Remember the scare over syringes in Pepsi cans? It was a high-profile case
and proved to be a hoax. Oregon food inspector Don Voeller worked on the case.
"People admitted they had made false statements about the syringes to the
government," explains Voeller, who had doubts about the claims prior to any
confession. "Knowing how food is made, we knew almost right away the reports
were false."
Voeller inspects food and agriculture production, seafood, pharmaceuticals,
medical machinery and blood products. He feels the most unifying characteristic
of investigators is skepticism. "I guess I question just about everything
I hear and read," Voeller explains.
Voeller's potential was foreshadowed when he took a personality test
in college. "It said I'd be good in a regulatory, investigative and traveling
position," Voeller says, noting that he gets to do all three as an investigator.
Voeller also has a strong background in science. He took pre-med classes
until he decided he didn't want to be a doctor, and then considered medical
research. "Until I got into a lab where I never saw the light of day," he
laughs.
Instead, Voeller completed a teaching certificate. Six months into student
teaching, he was offered work as an inspector. "I thought it looked very interesting,"
he says.
And it has been interesting. One day, Voeller's in a blood bank, the
next day, he's seeing how a candy store hand dips chocolate. The day
after that, Voeller might be inspecting how a company makes animal feed. "That's
one of the attractions," he says. "It's different every day and I get
to go where people don't usually go."
Another part of Voeller's job is to interview new recruits. One of
his successful candidates was Teri Colbert.
Colbert is a metallurgical engineer who now works as a food safety investigator.
She remembers her interview with Voeller well. "He had me go around and interview
people in the office, asking what they were doing," she laughs. "They didn't
teach me about that in college!"
The exercise showed how she would interact with other people in the office.
"Engineers are stereotyped as not being interactive, and that's something
you have to work on," she says.
Colbert says the most challenging part of her job is presenting inspection
findings to management. "That can be one person or a room full of people,
and it can be a bit intimidating," she admits. "I'm uncomfortable telling
someone what they're doing wrong when they're old enough to be my
grandfather!"
Some managers don't take kindly to the criticism. Colbert has trained
herself to be calm and friendly in the face of hostility. "If you try to act
friendly, they'll act less hostile -- and if you don't talk down
to them, they won't talk down to you," she says.
Safety inspector Brian McCrum agrees with that advice. "I remember once
I had to confront a manager at a seafood plant," says McCrum. "He was packing
his frozen fish at too warm a temperature and that was causing problems. I
knew that if I handled things with a heavy fist, it would just mean trouble
for both of us. So I tried to explain the best I could and, in the end, the
manager was happy to make the changes.
"If you can explain that the changes will be in the best interest of the
business, the people are more likely to accept what you're telling them."
McCrum says he likes his job because it offers interesting
challenges almost every day. "It sounds silly I know, but there's a certain
vindication in this job," he says. "I like the fact that I'm maybe saving
people from getting ill."