334: Food Safety at a Crossroads: What Event Planners Need to Know
To kick off Food Safety Awareness Month, I’ll be joined by Chef Keith Norman—ServSafe Instructor, Allergen Awareness Trainer, and Food Safety Manager/Assistant Executive Chef at South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa—on Eating at a Meeting Podcast LIVE. Keith lives and breathes safe dining, from the back-of-house kitchen line to the banquet floor where thousands of guests are served every day.
And right now, food safety is in the headlines.
👉 The CDC has quietly scaled back its FoodNet program, slashing surveillance from 8 foodborne pathogens down to just 2—salmonella and E. coli. What does that mean for how outbreaks are detected and prevented?
👉 Reports suggest the FDA is considering outsourcing much of its routine food safety inspections to states. Could this compromise oversight—or is it an opportunity to rethink how inspections are done?
👉 California’s new allergen labeling law and updates to FDA Food Codes across the country are changing the way food handlers, restaurants, and yes—event venues—must approach menu planning and guest safety.
For those of us planning events where food is front and center, these aren’t just policy changes. They affect how confident we can be that the meals we serve are safe, compliant, and inclusive.
Chef Keith and I will break down what these developments mean for caterers, venues, and meeting professionals—and how you can protect your guests and your brand in a changing food safety landscape.
Because every meal matters. And so does every regulation behind it.
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Lianne Mandelbaum
Founder & CEO
After a frightening brush with her young son's anaphylactic peanut allergy while traveling through Denver airport, Lianne Mandelbaum's eyes were opened to the challenges families face when flying with food allergies. During a family vacation, Lianne was confronted by a stranger questioning her cautiousness as she protected her son, Josh, from the risks of exposure to peanuts. This experience fueled her mission to advocate for greater awareness, compassion, and policy changes around food allergy safety in airports and on airplanes. Lianne Mandelbaum has since become a respected voice and founder of initiatives to make travel safer and more inclusive for all families navigating life with severe food allergies.
Gwen Smith
Founding Editor, Allergic Living magazine
Gwen Smith, Allergic Living’s co-founder and editor, is a journalist with years of experience in both Canada and the U.S. Among her credentials, she has been the deputy managing editor and national editor of The Globe and Mail newspaper, the editor-in-chief of a national women’s magazine, a magazine writer and a radio and TV producer at CBC. She and the editorial team may be reached at editor@allergicliving.com.
Gwen knows the realities of life with allergies. She has food allergies to soy, shellfish and peanuts and environmental allergies. She is co-owner of the publishing firms AGW Media Inc. and AGW Publishing Inc.
