Food Safety & Food Defense Archives - World Food Policy Center

E295: Food engineering is fueling preventable disease

April 2, 2026

An amazing paper was just published in the scientific literature in a journal called Millbank Quarterly, and two of the three authors on the paper are guests today, Dr. Ashley Gearhardt and Dr. Allan Brandt. I happen to be the third author, which makes me very proud because if I look back on all the different papers and books and things I’ve been associated with over the years, this is one of the most powerful, I think. And potentially one of the things that could create the greatest impact. Our guests today, are Dr. Ashley Gearhardt professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan. And Ashley is a leading expert on why people eat what they do and has been a pioneer in work on food and addiction, which is a really important topic now, not only scientifically, but in policy and legal settings. Our other guest is Dr. Allan Brandt, Professor of the History of Science, and the Amalie Kass Professor of the History of Medicine at Harvard University. Allan has chronicled the tobacco industry for decades and has written the landmark book on the topic, which is entitled The Cigarette Century, the Rise, fall, and Deadly Persistence of the Product That Defined America. Now, you’re probably wondering on this food podcast, why we have somebody involved with tobacco. Well, you’re about to find out.

E281: Is ultra-processed food still food?

August 28, 2025

In this episode, Dr. Chris van Tulleken, a physician and professor from University College London, discusses the alarming reality of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and their impact on our health. Van Tulleken details his own month-long experiment consuming UPFs, resulting in significant weight gain and various health issues. He explains the scientific definition of UPFs, their industry-driven design to enhance addictiveness, and the broader implications on public health. The conversation delves into the addiction potential of UPFs, their effect on brain chemistry, and the critical need for policy change to address these issues. Hosted by Kelly Brownell, this episode offers a thorough, eye-opening exploration of why we can’t stop eating food that isn’t really food.

E280: Industry user fees could fix a food safety loophole for FDA

August 25, 2025

The Food and Drug Administration or FDA regulates roughly 78% of the US food supply. This includes packaged products, food additives, infant formula, ultra-processed foods, and lots more. However, an analysis by the Environmental Working Group found that 99% of new food ingredients enter our food supply through a legal loophole that skirts FDA oversight and seems, to me at least, to be incredibly risky. Today we’re speaking with two authors of a recent legal and policy analysis published in the Journal Health Affairs. They explain what this loophole is and its risks and suggest a new user fee program to both strengthen the FDA’s ability to regulate food ingredients and address growing concerns about food safety. Our guests are Jennifer Pomeranz Associate Professor of Public Health Policy and Management at New York University School of Global Public Health and Emily Broad, director of Harvard Law School Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation.

Related podcasts: Food Industry Behavior & Marketing | Food Policy | Food Safety & Food Defense |

E261: Here’s what you don’t know about food safety

January 23, 2025

For many years in talks that I gave, I showed a slide with an ingredient list from a food most people know. Just to see if the audience could guess what the food was, based on what it was made of. It was very hard for people to guess. A few people might come close, but very few people would guess. And it was pretty hard because the food contained 56 ingredients. This is in one food. And the ingredient list had chemical names, flavorings, stabilizers, and heaven knows what else. But 56 things in one, just one food in the food supply. Pretty amazing to think what kind of things we’re bombarded with in foods we eat in our everyday lives. So, one key question is do we know what all this stuff does to us, either individually or in combination? So, how does ingredient 42 interact with ingredient 17? Even if we happen to know what they do individually, which we may not. And, who’s looking out for the health of the population, and who has regulatory control over these things? Today we’re joined by the author of a new article on this topic published in the American Journal of Public Health. Jennifer Pomeranz is an attorney and is Associate Professor of Public Health Policy and Management in the School of Global Public Health at New York University. The food, by the way, was a chocolate fudge Pop Tart.

E258: Do ‘market driven epidemics’ drive your food choices?

December 18, 2024

For much of history, the word ‘epidemic’ applied to infectious diseases. Large numbers of cases of disease caused by organisms such as bacteria and viruses that spread through water, air, or other means, sometimes transmitted from person to person, or back and forth between people and animals. Then came epidemics of chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease – diseases occurring in very large numbers and created not by infectious agents, but by drivers in our day to day lives, such as a bad food environment. A new paper was just published in the PLOS global health literature that I found fascinating. It focuses on another use of the concept of epidemics: market driven epidemics. Let’s find out what these are and find out a little bit more about their implications for our health and wellbeing. Our guests today are two of the authors of that paper. Dr. Jonathan Quick is a physician and expert on global health and epidemics. He is an adjunct professor at Duke University’s Global Health Institute. Eszter Rimanyi joins us as well. She works on chronic disease and addiction epidemiology at Duke university.

E255: Reducing food waste: Less seafood wasted than thought in US

November 18, 2024

The U. S. is the largest importer of aquatic foods, which includes fresh and saltwater fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and aquatic plants served in restaurants and homes. A critical piece of this global market is the cold chain, keeping these foods chilled or frozen during storage and transport to market. With 44 percent of aquatic foods sold live or fresh globally, the percentage of fresh over frozen aquatic foods creates an extra logistical cold chain challenge. What’s more, most aquatic foods become, well, fishy from cold chain disruptions, which can cause perceived food safety concerns, potentially resulting in food getting tossed into the bin. Until recently, research to understand just how much aquatic food gets wasted or lost has been spotty. However, in a recent Nature Food article, researchers argue that aquatic food loss and waste in the United States is actually half of earlier estimates. And that’s good news that we’ll explore today. This interview is part of an ongoing exploration of food loss and waste.

E252: Is farm-level environmental impact reporting needed or even possible?

October 22, 2024

In today’s podcast, we’re discussing Fast and Furious. But it’s not the movie series starring Vin Diesel. Instead, the catchphrase describes rapidly increasing and somewhat confusing food system environmental impact reporting. Food firms, farmers, and governments all have a clear need for more quantitative environmental impact data in order to measure and understand factors such as carbon footprint, sustainable agricultural practices, and food supply chain processes. But there is no single standard for such reporting and different measurement methodologies make it difficult to assess progress. What’s more, greater transparency regarding environmental impacts and food systems will affect trade and supply chains. Our guest today is Koen Deconinck from the Trade and Agricultural Directorate of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD for short.

E229: From label to table: Regulating food in America

February 14, 2024

How did the Nutrition Facts label come to appear on millions of food products in the U.S.? As Auburn University historian, Xaq Frohlich, reveals in his new book, “From Label to Table: Regulating Food in America in the Information Age,” these seemingly innocuous strips of information reveal the high stakes politics that can help determine what we eat and why. In today’s podcast, Frohlich will explore popular ideas about food, diet, and responsibility for health that have influenced what goes on the Nutrition Facts panel and who gets to decide that.

Related podcasts: Food Industry Behavior & Marketing | Food Policy | Food Safety & Food Defense | History & Food |

E225: Efficient Food Recovery and Waste Prevention – a Business Strategy

January 17, 2024

Our guest today is Jasmine Crowe-Houston, social entrepreneur, and founder of Goodr.co. Jasmine started her journey cooking soul food for hungry unhoused people in her kitchen in her one-bedroom apartment in Atlanta. She fed upwards of 500 people a week for years with pop-up kitchens and parks and parking lots. Then in 2017, she founded Goodr, a technology-based food waste management company that connects firms with food surpluses to nonprofit organizations that can use the food. She has worked with organizations that have food waste issues, such as the Atlanta International Airport, Hormel Foods, and Turner Broadcasting. Today, Goodr has expanded nationwide and sponsors free grocery stores and schools. She has combined charity, innovation, and market-based solutions into a for-profit waste management company that Inc. Magazine called a rare triple win.

E223: Food Policy Lessons from Removing Trans Fats from our Diet

December 20, 2023

In August of 2023, the Food and Drug Administration issued something known as a direct final rule, disregarded trans fats in the food supply. Consumers won’t notice changes as the rule just finalizes FDA’s 2015 ruling that partially hydrogenated oils – trans fats – no longer had “GRAS status.” GRAS stands for generally regarded as safe. We cover this issue today because this trans fat ban was the product of lots of work by a key group of scientists, the advocacy community, and others. The anatomy of this process can teach us a lot about harnessing scientific discovery for social and policy change. At the center of all this is today’s guest, Dr. Walter Willett. Walter Willett is one of the world’s leading nutrition researchers. He is professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and for many years served as chair of its Department of Nutrition. He’s published extensively, been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, and it turns out, is the world’s most cited nutrition researcher.

Podcast Topic: Food Safety & Food Defense

The Leading Voices in Food

Podcast Topic: Food Safety & Food Defense

E295: Food engineering is fueling preventable disease

E281: Is ultra-processed food still food?

E280: Industry user fees could fix a food safety loophole for FDA

E261: Here’s what you don’t know about food safety

E258: Do ‘market driven epidemics’ drive your food choices?

E255: Reducing food waste: Less seafood wasted than thought in US

E252: Is farm-level environmental impact reporting needed or even possible?

E229: From label to table: Regulating food in America

E225: Efficient Food Recovery and Waste Prevention – a Business Strategy

E223: Food Policy Lessons from Removing Trans Fats from our Diet