US: Food recalls increase

As food safety procedures have become more demanding, the number of product recalls have also increased, Supermarket News reports.

“I think there’s been a lot more recalls since there’s been that final product testing that’s being conducted, a lot of times at the retail level,” said Dan Vache, vice president of supply chain management at United Fresh Produce Association.

According to Gale Prince, Founder of SAGE Food Safety Consultants, food recalls have risen 300% since 2008, impacting retailers in disparate ways, with some adopting protocols to help diminish the risk of defective products reaching their shelves.

“Industrywide, there does seem to be an increase in the number of recalls,” said Maria Brous, director of media and community relations at Publix Super Markets, Lakeland, Fla. “However, at Publix, we have seen a reduction in recalls. We would like to believe that this can be attributed to our suppliers that have embraced and implemented the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI).”

The GFSI is one of several voluntary initiatives that are designed to remove defective products from the supply chain. Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI), for instance, electronically tracks product through the supply chain, from farm to store. The intent is to allow retailers and suppliers to recall just the cases that are problematic, rather than every single item from a farm or retailer.

Source: www.nacsonline.com