In terms of food safety, it has been a difficult year for the broader food industry. There has been a nearly continuous stream of high-profile outbreaks and recalls. History continues to prove that no food product is safe. Popular foods such as breakfast cereals, cut vegetables, salads, eggs, melons, coconuts and romaine lettuce have sickened consumers at alarming rates. There have already been nearly 400 recalls this year, and it is only August.
While it is impossible to predict what the ramifications of this year’s outbreaks and recalls will be, it is safe to surmise the financial impact of the recalls and outbreaks will reach well into the hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars. Worse than the financial impact, of course, is the impact on the families and victims of foodborne illness. We must do better. We must continue to review our programs, carefully select and audit suppliers to enhance product safety and decrease risk, hire consultants to review with fresh eyes the efficacy of our systems and expend additional resources to more effectively safeguard our products.