All it Takes is an Aha Moment

You never know what it’ll be that makes some new concept, idea or notion click. But when it happens, you feel it deep down. It moves you.

That’s what happened to me while watching Darin Detwiler’s December TEDx Talk calling for food safety heroes. In it, the food safety advocate, a QA advisory board member and occasional columnist for this magazine, talks about how he moved forward after losing his son Riley to foodborne illness in 1993.

While interviewing him for a Q&A in this issue, Detwiler talked about his life changing after this heartbreak. He became an advocate for food safety so that fewer people would have to feel the loss he did.

“It’s this opportunity to still be a father to my son,” he told me. “Yes, I lost my son. But that doesn’t mean that my son had to lose his father.”

As someone coming in new to the food safety and quality assurance industry, Detwiler’s story inspired and focused me. It’s important to understand that part of what we’re all here to do is make food safer.

I hope while going through this issue of the magazine, you too have that click moment.

Although these pages will still be full of best practices and advice from industry insiders on everything from regulations to upcoming trends and how to manage cockroaches, some things will undoubtedly look different to long-time readers.

We’ve refreshed some pages (including the one you’re currently reading) and added a new section or two. Throughout 2021, we’ll continue to make small adjustments to the magazine, making it even more enjoyable to read while still providing the advice, tools and knowledge you need.

I’ll be discovering everything new in the industry right alongside you, leaning on our advisory board, former Editor Lisa Lupo and other industry experts. But I want to learn from you too.

I’m looking forward to your feedback. So, reach out via email, phone, Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. What did you love? What did you hate? What was it that clicked for you?