What’s Right With the Food Industry

Another collaborative effort occurred after a recall of ConAgra’s Banquet pot pie. According to Menke-Schaenzer, the company learned, as a result of the recall, that consumers are unaware of the wattage of their microwave ovens and that there are inconsistencies among microwave ovens. Con-

Agra recruited a group of microwave oven manufacturers, food manufacturers, and retailers to form the American Frozen Food Institute. The institute developed a plan to help consumers use microwave ovens properly, beginning with a prominent display of the wattage on microwave oven doors.

“The group is still in place, and we’re working to better understand how microwave ovens work and also understand consumer behavior,” Menke-Schaenzer said. “It’s a continuous learning process.”

Ensuring Safety Every Day

ConAgra has invested $275 million in the past year to ensure safe, high-quality food and to upgrade its plants. The company has hired 140 food safety and quality experts and has implemented a rigorous hazard analysis and inspection program of its raw materials, equipment, times, and temperatures. ConAgra also performs audits to ensure that company standards and processes are in place.

“A big part of this is not only how you run things and your equipment, but it’s your people,” Menke-Schaenzer said. “Are people washing their hands? Do we have the right sanitation or cleaning programs in our lines?

“We really take a lot of care on a daily basis to … make sure we have the good manufacturing practices and that people are doing the right thing.”

ConAgra also values the importance of employee training and education for plant managers, supervisors, and line workers. “They need to know … why the things we ask them to do are important and how it impacts public health,” Menke-Schaenzer said.

After the Peter Pan peanut butter recall caused by the presence of Salmonella, ConAgra shut down and then rebuilt its Sylvester, Ga., plant. “We refigured the process such that, fundamentally, it is the safest peanut butter plant out there today,” Menke-Schaenzer said.

According to Ooton, Coca-Cola believes that ensuring food safety depends on the right strategies and the “execution of those strategies across the system,” including all of its 1,100 manufacturing facilities.

“For us, [food safety is] not a side job,” Ooton said. “It’s about a real commitment and a real belief. It’s about putting our resources and our money and our best talent into food safety.”

Ooton said Coca-Cola employs a robust approval process and is committed to managing supplier quality and supplier development. The company performs incoming testing and inspection. Coca-Cola’s trade sampling program asks employees to buy the product at different venues around the world to ensure the brand by testing the products, Ooton said. Coca-Cola also employs corporate governance and limits and performs audits in fraud, the environment, and occupational health and safety.

Long-term strategies at Coca-Cola include its global lab development. The company has spent $31 billion over the past three years constructing state-of-the-art analytic centers in Pune, India; Shanghai, China; and Johannesburg, South Africa.

Earthbound Farm in San Juan Bautista, Calif., a 26-year-old organic farm, has made a commitment to ensuring that its food safety practices are transparent and available to its customers, according to Will Daniels, vice president of quality, food safety, and organic integrity.

The company has implemented a “multi-hurdle program,” which starts before planting and continues through packaging. The program includes testing product for pathogens twice, first at the raw product level and then again at finished product. “All of our fertilizer, seeds, and water are tested, and our ranches are inspected regularly,” Daniels said. “The final ‘firewall’ … are the two pathogen tests we do with the salad greens themselves. … At both points, we destroy any greens that show signs of pathogens.”