Consumers have little =93appetite=94 for risk

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Consumers have little =93appetite=94 = for=20 risk

The fresh melon industry in Honduras and Costa Rica was = effectively=20 shut down within 24 hours of word hitting the wire that Salmonella = Litchfield =96=20 said to be as hard on the human digestive system as E. coli O157:H7 =96 = had been=20 detected by officials.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) = first=20 found the problem in Quebec, followed quickly by the United States Food = and Drug=20 Administration (FDA).

This is not merely a cautionary tale. Many = people=20 are sick and have been hospitalized. Still, the president of Honduras, = Manuel=20 Zelaya, ate a Honduran melon on CNN, attempting to show it was safe, and = tried=20 to reverse the onus by arguing American officials should prove the = seriousness=20 of the problem rather than force Honduras to disprove the = problem.

This=20 reveals a complete lack of understanding of the most basic principles of = food=20 safety on the president=92s part. Even if eating these melons has a = lower risk of=20 illness than getting struck by lightning, the big question is why = couldn=92t=20 Honduran and Costa Rican officials isolate the problem. Don=92t they = have the=20 ability to trace product back to its field of origin?

This is a = case=20 where merely identifying the country of origin and knowing the rough = date of=20 harvest doesn=92t cut it. Consumers have little =93appetite=94 for risk. = Building=20 confidence in the food we eat, just like building a brand, is the sole=20 responsibility of the seller.

That=92s why corporations and = governments the=20 world over speak loftily of the need for food =93traceability=94 which = can enable a=20 food recall based on a lot numbering system and an audit trail. The idea = is to=20 limit exposure to risk by isolating problems. The more accurate the=20 traceability, the less the exposure. A lot of taxpayer money is being = poured=20 into improving the traceability standards of modern food-exporting=20 economies.

But how does traceability differ from the related but = distinct=20 concept of traceback that was developed by William Kanitz and his staff = at=20 ScoringAg and ScoringContainers, divisions of ScoringSystem=20 Inc.

Traceability, in theory and in practice, is a first step = towards the=20 much more accurate and beneficial full traceback system. Arcane food = companies=20 and food-exporting countries that lack accurate lot numbering should get = with=20 the times and develop a traceability system before it=92s too late or = their=20 tardiness will eventually result in a recall like the one above. But = should one=20 then go beyond this first step?

Think of it like this. If you = think=20 you=92re merely susceptible to food safety issues, then basic = traceability might=20 do the trick; but if you=92re vulnerable to such issues, full traceback = becomes=20 essential.

Honduras and Costa Rica had Eurogap certification, = which=20 includes strict and highly bureaucratic traceability standards. They = also had=20 certification from private certifiers which required third-party = verification=20 that their traceability was at least functioning. And yet they = couldn=92t isolate=20 the source of the contamination, which meant a full-blown recall was = necessary.=20 The problem could have been as simple as a single employee failing to = wash his=20 hands, but for lack of full traceback, two national economies will=20 suffer.

Traceability means you=92re at least trying, while = traceback means=20 you can. ScoringAg and ScoringContainers works in seconds through a = fully=20 automated, global-locating, real-time audit trail that resides on a = secure=20 database, accessible anywhere in the world through the internet.=20

Traceback results from embracing traceability, not merely as a=20 bureaucratic regulatory requirement, but as an investment in your = company brand=20 or national reputation. It goes to the limits of technology and provides = item-level traceability right down to every package, or in this case, = every box=20 of melons, from the retail store back to the producer, covering all = warehousing,=20 shipping, storage, harvest and employee data in between.

There = are many=20 traceability =93solutions=94 available in the world today, but only = ScoringAg allows=20 for the uncomplicated accounting of all information pertinent to the = integrity=20 of food destined for human consumption.

The fact of the matter is = that=20 even the FDA doesn=92t have the manpower to dive into manual audit = trails, even=20 when such trails are supported by electronic audit trails on computers = in the=20 country of origin. Many companies grappling with traceability dream of = reducing=20 their sample-recall time from days to hours, but ScoringAg reduces it to = minutes, even in the case of actual-recall time.

Is testing a = solution?=20 Not after the fact it isn=92t. There=92s a lot of demand to start = testing=20 value-added crops such as certified organic in order to prevent fraud = and=20 negligence (go to isitorganic.ca for more info). Nothing=92s worse than = paying=20 extra for something and wondering if you=92re really getting what = you=92re paying=20 for. But the case above isn=92t about value-added food; just regular, = everyday=20 products that anyone might buy.

While random, unannounced, = quality=20 control testing should be part of a company=92s, or a nation=92s, = traceback system,=20 it can=92t prevent what happened in Honduras and Costa Rica. In short, = even with a=20 hundred times the manpower, the CFIA and FDA had no choice but to play = it safe=20 and recall all the melons. And now the hard-working farmers of Honduras = and=20 Costa Rica will pay a very dear price.

Conclusion: Traceability = is a=20 buzzword. Traceback is the ideal.
Sound expensive? It=92s only = pennies per data=20 entry. For more information visit ScoringAg or = ScoringContainers.

Written=20 by Mischa Popoff, B.A. (Hon.) Osoyoos, BC = Canada

Contact:
William=20 Kanitz
President
ScoringAg,=20 Inc.
Bradenton, FL 34209, USA
Tel: +1 941-792-6405
Email
http://www.scoringag.com/

Publication date: 4/2/2008

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4/2/2008	Fiji:=20 State implements food security program
4/2/2008	Yum!=20 China Releases Food Safety White Book
4/2/2008	Cargill launches food safety programme with = China
4/1/2008	US: Food safety worries makes consumers=20 label-savvy
4/1/2008	US: Fresh Express food safety specialist = dies
4/1/2008	PakSense=20 Announces Standard Configurations for Temperature Monitoring = Labels=20
4/1/2008	Germany: GS Green is born: the green version of = GS
3/31/2008	US: FAPC=20 holds Crisis Management Seminar
3/31/2008	Brazil=20 suspends fruit imports from Chile due to mite = contamination
3/31/2008	US:=20 Charlie=92s Produce latest to recall cantaloupe amid salmonella=20 concerns
3/27/2008	Canada:=20 Cut cantaloupes recalled by Sun Rich, A&P
3/27/2008	Produce=20 Safety and Security International, Inc. Provides Cost Effective = Food Safe=20 Produce
3/27/2008	US: Kane=20 County officials: Fruit may be tainted
3/27/2008	US:=20 Mystery food poisoning traced to salads
3/26/2008	US: Meeting addresses challenges of spinach=20 processing
3/26/2008	NZ: Bugs in leafy veges cause safety = concern
3/26/2008	US processors alerted over fruit = scare
3/25/2008	Honduras=20 wants compensation for melons that sickened U.S., Canadian=20 consumers
3/25/2008	US: Meeting addresses challenges of spinach=20 processing
3/25/2008	US: Michigan scientists unlock E. coli=20 mysteries