By almost any reasonable measure, the U.S. food supply is one of the world’s safest. But a spate of highly publicized and far reaching recalls over the past few years has shaken consumer confidence and pushed the issue of traceability into the national spotlight.

Consider two high-profile cases that focused attention on the need for more efficient track-and-trace systems:

Sept. 14, 2006. The Food & Drug Administration issues an alert on possible E. coli contamination in bagged spinach, and a recall by several manufacturers and distributors begins in multiple states. By September 29, the affected product was traced back to one California processor. The recall eventually impacts retailers and foodservice establishments in 28 states.

June 7, 2008. The FDA warns the public to stop consuming certain types of tomatoes. Three weeks later, the agency admits tomatoes may not have been responsible for the salmonella outbreak, which is subsequently linked to jalapeno and Serrano peppers from Mexico.

A quality control survey by AMR Research found that a majority of food and beverage manufacturers went through at least one recall last year; more than half of those recalls resulted in losses exceeding $10 million. Additionally, it took an average of 14 days for companies to sense the need for a recall and 34 days to enact it. By that time, less than 40 percent of the affected product can be collected because it has been eaten or thrown out, the survey noted.

The question is not only whether the food industry can police itself, but whether agencies like the FDA and USDA can tighten the safety net around an increasingly complex global supply chain.

Part of the solution may be forthcoming. Testifying before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce in July, associate FDA commissioner Dr. David Acheson said the agency is taking steps to enhance traceability. He emphasized that traceback investigations involving fresh produce are more difficult because the food is perishable and is usually no longer available for testing by the time consumers become ill.

In addition, fresh fruits and vegetables are often sold loose without any packaging that could provide information about its source. Further, practices such as packing or repacking produce from multiple sources add complexity to traceback investigations.

The FDA formed an internal group to meet with the industry, consumers and federal, state, local and foreign governments to better understand the track-and-trace systems that are in use or under development. These include technologies that speed and enhance the traceback process and the systems that connect all the links in the produce supply chain.

Mandatory tracking system
On another front, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) in September introduced an amendment to the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act tentatively called the Food Tracking Improvement Act (S.3422), a mandatory tracking system for food manufacturers and retailers through the FDA.

“We must ensure that the federal government has the ability and authority to protect the public, given the global nature of the food supply,” Brown said in introducing the bill, noting that he wants the FDA and USDA to have the power to declare mandatory recalls.

The legislation calls for $40 million over three years for a traceability system under the FDA’s jurisdiction. A committee made up of consumer advocates, industry leaders and representatives from the FDA and USDA would determine which tracking mechanisms, such as tracking numbers, electronic bar codes and federal databases, should be used. The Food Tracking Improvement Act would give “the government the resources it needs to protect the public,” Brown said.

Earlier this year, Brown and Senate colleagues Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) called on the USDA to make public the lists of retailers and manufacturers subject to product recalls.

Whether additional governmental oversight is needed has become a subject for debate, particularly since the reputation of government agencies has been impacted by their inability to trace tainted products more quickly.

“It’s difficult for [the] agencies making the rules,” says David Theno, senior vice president and chief product safety officer for Jack in the Box restaurants. “Typically, they start with the best of intentions, but then it becomes a debate.”

Asked about S.3422, Theno says he’d like to see the creation of a working group among the USDA, FDA and Marine Fisheries “to get commonality. They are in charge of all foods in the U.S.,” he says. “If you can get a consensus among them and minimum standards on traceability, imagine how powerful that would be.”

Ultimately, the industry itself may be best equipped to handle the issue. Track and trace “has become an industry best practice,” Theno says. “The private sector really picked up the ball and the free market has, for the most part, driven traceability. When something works, it tends to be adopted and, after a while, becomes mainstream.”

Jack in the Box’s own priorities include a rigorous pre-approval process for vendors that measures their traceability and recall capabilities, and it has applied the same stringent rules to its own operations. “If something comes up, we can tell you where the lettuce, onion, pickle, tomato, bacon, hamburger patties, bun and packaging all came from, where it is now and do it in 90 minutes,” Theno says.

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