improving food safety in retail settings. They worked together at Iowa State University on several research and education projects focusing on food safety in schools, assisted living facilities, restaurants, and child care.

Contact them with any questions or comments at foodsafety@foodhandler.com

Flour Safety: Don’t Let E. coli become the Secret Ingredient in your Cake.

Earlier this month, we started to see information coming out about a foodborne illness outbreak from an unlikely source – flour. As of early-April, 12 people had fallen ill, and three people had been hospitalized as a result of flour contaminated with Salmonella. While the outbreak is still in its early stages, no individuals have died because of their illness. A specific source has not yet been identified in the outbreak, but all who have fallen ill have reported eating raw batter or dough due before developing symptoms – and flour has been identified as the only common ingredient in these batters and doughs.

Be Proactive and Don’t End Up in Food Safety Jail!

Ok, I admit – there really is no food safety jail. But there is jail and, while it is uncommon, you can be sent there for not practicing food safety. Just the other day, I ran across a news report about two individuals in Wales who were sent to jail (albeit a suspended sentence) for “failing to take action to protect food from the risk of contamination; placing unsafe food on the market; failing to comply with a Remedial Action Notice and operating the business without approval after permission to supply seafood was suspended.”

30 Years Later: The Foodborne Illness Outbreak that Changed Food Safety

In January, we hit a major anniversary.  One I am betting snuck by many of you – including me! January marked 30 years since the deadly 1993 E. coli O157:H7 outbreak at Jack in the Box restaurants on the west coast. The anniversary wasn’t on any of the major news networks that I recall. It did make it into a few newspapers, at least one or two of the newspapers that are left.  It wasn’t until late-February that I realized it.