Quick response to product recalls restore consumers’ faith in food industry: TraceOne

Stringent regulation alone is not enough; quick responses to product recalls and effective communication are also crucial in restoring consumers’ faith in the food industry, according to Trace One, a UK-based private label software firm.

In the recent past, food traceability and safety have been major concerns, especially with scares surrounding horsemeat, E. Coli and Salmonella.

These issues resulted in swift media scrutiny of retailers as well as manufacturers, which led to a public demand for stringent action.

The comments come in the wake of the horsemeat crisis which has negatively affected several retailers and food manufacturers across Europe.

Trace One Northern Europe SVP Nick Martin noted that in the wake of these food crises there have been calls for further regulation in the belief that this will prevent food contaminations and yet this is not guaranteed.

"While these layers of regulation might reassure customers, any such security will be largely an illusion: further regulation will not prevent cases of fraud or intentional contamination of the supply chain, let alone all possible cases of unintentional contamination.

Martin stated that retailers and manufacturers can, however, rescue their reputation by demonstrating to consumers that they are minimising the effects as much as possible with the right procedures in place.

Presently, retailers adhere to a great extent to the current regulation concerning food products’ contents and packaging.

Several initiatives are coming up such as the EU’s Food Information for Consumers Regulations ("FICR") set for 2016, the voluntarily agreed industry packaging standards such as the UK’s combined "traffic light" and GDA percentage systems.

Although these initiatives help in addressing consumer concerns over nutrition and labelling, they do not help facilitate faster product recalls or eliminate the risk of contamination.

However, measures taken by the retailers and manufacturers such as focus on improved collaboration, and minimising the risk of human error, could have a positive effect on the reputation of the wider industry.

"Unless retailers and manufacturers can effectively deal with food crises we will find ourselves constantly returning to further regulation as the answer, with little direct benefit to consumers and increased costs to the industry in tough economic times," Martin noted.

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Image: Further regulation will not prevent food contaminations. Photo courtesy of Michael & Christa Richert.