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The Power of Storytelling in Food Safety with Dr. Darin Detwiler & Gennette Zimmer | Episode 175
Every corporate food safety crisis seems to follow the same script: a somber press conference, a pledge to prioritize safety, a promise to retrain the people at the bottom. But what if the missing ingredient isn’t more data or policy — it’s story?
In this episode of Don’t Eat Poop!, Dr. Darin Detwiler and Gennette Zimmer join Francine and Matt to make the case that food safety culture is built on the stories we tell, and the ones we’re afraid to.
They explore how storytelling shapes food safety culture, why credentials don’t always equal true expertise, and why so many food safety conferences still don’t reflect the people most affected by failures.
In this episode:
💩 [00:00] Storytelling as the “Mortar” of Food Safety Culture
💩 [03:57] Darin’s 30 Years of Teaching Comes to a Close
💩 [12:39] Teaching Through Storytelling
💩 [19:43] Peanut Corp, Baby Formula, Boar’s Head: A Pattern of Ignored Warnings
💩 [24:00] The Corporate Crisis Playbook and Why It Fails
💩 [26:48] The Families’ Food Safety Forgets
💩 [31:35] Storytelling Talk at the Food Safety Consortium
💩 [40:46] How Storytelling Impacts Audiences
💩 [44:15] Who Gets on Stage: Diversity and Representation in Food Safety
💩 [49:34] The Three Dimensions of Storytelling
Disclaimer: Episode title and content do not constitute legal or health advice.
Resources from this episode
Connect with Dr. Darin Detwiler on LinkedIn
Connect with Gennette Zimmer on LinkedIn
Confessions of a Food Safety A**hole podcast
Take a look at our past episode with Darin and Gennette: What Happens When You Speak Up For Food Safety with Food Safety Icon Dr. Darin Detwiler and His Wife Gennette Zimmer
Get 25% off the 2026 Food Safety Consortium with discount code POOP
Noteworthy quotes from this episode
“ When the people who are your intended audience do not see themselves reflected in the conversation, that’s hard for buy-in.” – Dr. Darin Detwiler
We hope you enjoy this episode of Don’t Eat Poop!
Connect with Francine, Matt, and the “Don’t Eat Poop!” show on LinkedIn!
Check out Francine’s book Who Watches the Kitchen? on Amazon!
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