C O N F E R E N C E 2 0 1 6 N Z I F S T S P E C I A L INGREDIENTS FOOD MANUFACTURERS’ ARCHILLES HEEL 16 JULY 2016 April 20, 2015…Blue Bell Creameries based in Texas recalls all products due to a Listeria Monocytogenes outbreak. Three of five confirmed patients die. Company fails to follow standard practices to prevent contamination, and two years prior repeatedly found Listeria in its manufacturing facility. US Department of Justice launches federal criminal investigation in December 2015. December 24, 2014…Happy Apple based in Missouri recalls prepackaged caramel apples contaminated with Listeria Monocytogenes. Seven patients die, and 35 are hospitalised over 12 states. Eleven pregnant women affected, and one foetal loss. Sourced to apple supplier in California. September 15, 2011…Contaminated cantaloupe from Jensen Farms in Colorado trigger the US’s largest foodborne outbreak in history, with 30 deaths and 147 confirmed cases of Listeriosis over 28 states. Dirty corroded equipment used by the growers is believed to have contributed, along with contaminated water found on packing plant floor, although bacteria brought in by dump truck from a cattle farm believed to be main culprit. Walmart sued by customer who purchased cantaloupe in Colorado. manufacturer for 10.9 weeks and the country of origin for 11.7 weeks. “When it comes to food safety,” Yiannis says, “all of New Zealand will win or lose together. New Zealand can’t afford to have a mistake. You can’t afford to lose the trust of the world. And a food safety crisis happens at the speed of light with social media…a spark turning into a wildfire.” So what do we do? Yiannis says avoiding complacency is a good start. New Zealand can’t be over-confident or rely on poor metrics. Don’t assume you know where your ingredients come from – question your suppliers until you’re completely satisfied. Manage real, regulatory and perceived risks, and practice and promote transparency. Invest in technology and leverage big data. None of that will work, however, without creating a company food safety regime. “It’s not just a programme,” he says, “it’s a culture. Never forget that. I’m pretty sure some of those companies like Peanut Corp won’t forget that again.” Wal-Mart – the world’s largest retailer – feeds 200 million people every week. New Zealand will play a vital role in adapting and shaping the food of the future, Yiannis says, just as long as it doesn’t suffer contamination scandals. Yiannas oversees all food safety, as well as other public health functions, for Wal-Mart. Prior to that, he was director of safety and health for the Walt Disney World Company for 19 years. If you had to identify three foods that could kill you, what would they be? Chances are your list might include contaminated chicken, seafood or water. What it probably wouldn’t include is caramel apples, icecream and cantaloupe… yet these three items tainted with common contaminants have killed consumers in the United States over the past couple of decades. It’s a trend that has Wal-Mart vice president of food safety Frank Yiannas worried. Recently he took a simple tirasumu from a company production line and asked his staff to find out where the ingredients came from. As well as clocking up 32,970 food miles, the dessert hailed from Switzerland, Columbia, Italy, Madagascar, Belgium, Mexico and the United States. “Ingredients today are our Archilles heel because we can’t be everywhere overseeing everything,” he says. “Big brands are being brought to their knees because of ingredient contamination outbreaks that occur way down the supply chain, far from plain sight. “The Peanut Corporation of America – with just two or three per cent of the market share – had to recall a staggering 3913 products when it was struck down by e.Coli a few years ago. Even dog food had to be recalled. This reality is worrying.” What food and beverage manufacturers may not understand, Yiannas says, is that retailers suffer the least during food crises, at 5.9 weeks on average. The product itself suffers for 9.5 weeks, the Frank Yiannas
FT-Jul16
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