Burnt Toast: When Food Fears Go Up in Smoke with Dr. Joe

Unbiased Science

@unbiasedscipod

Education, Science, Health & Fitness

4.4 • 644 Ratings

🗓️ 19 November 2025

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, Jess and Sarah welcome Dr. Joe Schwarcz, a renowned chemist and science communicator, to explore a range of current scientific topics. The scientists discuss a recent infant formula recall and the FDA's removal of black box warnings from estrogen products, providing context for these regulatory decisions. Dr. Schwarcz addresses the complexities of nutrition research, debunking common misconceptions about superfoods and food additives while emphasizing the importance of understanding food safety. Throughout the conversation, the experts examine the challenges of effective science communication in an era of widespread misinformation. The episode underscores the critical need for improved public science education and clearer communication strategies to help people navigate complex health and safety information in their daily lives. Video available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/0kvnw6eE_2I (00:00) Intro and Public Health Update (03:41) What Is A News Item That Caught Your Attention And Why? (Removing Black Box Warning From Estrogen Products) (07:45) The Problem With The Blanket Approach To Ultraprocessed Foods (11:47) Better Not Burn Your Toast - Dr Joe's New Book (15:29) The Importance (And Challenge) Of Science Communication (22:39) Risk Approach Vs. Hazard Approach (26:51) Are SuperFoods Real? (30:45) What Is Giving Hope In Science And Public Health? https://ecwpress.com/products/better-not-burn-your-toast Better Not Burn Your Toast: The Science of Food and Health on Amazon ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interested in advertising with us? Please reach out to advertising@airwavemedia.com, with “Unbiased Science” in the subject line. PLEASE NOTE: The discussion and information provided in this podcast are for general educational, scientific, and informational purposes only and are not intended as, and should not be treated as, medical or other professional advice for any particular individual or individuals. Every person and medical issue is different, and diagnosis and treatment requires consideration of specific facts often unique to the individual. As such, the information contained in this podcast should not be used as a substitute for consultation with and/or treatment by a doctor or other medical professional. If you are experiencing any medical issue or have any medical concern, you should consult with a doctor or other medical professional. Further, due to the inherent limitations of a podcast such as this as well as ongoing scientific developments, we do not guarantee the completeness or accuracy of the information or analysis provided in this podcast, although, of course we always endeavor to provide comprehensive information and analysis. In no event may Unbiased Science or any of the participants in this podcast be held liable to the listener or anyone else for any decision allegedly made or action allegedly taken or not taken allegedly in reliance on the discussion or information in this podcast or for any damages allegedly resulting from such reliance. The information provided herein do not represent the views of our employers.

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to an Airwave Media podcast.
0:20.0	Welcome to Unbiased Science.
0:23.9	Where we bring scientific method of the madness.
0:27.5	Where your hosts, Dr. Jess Steyer, and Dr. Sarah Scheinman.
0:33.1	And this week, we are joined again by the amazing Dr. Joe Schwartz, who is going to talk to us a little bit about chemistry and food myths and misinformation in general and all the things that we're reading in headlines that are scaring the poop out of us to tell us whether or not we should actually be scared.
0:55.6	So welcome, Dr. Joe, and thanks for joining us.
0:59.0	Well, thanks very much.
1:00.2	Always fun and pleasure.
1:02.6	So real quick, before we get started, an update, we are recording this on November 12th.
1:08.9	And the thing that people are buzzing about in public health
1:11.4	right now is a major recall of infant formula. There has been, there have been 15 infants across
1:20.3	12 states that have developed botulism linked to by heart infant formula. All were hospitalized.
1:27.9	Thankfully, no deaths have occurred.
1:30.4	Originally, a couple of specific lots were recalled,
1:33.7	but the company made the decision to recall all of their formula nationwide.
1:40.6	Just a quick note that infant botulism is fundamentally different from classic foodborne
1:46.3	botulism in older children and adults this is something that we absolutely should take very
1:52.0	seriously it could take up to four weeks for symptoms to to show so if your child is showing
2:00.0	any of the symptoms we've written about this at large on
2:03.3	our page, and this is all over the news. But if your child is showing any symptoms, you should
2:08.4	absolutely seek medical help. The last thing is that the good news is that this only represents
2:13.6	about 1% of our formula supply here in the U.S. So this is not impacting or creating any shortages.
	...

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