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I recently met with a SQF consultant for lunch and he reviewed with me the hoops processors must go through to get certification. As we have discussed before major food chains are demanding SQF certification to do business. Well in his opinion the main reason for this demand is risk aversion from an insurance standpoint. Simply sated the insurance carriers who insure these large chains for liability want to remove as much risk as possible from their clients being sued for food safety issues. This makes a lot of sense from a financial standpoint. He went on to say when Walmart demanded SQF certification from their suppliers most major food retailers fell in line.

In talking to a Canadian colleague that specializes in traceability, which is a major part of the  SQF process, he said Canada is way ahead of the USA in Food Safety.  He feels their Government sees Food Safety as a major component of their strategy to become a world wide leader in food exports. He went on to tell me the Canadian government is giving grants to small businesses to implement Food Safety procedures and equipment.

In the last quarter I have seen a lot of interest in traceability from my market, so trend is up, demand is up, laws are in place and it is now becoming a necessity to do business.

Below is an update on where we stand from a Government standpoint entering 2012.

Back in issue 235 we talked about what President Obama was up to in regards to food safety and what to expect, now that he's into the final leg of his term let's look at what he's done in 2011.

• January 4th 2011 - President Obama signs into law the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act
  • Issuing recalls: For the first time, FDA will have the authority to order a recall of food products. Up to now, with the exception of infant formula, the FDA has had to rely on food manufacturers and distributors to recall food voluntarily.
  • Conducting inspections: The law calls for more frequent inspections and for those inspections to be based on risk. Foods and facilities that pose a greater risk to food safety will get the most attention
  • Importing food: The law provides significant enhancements to FDA's ability to oversee food produced in foreign countries and imported into the United States. Also, FDA has the authority to prevent a food from entering this country if the facility has refused U.S. inspection.
  • Preventing problems: Food facilities must have a written plan that spells out the possible problems that could affect the safety of their products. The plan would outline steps that the facility would take to help prevent those problems from occurring.
  • Focusing on science and risk: The law establishes science-based standards for the safe production and harvesting of fruits and vegetables. This is an important step forward. These standards will consider both natural and man-made risks to the safety of fresh produce.
  • Respecting the role of small businesses and farms: The law also provides some flexibility, such as exemptions from the produce safety standards for small farms that sell directly to consumers at a roadside stand or farmer’s market as well as through a community supported agriculture program (CSA).
• For the rest of 2011...things went quiet...and for good reason, they were given the authority but not the funds.

This year is shaping up in much the same way as even late into 2011 funding for the FDA and USDA 2012 budget could not be agreed on.  In November  President Obama signed the "minibus" spending bill after Congress approved the measure, which sets FDA and USDA budgets for fiscal 2012, but not without a barrage of news stories about amendments attached to the bill that rewrite some of USDA's school meal rule.

While the government seems intent on tying itself in knots the folks over at GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) have continued refining their benchmarking process so that the industry has a baseline to measure 'safe' against.  http://www.mygfsi.com/ continues to provide the measuring stick that more and more purchasers are looking out when judging a processor.

So for 2012 you need to ask yourself:  Are your customers more likely to by from a provider that passes the minimum requirements, or from a provider that has achieved a higher rating on a recognized scale?  It's a selling decision as much as a safety decision.

 

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