Confessions of a Food Safety A**Hole

In this special “On the Road” edition of Confessions of a Food Safety A-Hole, Darin and Gennette head north on California’s 101 toward Salinas for the Western Food Safety Conference: recording live from the car, and even the Renaissance Fair along the way. What starts as a road trip becomes a deeper conversation about food safety leadership, storytelling, state-by-state policy inconsistencies, and the people behind the systems that protect our food supply. Darin reflects on what it really means to lead in food safety beyond compliance checklists and regulations, while Gennette explores the human side of conferences, farming culture, and the sensory experience of being surrounded by the land that feeds us. Along the way, they discuss: Why food safety standards can vary dramatically depending on your zip code The challenge of leadership during recalls and public scrutiny What composting, storytelling, and produce farming unexpectedly have in common Why conferences need more authentic storytelling—and fewer PowerPoint slides The surprisingly robust food safety operations at a Renaissance Fair Plus: artichokes, loaded baked potatoes, recall controversies, and a live “Ren Fair Report.”This episode is part travelogue, part industry debrief, and part meditation on why food safety is never just about policy; it’s about people.

⚠️ Spoiler Alert This episode contains major spoilers for the AppleTV show Pluribus. If you haven’t watched it yet and want to go in blind, you may want to pause on listening to this episode and come back later.In Episode 11 of Confessions of a Food Safety A**Hole, Gennette challenges Darin to unpack the noticeable shift in his writing and what’s driving it. What started as personal storytelling has evolved into something sharper: pattern recognition turned real-time accountability. He’s no longer just reflecting on what’s happened, he’s naming behaviors and leadership decisions as they unfold. And the change isn’t just in what he writes, but how he writes it: more personal, more grounded, and more willing to use everyday moments to expose much bigger systemic failures.From there, the conversation digs into what Darin calls his “lasagna theory” of food safety [science, policy, leadership, behavior, communication] all layered together and impossible to separate once they’re in motion. Beneath it all is a harder, more uncomfortable question: how do you make truth travel faster than what’s sensational? This episode sits in that tension between urgency and responsibility, speed and precision and pushes toward something deeper than awareness: making the right conversations impossible to ignore.Confessions of a Food Safety A**Hole is sponsored by Eagle Protect, the only glove company that third-party tests its gloves because “trust us” isn’t a food safety strategy. Learn more at www.eagleprotect.com and Safeguard What Matters.Detwiler, D. (2026, April 2). “Do you recall this? The 1906 parallel: History repeating Itself.” Food Safety News. Available online at: https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2026/04/do-you-recall-this/Detwiler, D. (2026, March 19). “Food Safety Leadership Must Begin Before People Die.” QA Magazine. Available online at: https://www.qualityassurancemag.com/article/food-safety-leadership-must-begin-before-people-die/Detwiler, D. (2026, January 22). “‘Pluribus,’ Complacency and the Reluctant Steward.” QA Magazine. Available online at: https://www.qualityassurancemag.com/article/pluribus-complacency-and-the-reluctant-steward/

When it comes to failures in food safety, accountability isn’t just legal; it’s cultural, ethical, and deeply personal. Fines get paid. Headlines fade. But is anyone really held accountable? In this episode Darin and Gennette are joined by Bill Marler for a raw, honest conversation about economic penalties, prison sentences, public health secrecy, and the culture of “it wasn’t me.” We talk about insulating executives, the power of peer pressure, and why true accountability requires more than legal strategy; it requires integrity. If food safety is about protecting every plate, this episode asks who’s protecting the truth. This candid conversation is sobering yet still holds the optimism of possibility.In this episode we discuss: • Why real criminal trials are rare • How fines fail to shift behavior • The problem of regulatory “insulation” • The role of peer pressure in leadership • Why food safety culture begins with moral courage

Episode 7 closes out 2025 with a lively mix of stories, travel moments, and big reflections. Gennette and Darin look back on the year and revisit Darin’s latest trip to the Dubai International Food Safety Conference, where conversations, connections, and a few surprises shaped the experience. They also share a rapid set of New Year’s resolutions gathered from food safety leaders around the world, offering a snapshot of where the field is headed. And to cap it off, the episode ends with Darin’s full Dubai keynote, a powerful message about invisible risks, responsibility, and the future of food safety.

In Episode 05 of Confessions of a Food Safety A**Hole, Gennette flips the script and interviews co-host Dr. Darin Detwiler about Silent Enemies, his serialized story tracing the eerie parallels between life on a nuclear submarine and the hidden dangers of food safety failures. It’s part memoir, part moral map, and a reflection on what it means to act before the invisible becomes irreversible.

In this third episode of Confessions of a Food Safety A**Hole, Darin and Gennette reflect on the ten year anniversary of the PCA landmark conviction and interview their first guest about Global Glove Safety Day on September 18, 2025 and the importance of quality gloves for food safety.

In this kickoff episode, Gennette Zimmer and Dr. Darin Detwiler pull back the curtain on what it really means to be a “food safety a-hole”—and why that label, while uncomfortable, might actually be a badge of honor.