Dr. Patrick Wall, University College Dublin, greeted the closing session of the Alltech Symposium by pointing out that everyone in the room had a common goal - producing safe, nutritious food. He told the group to take that one step further and remember they are in the human health business, as safe, nutritious food is directly tied to human health. That means the food industry also has the responsibility of protecting human health.
Wall, who lists chairman of the European Food Safety Authority as one of his many job descriptions, told the audience in Lexington, Ky., that the recent food safety scandals with horsemeat in ground beef has done a great amount of damage to the public's trust of the food chain.
"We thought EU supply chain controls were robust," said Wall. "While we were looking for microscopic contamination, there were truckloads of horsemeat moving around the EU masquerading as beef."
That broken trust has cost money. UK food retailer Tesco lost GBP300 million in value in the weeks following the scandal. Major brands such as Nestle, IKEA and Birds Eye were all damaged as well.
"How do we protect the food chain from farm to fork?" Wall asked. "We have naively convinced the consumer that [the] food chain is a straight line. However, it really isn't." He said ingredients and products are internationally sourced with so many steps in the food chain and so many opportunities for something to go wrong, that it is hard to find weak links in this chain.
"We can do traceability in this chain, but we can't do recalls fast enough in a climate of just-in-time delivery," said Wall.
He said retailers are putting downward pressure on price, the food chain is getting longer, there are more players, and more likelihood of criminal activity such as the type that led to the horsemeat scandal.
"If you believe the regulators will protect your brand, you are wrong." said Wall. "Many regulators don't have resources to really do testing and oversight of the supply chain."
Wall told the audience it is much cheaper to prevent a crisis than to recover. Companies must have a tested proactive plan to react to a crisis. You also must have complete trust in all the links in your supply chain.
Wall said food safety has to come from the top of the company - it should be a topic discussed at the company's boardroom table and be at the top of every company's agenda. Companies also need to be very familiar and cooperative with every company and regulator in your supply chain. "Sensible regulation will improve compliance," said Wall. "There is no room for shoddy operators or shortcuts.
"You need to control your supply chain … If I can leave you with one thing, remember you are in the human health business."
"We thought EU supply chain controls were robust," said Wall. "While we were looking for microscopic contamination, there were truckloads of horsemeat moving around the EU masquerading as beef."
That broken trust has cost money. UK food retailer Tesco lost GBP300 million in value in the weeks following the scandal. Major brands such as Nestle, IKEA and Birds Eye were all damaged as well.
"How do we protect the food chain from farm to fork?" Wall asked. "We have naively convinced the consumer that [the] food chain is a straight line. However, it really isn't." He said ingredients and products are internationally sourced with so many steps in the food chain and so many opportunities for something to go wrong, that it is hard to find weak links in this chain.
"We can do traceability in this chain, but we can't do recalls fast enough in a climate of just-in-time delivery," said Wall.
He said retailers are putting downward pressure on price, the food chain is getting longer, there are more players, and more likelihood of criminal activity such as the type that led to the horsemeat scandal.
"If you believe the regulators will protect your brand, you are wrong." said Wall. "Many regulators don't have resources to really do testing and oversight of the supply chain."
Wall told the audience it is much cheaper to prevent a crisis than to recover. Companies must have a tested proactive plan to react to a crisis. You also must have complete trust in all the links in your supply chain.
Wall said food safety has to come from the top of the company - it should be a topic discussed at the company's boardroom table and be at the top of every company's agenda. Companies also need to be very familiar and cooperative with every company and regulator in your supply chain. "Sensible regulation will improve compliance," said Wall. "There is no room for shoddy operators or shortcuts.
"You need to control your supply chain … If I can leave you with one thing, remember you are in the human health business."
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