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Every corporate food safety crisis seems to follow the same script: a somber press conference, a pledge to prioritize safety, a promise to retrain the people at the bottom. But what if the missing ingredient isn't more data or policy — it's story? 

In this episode of Don’t Eat Poop!, Dr. Darin Detwiler and Gennette Zimmer join Francine and Matt to make the case that food safety culture is built on the stories we tell, and the ones we're afraid to.

They explore how storytelling shapes food safety culture, why credentials don't always equal true expertise, and why so many food safety conferences still don't reflect the people most affected by failures.

00:00:00 Storytelling as the "Mortar" of Food Safety Culture

00:03:57 Darin's 30 Years of Teaching Comes to a Close

00:12:39 Teaching Through Storytelling

00:19:43 Peanut Corp, Baby Formula, Boar's Head: A Pattern of Ignored Warnings

00:24:00 The Corporate Crisis Playbook

00:26:48 The Families' Food Safety Forgets

00:31:00 Storytelling Talk at the Food Safety Consortium

00:40:46 How Storytelling Impacts Audiences

00:44:15 Diversity and Representation in Food Safety

00:49:34 The Three Dimensions of Storytelling

Connect with Dr. Darin Detwiler on LinkedIn

Connect with Gennette Zimmer on LinkedIn

Take a look at our past episode with Darin and Gennette: What Happens When You Speak Up For Food Safety with Food Safety Icon Dr. Darin Detwiler and His Wife Gennette Zimmer

Get 25% off the 2026 Food Safety Consortium with discount code POOP

“ When the people who are your intended audience do not see themselves reflected in the conversation, that's hard for buy-in.” – Dr. Darin Detwiler

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