Food Safety: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

History

I do not think we are learning from it. When a company can have multiple recalls for the same issue in the period of two or three years, then we know it is failing. When those companies, and there are more than one, are closely involved with government agencies, third-party audit standard owners, specifiers, certification bodies, etc. then we know there is a bigger issue. I find it insulting that people from these organizations will sit on industry advisory boards, speak at conferences, etc. and tell the rest of us what should be done.

The food industry is a prime example of the saying, mostly attributed to the writer and philosopher George Santayana, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." 

Profit Before People

The apostle Paul, in his first letter to his young disciple, Timothy, had this to say: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” The food industry, like all others, is about making profits, and no one would deny this is vital as we all need to get paid, but this must never be at the expense of consumer safety. There have been many well-known and cited instances where profit was put above people. I am unsure why those that can do something about this are choosing not to act. There are influential people out there and we need them to take the lead.

Food Safety does not Come for Free

I have read on numerous occasions that “food safety is a non-competitive issue”. I do not agree.

This statement is simply a way for people to pretend that they are all giving the same level of attention, to this aspect of their business like everyone else. It is not true. Some companies are better at food safety than others. Some invest more heavily in training, pay properly to get the right caliber of people, etc. Food safety is a selling point and companies should be using this to their advantage. Due to my time working in the industry and some of the roles I have had, I am fortunate to know who the good, and the bad are. Sadly, no-one seems prepared to pay for this, so businesses are trying to do the best they can on a budget. 

Doing Your Best

Food safety is not about doing your best, it is about doing it right. There is a big difference.

Everyone working in a food safety role must ensure the food we eat and serve to family and friends is safe. We must trust the expertise and the care of those who make our food.

Doing your best might not be enough. I am in no doubt that the majority of people working in the field will try to do their best, but unless they have the knowledge and understanding required then their best simply won’t do. When you audit a site that vacuum packs meats and the senior food safety person doesn’t know about anaerobic organisms, or a canned foods processor who cannot explain the log reduction process nor what D and Z values are, you know it’s not going to go well. The reliance on the CFIA hazard database or a process authority just doesn’t cut it. Our health and wellbeing are too important to be part of an experiment. For the longest time, it looked as if thirdparty audit standards might fulfill the role of the “qualifying standard” but now, I am not so sure. The certification bodies are not leading in this area. Too many auditors being approved without enough technical knowledge, and a system that requires too much time to be spent reviewing records and writing reports. When these standards were launched, the auditors were typically former quality and technical managers who really understood the process. There was a lot less focus on a report and a lot more focus on findings. The move to the standards becoming “accredited” had a detrimental impact, as there were now other factors affecting the audit process. The audit grade is also a factor as it seems that just about everyone is the top grade. The standard owners, certification bodies can run reports on this. This is one area that accreditation bodies could truly add value as they should be able to challenge CB’s about the skew of audit grades. 

"The food industry, like all others, is about making profits, and no one would deny this is vital as we all need to get paid, but this must never be at the expense of consumer safety"

Education and Training

There are many people who are delivering training and education, in this sector, who themselves have never had any real experience in the workplace. This isn’t a theoretical business.

Students are graduating from Colleges and Universities who then have to be trained when they start working. As someone who hires quality and technical staff, I have yet to be presented with a recent graduate who is able to quickly add value to the team. Graduating does not mean qualified and we need to remember this.There are also people who are appointed into roles and are accepting jobs for a title, as companies are often looking to avoid paying properly for the talent. I know of people holding senior positions in food safety who failed auditing and HACCP courses, and another who said, “Pre-requisite programs do not manage hazards and risks”.

Everyone Needs to Know About Food Safety

There is no such thing as zero risks when it comes to food. There is however a sense that all of the responsibility lies with growers and manufacturers. Wrong—consumers must play their part. I believe food safety should be taught in schools.

Many people have very little knowledge about where their food comes from and do not handle it properly. Failure to follow correct storage and cooking instructions is a real problem, and many research studies suggest that most food poisoning occurs at home due to poor practices. This is a very uncomfortable truth. It is also not helped by the CFIA who does not conduct a thorough, detailed initial investigation when a consumer reports the illness. Most investigations are based on a consumer’s “self-diagnosis” with them, often assuming it was the last thing they ate.

I also believe much better food education would lead us to less wasted food and a reduction in the number of the population who are food insecure. Proper understanding of shelf life, knowledge of handling and storage, combined with significant uptake in vendors donating surplus food or product that is getting close to the end of its life, could make a massive difference to the amount, quality and variety of food that is available to everyone.

Not All Doom and Gloom

It might appear as if the sky is falling in, but there are many positives. Educate everyone in the basics of safe food and work at producing the next generation of food safety leaders. Legislate better to minimize food waste and focus our efforts on getting a good supply of food to everyone.

I also want to challenge everyone working in our sector to see themselves as “everyone’s mother and father”. Imagine that the foods you are making, packing and serving are being fed to your loved ones. If you wouldn’t feed the products to your own family, why would you think they are good enough for mine?

I only ever wanted to work in the food industry and I am very proud of many of my colleagues. As a former University Senior Lecturer and a Food Industry Trainer, I could burst with pride when I see people I have taught and worked with succeed. There are many great people in our industry, and it is for them to push the standards and to call out poor practices and bad behaviors. 

We owe it to our fellow human beings, who day in and day out put their trust in us. I know we can rise to the challenge.