Cantaloupe Recalls, Norovirus Nightmares & the Food Safety Chemical Nobody’s Talking About | Episode 167

Another cantaloupe recall. Another round of questions about why the food industry keeps making the same mistakes — and whether the tools to fix them are already sitting on the shelf, ignored.

In this episode of Don’t Eat Poop!, Francine and Matt dig into a Salmonella cantaloupe recall, the science of why cantaloupes are such a high-risk product, and a sanitizer that’s been EPA- and FDA-approved for years but still can’t get traction in the industry. Plus: Francine’s heading to the Food Safety Summit to talk norovirus in retail, and the stories from the field are exactly what you’d expect from Don’t Eat Poop.

Spoiler alert: The solutions often exist. The problem is getting a risk-averse, relationship-driven industry to actually use them.

In this episode:

💩 [00:00] Francine is speaking at the Food Safety Summit — norovirus in retail

💩 [06:57] Cantaloupe Salmonella recall breakdown

💩 [08:15] Why cantaloupes are uniquely high-risk (and how to eat one safely)

💩 [11:58] Hypochlorous acid: the sanitizer the industry is ignoring

💩 [19:04] How chemical distribution actually works (and why it blocks innovation)

💩 [20:06] When your auditor and your salesperson are the same person

💩 [30:25] Cantaloupe recall details: 8,302 cartons, four states

💩 [32:00] Norovirus incidents in grocery stores — how often it actually happens

Disclaimer: Episode title and content do not constitute legal or health advice.

Resources from this episode

Is It Time for a “Kill Step” for Pathogens on Produce at Retail? By Eric Moorman and Hal King

Noteworthy quotes from this episode

“You can’t really sanitize or get rid of all the potential pathogens on the outside of a cantaloupe because of the webbed outside.” – Matt Regusci

“There’s something out there that works that nobody’s talking about, and there’s such a resistance to this product.” – Francine L Shaw

Connect with Francine, Matt, and the “Don’t Eat Poop!” show on LinkedIn! 

Check out Francine’s book Who Watches the Kitchen? on Amazon!