The FIFA World Cup is coming to Atlanta, and with it, up to 10 million visitors, thousands of temporary food vendors, and a food safety infrastructure that is already stretched thin.

In this episode of Don’t Eat Poop!, Francine and Matt pull apart the logistics of feeding a city-sized surge of international fans, from inspecting pop-up tents in 100-degree heat to the very real norovirus scenario that could turn one food truck into a multi-city outbreak. 

When you pack 10 million people into a city with 28 health inspectors on the clock, something is going to fall through the cracks — the question is how much.

In this episode:

💩 [02:29] The World Cup is coming to Atlanta: By the numbers

💩 [09:25] Atlanta health inspectors prepare for an impossible workload

💩 [16:01] The norovirus scenario nobody wants to think about

💩 [17:59] Temperature control and food safety blind spots

💩 [25:27] Moral of the story: don’t be a jerk to your health inspector

💩 [28:42] Approved vendors, traceability, and what food trucks get wrong

💩 [37:39] Atlanta is trying — and that deserves credit

Resources from this episode

Take a look at the article we’re talking about in this episode: Atlanta health inspectors prepare restaurants and vendors for World Cup crowds

Noteworthy quotes from this episode

“ Moral of the story is do not be a jerk to your health inspector.” – Matt Regusci

“The volume of people is one thing. […] So now they’ve got to inspect all these temporary vendors that are gonna come in to be permitted for the World Cup.” – 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!