Savvy Food Safety, Inc.

07/30/2026

🎉 We're so excited!

We just finished creating our first online training course!

Designed specifically for new ServSafe® trainers, this course provides the practical knowledge, tools, and resources needed to confidently teach classes and build a successful training business.

We can't wait to launch it! 🚀

Call now to connect with business.

07/27/2026

THE CULTURE SHIFT 💚

One of my biggest leadership lessons came when I was a health inspector.

👨‍🍳 I walked into a restaurant and watched a gentleman making handmade tortilla shells.

As I got closer, I realized he wasn't mixing the dough in a bowl at all.

🌳 It was a cross-section of a tree trunk that had been used for so many years it had naturally worn into the shape of a bowl.

I knew immediately it wasn't an approved food-contact surface in a commercial kitchen.
This is where leadership gets complicated.

❤️ I was a human being before I was a health inspector.

Ninety-nine percent of the time, that doesn't change my responsibility.

But every once in a while, you encounter a situation that reminds you the person standing in front of you has a story.

This was one of those moments.

He told me he had brought that piece of wood with him from his homeland. It had belonged to his father before him. It wasn't just a tool.

It was a family heirloom.

A piece of his history.

💭 There was no way I was going to make him throw it away.

But I also couldn't allow it to remain in use in a commercial kitchen.

So we found another solution.

The bowl had to leave the restaurant, and I made it clear that I could never find it there again. The food safety standard didn't change.

Neither did my compassion.

✨ That day reminded me that leadership isn't about choosing between accountability and empathy.

The best leaders find a way to practice both.
You can uphold the standard...
..without forgetting the human being standing in front of you.

07/24/2026

Oh, Taylor Farms!

Every time Taylor Farms turns up at the center of an outbreak, the company says the same thing — this is an isolated event, our branded products are not

07/24/2026

A crowded elevator in St. Louis. A stranger's badge. A conversation that led food safety consortium founder Rick Biros to a mother named Dana and to Kayla, her daughter, who died of E. coli O111 in 2007.

LISTEN HERE 👉🏻 https://savvyfs.com/podcast/

07/24/2026

THE CULTURE SHIFT 💚

I almost didn’t hire one of my best employees.

During the interview, I wasn’t convinced she really wanted the job. She was quiet. Reserved. She didn’t sell herself the way many candidates do.

I almost passed.

Instead, I gave her the opportunity.

She stayed for nearly 15 years.

She rarely missed a day of work. If I needed someone to cover a shift, she was the first to volunteer. If someone called off and I needed help, she was there. If I needed someone to stay late, I didn’t even have to wonder who would step up.

She became one of the most dependable people on my team.

That experience taught me something I’ll never forget.

The people who interview the best aren’t always the people who perform the best.

Sometimes the quiet candidate becomes your strongest employee.

Sometimes the person who doesn’t “wow” you in a 30-minute interview earns your trust over the next 15 years.

As leaders, we have to be careful not to confuse confidence with capability.

As someone with ADHD and as a leader who advocates for neurodiversity, I’ve learned that some of the most talented people don’t always shine in traditional interviews. They shine when they’re given the opportunity to contribute.

Leadership isn’t about hiring the loudest voice in the room.

It’s about recognizing potential that others might overlook.

07/22/2026

THE CULTURE SHIFT 🤦🏼‍♀️

🤝 Trust isn’t built in the big moments. It’s built in the small ones.

Leaders often think trust is earned during a crisis.

It isn’t.

Trust is built every day…

✔️ When you keep your word.
✔️ When you admit you don’t have all the answers.
✔️ When you give credit instead of taking it.
✔️ When you listen without interrupting.
✔️ When people know you’ll be fair—even when the conversation is difficult.

People don’t decide whether to trust you during the crisis.

They decide long before the crisis ever happens.

When trust exists, people speak up.
They admit mistakes.
They share ideas.
They ask for help.

And that’s where stronger cultures begin.

07/20/2026

💩🎉 I had an absolute blast educating the forces—literally and figuratively—about norovirus today at the Bear-Hands Educational Conference & Expo at the New Bern Riverfront Convention Center in New Bern, NC!

The energy was fantastic, the attendees were engaged, and the waterfront view wasn’t too bad either! 🌊☀️

A huge thank you to the amazing team at the Craven County Health Department for the invitation and for making this such a fun event. I truly appreciate the opportunity to share practical ways to prevent norovirus and help keep our communities safer. 💙

07/20/2026

THE CULTURE SHIFT 💚

Trust isn’t something leaders ask for.

It’s something they earn.

Not through titles.

Not through authority.

Not through years of experience.

Through consistency.

Trust is built when people know where they stand.

When promises are kept.

When difficult conversations are handled with respect.

When leaders listen before they react.

When people can admit a mistake without wondering if they’ll regret being honest.

Trust doesn’t happen overnight.

It’s built one conversation…

One decision…

One action at a time.

And it can be lost just as quickly.

Every interaction either strengthens trust…

Or weakens it.

That’s why trust isn’t just part of culture.

It is the culture.

💚 Everything else is built on top of it.

07/18/2026

Unprecedented outbreak, how did so many people get sick 🤔



https://www.marlerblog.com/case-news/taylor-farms-posted-its-own-recall-it-went-to-27-states-not-5-and-the-list-includes-bags-sold-in-grocery-stores/?fbclid=IwdGRjcATIfvlwZG9mBWZkaWQWUKzF5I60CT2b2KX0Df4HtMXPRJ3QHWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR78PhPOd9caOH0uHYcdmHhZsMtXRvNcvDd-STQVfWe5bQT7wDsGDxdJDbkeqg_aem_P3GUmPHCj-TOc-tjTqYY0g

Taylor Farms has posted a recall notice on its own website. As of this morning it is still not on FDA's recalls page, which means the only

07/18/2026

THE CULTURE SHIFT 💚

Every culture tells a story.

Not the one written in the employee handbook.

The one people experience every day.

Do leaders listen?

Do questions get welcomed… or shut down?

Do people feel safe enough to admit a mistake before it becomes a crisis?

Do leaders recognize people for speaking up…

Or only notice when something goes wrong?

Culture isn’t built during your annual meeting.

It’s built in the conversations that happen every single day.

Especially the difficult ones.

In food safety, those conversations can protect more than a reputation.

They can protect lives.

That’s why culture isn’t a “soft skill.”

It’s one of the strongest risk management tools an organization has.

💚 Change the conversation.

You’ll change the culture.

⸻

What’s one conversation leaders should be having more often?