Megan Rand, Senior Investigator, OII Food Products Inspectorate
We Are OII Campaign
By Megan Rand, OII Foods Investigator
Senior Investigator, OII
Hi, I’m Megan Rand, and I’m a senior investigator with OII’s Food Products Inspectorate. My job is to protect public health by inspecting and investigating various types of food and dietary supplement manufacturing and warehouse facilities here in the United States and globally. This includes food producing and processing facilities—where the food industry’s adherence to FDA’s regulations and standards is crucial to keeping the public from getting sick.
I take a lot of pride in helping provide the in-person oversight that helps prevent illness-causing pathogens, industrial chemicals, undeclared food allergens, and other harmful contaminants from reaching your food. My colleagues and I are specially trained to know what risks to assess, and what controls and best practices should be in place to ensure the required food safety principles and practices are upheld by manufacturing and warehouse facilities.
For instance, we know what materials should be used as food-contact surfaces in manufacturing facilities so that allergen cross-contact doesn’t occur. We know how chemicals should be used according to the manufacturing label. We also know the specific ingredient and product hazards associated with various manufacturing processes, as well as how to assess manufacturer’s controls on how products utilized in manufacturing are sourced.
A Public Health First Responder
One of my most important roles as a food investigator is doing the detective work (or what we call traceback work) needed to contain a foodborne outbreak. Time is of the essence during these emergencies, and I’m constantly aware of the numbers of those sick or at risk of getting sick. Working closely with other FDA offices and our state and local partners, I start by questioning the firm involved to discover how a pathogen, like E. coli for instance, could have gotten a foothold in a facility.
In-depth inspections usually come next. I’ll comb every inch of a food facility, including examining all equipment, as well as interviewing staff about food safety practices and controls. Staff are always encouraged to shadow me as I inspect, and I make a point to tell them what I’m seeing as I’m seeing it.
Educating While Regulating
Explaining the “why” behind our regulatory authority can often help us gain better proactive compliance with the industry we regulate. The science-based standards we assess might at first seem arbitrary to the employee on the production floor, for instance, who doesn’t understand that their small action might mean the difference between someone becoming gravely ill or remaining fine after eating a food.
Educating while regulating also helps us grow a food safety culture, across all levels of government and industry. We motivate industry staff to embrace their important role in the public health landscape. As a result, consumer confidence in America’s food producers and processors increases too.
A Mom with Two Boys
While the job can be challenging—every investigation is different, industry representatives aren’t always happy to see us, and time away from family is tough—I still love what I do. I know that the skill and care I apply is serving our overarching mission: to protect public health.
I also know the real value and difference that my colleagues and I bring to making our food supply safer … I’ve seen it with my own eyes. And that’s vital to me, as a mom with two little boys. I need to know that the food I buy for them is safe and will support their healthy development. As an OII food investigator, I want you and your family to have that same faith and confidence too.