Food Industry News: April/May 2017

FreshFacts on Retail Report

Continued growth in fresh produce spend, highlighted by increased organic as well as innovative value-added products are covered in the United Fresh Produce Association’s 2016 Year in Review edition of the “FreshFacts on Retail” report. This report examines overall retail trends in produce for the past year, as well as launches new features designed to provide insights into performance and consumer data for fresh produce. The report also features a spotlight on the impact of e-commerce and home delivery, which has potential to revolutionize the grocery shopping experience.

Key Findings in 2016 Food Safety Survey

FDA’s “Food Safety Survey,” a periodic national telephone survey of adults in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, is intended to help FDA and USDA make informed regulatory, education, and other decisions by providing a better understanding of consumer knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to food safety. Some key findings: Consumers are more concerned about raw chicken and raw beef being contaminated than raw vegetables; most consumers wash chicken parts or whole chickens before cooking them; 44% of respondents said they were not at all likely to buy mechanically tenderized beef if they saw it in the store; and awareness is high for Salmonella (93%) and E. coli (89%), and is low for Campylobacter (16%).

GS1 US Releases Food Retail and Service Guidelines

GS1 US releases a new retail grocery industry guideline called the GS1 US Guidance for Sharing Product Attributes via GDSN in Retail Grocery for users of the Global Data Synchronization Network, an interoperable network that allows brands to share product data with their customers and trading partners. The guideline offers tips for sharing product details and descriptions to help trading partners keep pace with the growing consumer and industry demand for achieving complete and accurate product information.

In addition, GS1 US publishes new Implementation Guideline for Case-Level Traceability Using GS1 Standards, which offers step-by-step guidance for the track and trace of food products as they move through the supply chain. The guideline focuses on the implementation of case-level traceability processes leveraging GS1-128 barcodes and capturing important traceability information, such as product and location data, production dates, and batch/lot numbers. By collecting and maintaining this information through the use of GS1 Standards, trading partners can support visibility of the product’s movement through the distribution channel, and minimize the impact of product withdrawals by removing affected product faster.