In light of the recent outbreak of Salmonella in a batch of imported mangoes, growers and retailers may be worried that consumers will cut down on mango purchases. But with better traceability options, and more information, such worries could be alleviated.A voluntary recall for mangoes was issued this week and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned consumers not to eat a batch of imported mangoes which may be contaminated with Salmonella. Though the likely source of contamination which is responsible for a multistate cluster of Salmonella Braenderup infections has been traced to Mexico, investigators are still trying to determine the exact source of the outbreak.
So far, 73 cases of people getting sick from mangoes have popped up in the United States. While it's suspected that tainted mangoes made their way into the country via imported fruit from Mexico, the FDA is still trying to pinpoint the exact source of the mangoes that may be linked to U.S. cases.
With better tracking technology, argues Elliott Grant, founder of YottaMark, growers, retailers and consumers could be better off even after a produce recall is issued.
“Better traceability could not have prevented this and it can't eliminate food recalls, but more information is always better,” he said. Grant's company has developed the HarvestMark platform which allows every person along the produce supply chain, all the way down to consumers, to track the origin of fruits and vegetables. He noted that, with a more granular view of where produce comes from, consumers can be certain about the food they eat.
“If you have traceability on the consumer level, shoppers can tell what they're eating. With the mango recall, for example, they can go into a grocery store and be sure the produce they're buying isn't part of the recall,” he said. More information is always better, he noted, because it helps with consumer confidence, even after a recall.
“We saw how long it took spinach and cantaloupes to recover after recalls,” he said. “But with better tracking, it's easier to rebuild consumer confidence because shoppers will be able to tell exactly where their produce comes from and where it's packed.” He added that, although recalls are extremely rare when one considers how much safe produce is grown and sold in the United States, better tracking can show consumers the overwhelmingly good quality of what they're buying.
“It's good to communicate to consumers the safety measures taken and good agricultural practices growers are using,” he said. “But when there's uncertainty, consumers will err on the side of safety. We need to show them that produce is safe. So more information is always better.”