Fresh Approaches

Fresh scandals involving food safety seem to emerge on a monthly basis. Whether caused by kinks in the supply chain, natural (or man-made) disasters or a simple lack of checks and balances, food safety practices are being tested at every turn.

But there is hope. In addition to supporting proposed legislation intended to protect the food chain, grocers are deploying technologies like notification systems and collaboration tools to fight food contamination.

Still, as the retail industry expands its breadth of business channels, suppliers and distribution partners, the opportunity for contamination also increases – as does the pressure to ensure consumers are purchasing safe merchandise. This is not an easy task as grocers struggle to protect their food supply from, among other factors:

Natural and man-made disasters. The episodes run the gamut, and sadly, the hits seem to keep on coming: Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The earthquakes in Chile and Haiti. The volcano in Iceland. And, most recently, the deepwater oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The impacts on the food chain are seemingly endless, but top concerns include water contamination; loss of harvest or livestock; increased susceptibility to disease; and the destruction of irrigation systems and other agricultural infrastructure. “These few alone can have long-term effects on production including crops, forest growth and arable lands, all of which require time to mature,” says Adam Mussomeli, practice leader for the U.S. consumer products supply chain and operations division of Deloitte.

Lack of internal checks and balances. While much of the media and public attention is focused on the disasters, the last few food safety concerns didn’t result from such events, but rather from “steps missed in simple day-to-day activities,” says David Senerchia, director of new business development for Zebra Technologies. This includes operating store-level coolers at optimal temperatures, as well as supplier and distributor partners paying the same critical attention to temperatures of coolers and trailers along the supply chain. A major culprit in this scenario is the inability to measure, monitor and correct temperature inflections of raw materials, which can create a breeding ground for biological contamination.

Even minor changes in temperature “at any point can easily introduce pathogens, which contribute to salmonella or E. coli, or prevent reaching the appropriate ‘kill points’ needed to eliminate pathogens during production,” Mussomeli says.

Theft. Organized retail crime is on the rise worldwide, one consequence of which is the increased risk of purchasing and consuming tainted merchandise. “As soon as a product leaves the structure of its supply chain, the potential safety risks to consumers increase,” Mussomeli says. “We’ve all read several cases where consumers have experienced adverse reactions, some severe, from stolen merchandise and they were most likely due to improper storage and handling. Theft not only means a loss of sales, but also the potential to damage brand market share.”

Talking the talk…
With product recalls on the rise, manufacturers, suppliers, retailers – even the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Department of Agriculture — are coming under increased pressure to develop more effective standards.

One major undertaking is the Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI). Spearheaded by the United Fresh Produce Association, Canadian Produce Marketing Association and Produce Marketing Association, its goal is to enhance traceability throughout the produce supply chain by using Global Trade Item Numbers (GTIN), whose GS1 company prefixes can be integrated into UPC or other barcodes. The Produce Traceability Initiative Action Plan outlines the steps for achieving traceability at the case-level by 2012.

The initiative is meant to strengthen existing regulations like Country of Origin Labeling. Referred to as COOL, the law requires retailers to notify customers about the source of certain fresh foods, including meats, wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish, fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, certain nuts and ginseng.

Concerns continue to dog the Food Safety Modernization Act introduced in Congress in 2009 due to the potential economic impact it could have on smaller, family-owned growers and suppliers, but supporters believe this legislation, along with PTI and COOL, are critical to mending and securing the domestic food supply chain.