Health Talk MS Podcast Episode on Environmental Health Protection

Detected April 6th, 2026

Summary

The Mississippi State Department of Health released an April episode of the Health Talk MS podcast featuring Office of Environmental Health directors Les Herrington and Bill Moody discussing environmental health programs. Topics include food safety and restaurant inspections, on-site wastewater regulation, milk and bottled water regulation, and public water supply licensing and quality assurance.

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What changed

The MSDH Office of Communications released a podcast episode covering the agency's environmental health protection programs. The episode features discussions with the Office of Environmental Health director and the Public Water Supply Bureau director on topics including food safety permitting, wastewater certification, milk and water producer regulation, and public water system infrastructure. Emergency response capabilities, fluoridation decisions, and infrastructure funding resources are also discussed.

This is a routine informational announcement with no compliance requirements. Public health professionals, food service operators, and water system operators may benefit from listening to gain insight into MSDH environmental health programs and available resources. No action is required.

Source document (simplified)

Jackson, Miss. — You may not realize just how the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) serves every Mississippian and every visitor, every day. The April episode of our podcast, Health Talk MS, covers many of the ways the Office of Environmental Health takes on that responsibility to protect your health and wellbeing.

Host Greg Flynn sits down with two Environmental Health leaders: Les Herrington and Bill Moody. Herrington is the longtime director of the Office, and Moody is the Director of the Public Water Supply Bureau. It's an eye-opening episode that you don't want to miss.

Environmental Health programs include:

Food Safety and Permits, including restaurant inspections and grades.
On-Site Wastewater regulation and certification.
Milk and Bottled Water regulation of producers and processors that includes frozen desserts.
Public Water Supply licensing and quality assurance for all public water systems. Some of the hot topics Moody talks about are the operators' response to emergencies like the recent ice storm in north Mississippi, what goes into the decision-making process of ending fluoridation in water supplies, and the resources available to fund repairs and replacement of critical infrastructure for all public systems.

You'll come away with valuable insight into how MSDH works to protect you and your family every day.

Discover the latets episode of Health Talk MS at msdh.ms.gov/podcast.

Press Contact: MSDH Office of Communications, (601) 576-7667
Note to media: After hours or during emergencies, call (601) 576-7400