Ep. 109 - Accidentally Obsessed with Quality with Austin Bouck, QA Manager at Earth2O

Really excited to have Austin on the show. What’s really cool is that he found My Food Job Rocks because he’s a regular listener of Don and Ben’s podcast, Food Safety Talk. Funny how that works, right? So Austin became a regular listener and engaged with me on social media. We now pretty much support each other in everything we do. Austin has his own site, Fur Farm Fork where he posts really technical, powerful stuff about food safety. This was a fun interview. Austin’s past was a bit different than most as he found out why his food job rocks out of falling into an internship and found out he really loved auditing and making corrections to said audits. Now taking on a leadership role at Earth2O. We get into in-depth discussions on whole genome sequencing, and since we have a water expert, we get into the raw water craze that was sweeping Silicon Valley at the time, and Austin has quite the interesting viewpoint on that. Also, quick disclaimer, I apologize for saying the company name Earth2O as Earth H2O multiple times in the episode. Hope you can forgive me. About Austin Austin Bouck is a quality assurance manager at EartH2O, a certified B-corp bottled water and coffee manufacturer in Oregon. When not at work solving technical quality challenges, he continues to ponder food safety issues on his blog, Fur, Farm, and Fork, which helps him stay sharp and share his knowledge with other professionals and the public. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. Sponsor – FoodGrads If you are even just a little bit interested in a career in food & beverage, you should join FoodGrads.  It’s an interactive platform where you can hear about different careers, hear from your peers, have a voice and share your story as well as ask specific questions and get feedback from industry experts across the sector. You can create a profile, add your resume and search for co-op, internships and full-time opportunities just for Food Grads. Employers can find you too, they can recruit you for jobs and projects they need help with to give you the relevant industry experience you need. Join FoodGrads today! Just go to Foodgrads.com Sponsor – ICON Foods Unless you have been living under a rock you can not get away from Halo Top Ice Cream’s amazing success with their under 300 calories per pint ice cream. What’s a frozen dessert manufacturer to do to compete? Pick up the phone and call Icon Foods at 310-455-9876 or find them on the web at www.iconfoods.com that’s what. They have a new HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix that delivers amazing mouthfeel and sumptuous flavor all under 300 calories per pint. But, here’s the best part; you simply add the HiPro dry mix to any milk type, add glycerin and inclusions and you are off to the races with an amazing finished product lickity split. Icon Foods HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix comes in hard ice cream mix, soft serve, vegan and wait for it… Keto. Call my friends at Icon and let them ReformulateU. 310-455-9876. Job Title: QA Manager for Earth2O The difference between Quality Assurance versus Quality Control Quality Assurance: The framework used to set up quality Quality Control: The action step. The auditors used to make sure things are done right Earth2O is a small company. I brought someone on last year. I used to lead a team of 9. The biggest misconception: A lot goes on in bottled water. For example, cleaning, has to last 2 years, etc. Technical Expertise in water: Water treatment is complex. There are tools such as: Reverse osmosis: Pretty much means ultrafiltration Deionization Distillation Describe the steps it took to get to where you are today: I wanted to be a vet and I did my bachelors in animal science. I applied but I’m on the waitlist. I did an internship at OFD Foods. I had to do a risk assessment in the lab and I loved it! I stayed for 3 years and then I moved to my hometown in central Oregon Temple Grandin Certified B-Corporation. A business that’s a force for good. Oregon gas law What is the most important skill you need in Quality Control/Assurance?: The devil is in the details IFSQN – A Forum for QA people What’s your dream job title?: I want to be known as a _______ guy What do you look for most in a  company?: Employee investment. Either going to an established company or start your own QA culture. Some companies don’t care about Quality Management Mary Wilkerson – American Peanut Corporation Whole Genome Sequencing: The hottest technology for food safety, but still really new Sequencer Cell Phones Where can we find more information about whole genome sequencing?: It’s actually hard to find info about it. What is the biggest challenge the food industry needs to face?: As we get more specific on food safety, we’ll be focused more on processing What about Raw water?: “can you please define what’s raw water?”. Different people want different water and everyone has a different reason to not trust your water. However, there are some natural spring water sources that are actually up to standard. (Earth2O has this water). As a capitalist, go them! As a food safety standpoint, it’s like raw milk. Favorite Quote: Where does the true source of music lie? In the strings themselves or the hands that pluck them? Favorite Kitchen Items: Avacado Slicer and Silicon Rubber Stapula Any advice for anyone who wants to go into the food industry?: Be ready for multiple roles and be ready to find out you like some of those roles. What would you tell yourself your first day at your job?: Calm down. Eat the elephant a bite at a time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices