Food Protection Trends - January/February 2020 - 53

BEYOND the BIO

Bacon Sorbate Study" on Clostridium
botulinum inhibition.
In 1980, Carl became a Food Technologist at USDA headquarters. Here,
he used his hands-on approach to
fixing problems by often being the
only microbiologist out in the field.
Rather than wade through records, he
would visit the far corners of a plant
to visually inspect the processes and
procedures in order to find solutions.
"I'd watch how everyone worked and
often be able to catch little things that
led to bigger problems with crosscontamination and such," says Carl.
Setting the Standard
Carl also played a key role in
developing standards and regulation
for proper heating and cooling of
meats, such as roast beef, dry-cured
hams and dry sausages, to prevent
survival of pathogens. Often, he had
to rely on those early fix-it skills
and his knowledge of microbiology,
chemistry and physics to reach a
conclusion. "I went to New Mexico
once to investigate salmonellosis in
jerky," says Carl. "I used physics to
show how evaporative cooling keeps
the jerky below a lethal temperature
until it becomes dry. Dry Salmonella
is heat stable and can survive. You
couldn't just dry the meat and make
jerky. You had to first treat it with heat
to inactivate the pathogens."
Carl credits his mentors and
colleagues as important to his career
as his ability to mix microbiology and
chemistry with the physics he learned
by being a Mr. Fix It. "Working with
Dr. Vanderzant and with the USDA
meant I met a lot of great microbiologists and chemists but also had
the opportunity to train and teach a
lot of wonderful people," says Carl.
Life of the Semi-Retired
After much deliberation and charting,
Carl determined the exact right time
to retire was March 2, 2007. A married

man with two adult daughters and four
grandchildren, he quickly turned his
attention to family and fun. "I'm having
a good time," says Carl, who has taken
several motorcycle trips throughout the
United States as part of his retirement
plan. "I bicycled to work in Beltsville.
When I started working at HQ, I often
had to ride the bus or metro but that
wasn't very time efficient," recalls Carl.
"So I proposed buying a motorcycle
and used a spreadsheet to justify the
purchase, showing that if I rode the
bike to work for a third of the time,
it'd pay for itself in three years. I ended
up riding almost all the time and just
haven't stopped."
His career in food microbiology
wasn't completely over though. Carl has
found himself occasionally working as

a consultant throughout the years and
can often be found in a classroom, or
enjoying lunch discussions with fellow
food safety retirees. "I'm just happy to
contribute," says Carl. "I enjoy pushing
science and working with local schools
and STEM projects that teach kids the
basics of science."

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOOD SAFETY TIP?

Beyond washing your hands to prevent cross-contamination, I always bring up
Wilson's Triad. But I've added that you also need to start with safe ingredients
and have controls, which means it's really five points of Wilson's Triad.
WHAT FOODS DO YOU AVOID?

Raw oysters south of Long Island! And not until December. Prince Edward
Island oysters after October; Wellfleets after November.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST MEMORABLE IAFP MOMENT?

Giving the Ivan Parkin Lecture in 2007.
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE CAR TO OWN?

A Fiat 124 sports coupe. That was one fun car! Although we also had a
"venerable Volvo." We picked it up in Amsterdam, drove it through Italy, and
kept it for 27 years and way over 300,000 miles.
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE MOTORCYCLE TRIP?

Alaska! I picked up a guy outside of Chicago and we traveled together. We
decided to split up in Fairbanks because he wanted to go to Anchorage and I
wanted to go to the Arctic Circle. We met back up in Skowhegan. I ended up
going to Texas next to see relatives and attend an IAFP Annual Meeting. It was a
six-week long trip.
WHAT WOULD YOU ENCOURAGE FUTURE FOOD SAFETY
PROFESSIONALS TO DO OR EXPLORE?

Pre-harvest control of foodborne pathogens in animal production! There's
a lot of work already done here with prevention and also environmental
contamination. Then there are issues, particularly with poultry and swine,
in terms of carcass decontamination procedures and salmonellosis. Better
incentives are needed, whether altruism, economics, regulation or litigation.
January/February Food Protection Trends

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Food Protection Trends - January/February 2020

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