Imagine this: you order a milkshake during your stay in the hospital to help make light of the situation at hand, just to find out that the ice cream used in the milkshake actually made you sick: Listeria. A place to heal has now placed you in further danger, how could this have happened? This podcast explores Blue Bell Creameries first ever recall of products due to adulterated products contaminated with Listeria.

Listeria is known as one of the deadliest foodborne pathogens but to the general public, this is not typically known. Listeria is especially deadly because of its ability to survive in diverse environments and withstand extreme temperatures where once it enters the human body, it travels quickly through the bloodstream and can reach the brain. Given its infamous reputation, one might assume that food safety systems would advise food companies and farmers to be especially cautious of the pathogen.

However, this was not the case for Blue ell Creameries who did not even have tests in place for the identification of Listeria despite how Listeria is commonly found in dairy products. Blue Bell began as a butter company and then transitioned into being a household ice cream brand in the Southern United States. The company never had to recall their products until 2015when the South Carolina State Health Department sampled Blue Bell products and found traces of Listeria within them.There were a total of 10 infected consumers and 3 deaths in this entire outbreak, which may not seem like a lot to researchers who are accustomed to the fatalities that Listeria can cause, but to the public it’s alarming.This podcast further explores how it could be that this deadly pathogen could have affected a small number of people in comparison to other Listeria outbreaks. The entities, technology,and science involved are analyzed to better understand the successes and failures of the food safety system and what it implies moving forward.

Produced by Sarah Khan, Elenna Fathi, and Crystal He

These podcast episodes were created by members of the 2025 Winter Capstone course in the Human Biology and Society major at UCLA's Institute for Society and Genetics (https://socgen.ucla.edu/). The faculty sponsor is Christopher Kelty. For questions or concerns email ckelty@ucla.edu.

How could a quick trip after work to Trader Joe’s turn into a public health crisis? In this episode we investigate the 2013 E. coli outbreak linked to Glass Onion Catering’s prepackaged salads. How did the intersection of contaminated water, industrial farming, and regulatory loopholes create such a deadly outbreak? More importantly—who was supposed to protect us, who failed us, and how could it have been prevented?

In 2013 a simple salad purchase turned into a public health disaster. Across four states on the West coast, thirty three people fell ill and seven of them were hospitalized due to an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 linked to pre-packaged salads sold as Trader Joe’s. Despite the food safety laws designed to prevent incidents like these, failures at multiple levels from agricultural water testing, to processing plant sanitation, to supply chain oversight—this deadly bacterium was allowed to slip through the cracks. This episode delves into the complex journey of contamination. It begins in the farm fields of Modesto, CA, where antibiotic-laden runoff from industrial cattle farms might have seeded dangerous bacteria into irrigation water. We unpack how industrial farming practices and weak regulatory enforcement turned leafy greens into a recurring vehicle for deadly outbreaks. A deep dive into the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), the evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and the hidden risks of modern food production reveal the systemic flaws that are still putting consumers at risk. Why does E. coli keep popping up in our fresh product? How can we fix a food system setup to prioritize efficiency over safety? Join us as we uncover the biological, political, and economic forces that shape our modern food supply as well as what it means for the future of food safety in the United States.

Produced by Ayesha Ashraf and Anushka Samirah

These podcast episodes were created by members of the 2025 Winter Capstone course in the Human Biology and Society major at UCLA's Institute for Society and Genetics (https://socgen.ucla.edu/). The faculty sponsor is Christopher Kelty. For questions or concerns email ckelty@ucla.edu.

In 2011, across 26 states, 136 people were sickened, 37 were hospitalized and one person died. The culprit: Salmonella Heidelberg, contracted through the consumption of contaminated ground turkey from Cargill Meat Solutions based in Springdale, Arkansas.

One meal. That’s all it took for 10-month-old Ruby Jane Lee to go from a happy, exploring baby to a hospital bed, fighting for her life. In 2011, a massive Salmonella Heidelberg outbreak linked to Cargill’s ground turkey sickened 136 people, hospitalized 37, and caused one death —but experts estimate the true toll could be over 4,000 cases. It took 22 weeks before a recall was issued. Why? A broken food safety system that prioritizes corporate profits over consumer protection. Why did the USDA and FSIS fail to act sooner? Budget cuts crippled foodborne illness tracking, and dangerously lax contamination standards allowed nearly 50% of ground turkey to test positive for salmonella. Outdated policies, corporate negligence, and regulatory failures left the public vulnerable. While victims suffered, families were left in the dark, and contaminated meat remained on store shelves. Join us as we investigate the failures of food safety oversight and the growing threat of multidrug-resistant superbugs. We’ll uncover how contamination spreads from farm to table, why it took months to act, and how corporations like Cargill avoid accountability. Don’t assume you’re safe just because you cook your food properly. The system is flawed— and it’s designed to let corporations off the hook. It’s time to demand
change.

Produced by Andrea Musi, Sadhana Jeyakumar, and Ian Kim

These podcast episodes were created by members of the 2025 Winter Capstone course in the Human Biology and Society major at UCLA's Institute for Society and Genetics (https://socgen.ucla.edu/). The faculty sponsor is Christopher Kelty. For questions or concerns email ckelty@ucla.edu.