If you are a food processor, food safety is critical to your business. Consider:
- 83 per cent of consumers can name a product that was recalled in the last two years because of safety concerns;*
- 57 per cent of consumers have stopped eating, either temporarily or permanently, a particular food because of a recall; and*
- 76 per cent of consumers report they are more concerned today than they were five years ago about the food they eat.*
*Research from AMR and a Deloitte survey
The result of this consumer focus on food safety is; Food Safety has become VERY important to retailers (your customers). You may already be required to submit your food safety system to external audit to do business with big retailers. If not, be aware - it is coming.
And don't forget about government:
- Government initiated food safety advertising is increasing. You can hardly turn on the radio without hearing about www.healthycanadians.gc.ca where the top story is.... food safety.
- The 2010 throne speech mentioned improving food safety as a government priority (http://www.speech.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?id=1388).
It is so important to government in fact, they will help fund implementation of food safety systems (HACCP/GMP). Under the Growing Forward Initiative, the Federal and Provincial governments provide funding to "support the development of a profitable, innovative agri-food sector that is adept at managing risk and responsive to market demands." A major component of Growing Forward funding is focused on food safety.
So your customers want it. Government wants it and believes so strongly that it is essential to a profitable agri-food sector that they will help you pay for it. The question then is why are more food processors not focusing on improving their food safety systems?
"Because it is bloody expensive" might be your answer. And you are right. There is a lot of time, energy and expense involved in these systems and given our economic climate, cost cutting is a manager's duty. But this leads to dangerous choices.
As Dr. Ron Wasik points out in his recent article in Food in Canada (http://tinyurl.com/foodarticle), walking the line between prudent cost savings and reducing food safety is very tricky.
There are a number of ways to reduce the cost of your food safety systems. If done properly, these cost cutting measures can actually increase your operations food safety, not diminish it! To learn more, attend our upcoming breakfast seminar with the Manitoba Food Processors Association. For more details, or to register, click here.