Regulations, Market up the Ante for Food Safety

In this case, it appeared to many people that the inspections were designed to get safe food into the system instead of keeping bad food out. This might be why many people took the inspection results with a grain of salt. But it was impressive to see the organizations work together in crisis mode to devote resources to inspections. And it set expectations with the public that the government needs to do more inspections than it has in the past.

In addition to the highly publicized Gulf of Mexico seafood inspections, the FDA announced new rules for egg producers. Although the new guidelines appeared to be in response to a series of nationwide egg recalls, the FDA enacted new rules in July 2010, just prior to the outbreaks. As a result of these new rules, investigators will team up with state and regional partners to inspect about 600 of the largest egg producers—those with 50,000 or more laying hens—to determine if their facilities are in compliance with new guidelines.

Professionals in the food industry will already be familiar with HACCP regulations and mandatory inspections in some industries. The seven principals of HACCP, from conducting a hazard analysis to establishing procedures for ensuring that the system works as intended, provide a common set of best practices for the prevention of food safety hazards. And when it comes to inspections, HACCP requires mandatory inspections in several industries. Again, technology and software solutions help companies ensure compliance and keep records through automated data entry instead of handwritten logs. Software vendors take standards such as HACCP and ISO22000 seriously and are writing requirements into their products.

Retail and the Wal-Mart Factor

In 2008, Wal-Mart became the first major retailer in the U.S. to adopt GFSI standards for suppliers of private label and other food products. The GFSI started its efforts in May 2000, with a vision of “safe food for consumers everywhere.” Its members require food suppliers to achieve factory audit certification against one of several recognized standards, which include Safe Quality Food (SQF), British Retail Consortium (BRC), or International Food Standard (IFS).

The GFSI, with nearly 400 members in over 150 countries, has four technical working groups: Guidance Document, Supply Chain, Global Markets, and Global Regulatory Affairs. North American companies representing food manufacturers, retailers, grocery chains, restaurants, and food service participate in the technical working groups. Wal-Mart’s adoption of food safety certification requirements for vendors was followed by many other U.S. grocery chains and food outlets. Today, achieving one of the GFSI standards is a goal for many private label manufacturers in the U.S.

Food Quality as a Competitive Advantage

As the U.S. government works to determine the right solution for managing food safety, other non-governmental organizations such as the GFSI, various trade associations, and even retail chains are pushing food manufacturers to ensure higher quality. Today, some food manufacturers are taking food safety above and beyond the requirements as a competitive differentiator in the marketplace.

For instance, the FDA maintains certain rules about chicken processing but rarely, if ever, addresses the role technology can play in decreasing the likelihood of contamination. Consequently, while companies employing those technologies are not necessarily more compliant, they do leverage the investment in their marketing to take market share from competitors.

One great example is a leading chicken producer that claims to be one of the first companies in the United States to use pure air-cooled systems instead of water-cooling or spray solutions to dramatically reduce the chances of cross-contamination. The company’s guarantee that no water is ever added to the chicken is marketed both as a safety precaution and as an improvement in the final taste of the chicken product.

Technology for the Future

While the U.S. is developing technology and legislation to protect farmers, consumers, and companies, it is neither the only player in the global food supply chain today nor the only country seeking to innovate in food safety. In early November 2010, for instance, Canada opened a new facility designed to validate emerging food safety technologies. The lab’s scientists will be using ultra high pressure, microwaves, ozone, and ultraviolet light to determine the impact of Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and other pathogens.