Best Laid Plans Include Food Defense

Newswise — There's no way around it. Even the most professional food operations are vulnerable to pitfalls that can throw a company into instant crisis. Compromises to product safety, both accidental and intentional including tampering and terrorism pose the threat of the kind of nightmare scenario that all companies fear, according to a corporate food expert speaking here at the Institute of Food Technologists annual meeting.

In the worse cases, a company's very existence can be at stake.

"A crisis is not only a public relations nightmare, but it can destroy your brand name, destroy your trademark, destroy you company, destroy your career and cause extensive personal challenges," said Gale Prince, director of regulatory affairs for Kroger food company.

To prevent such crises, Prince prescribed establishing a system to focus on what he called the 'three P's'; property, people and product.

Prince urged property and buildings be secured in as many ways possible.

"Each facility is unique " you need to look at your specific security needs," Prince said. "(Is there) a security system to monitor traffic? Is there a fence set up? Look for exterior access points and walk the facility to look for potential problems."

Knowing as much as rightfully allowed about the people working in a food company and who has access to the facilities is critical, he noted. Background checks, ID tags, uniforms and fingerprint analysis are just some of the measures that are necessary to keep tabs on people in contact with your product.

Being fully aware of every characteristic of the company's products rounds out his recommendations.

"Regarding raw materials, for instance " (does the company) know exactly where they're coming from? Is there security for all transit vehicles? How is incoming product inspected? Is storage secure?" Prince said.

"Product safety simply cannot be taken for granted," said Prince. Crises can happen at a moment's notice, he added. "It's not just important to have a written plan and a system in place for dealing with crises; it's essential for (a company's) survival," he said.

The IFT Annual Meeting + Food Expo®, running now through July 20, is the world's single largest annual scientific meeting and technical exposition of its kind. Rated among the largest shows in America*, the meeting delivers comprehensive, cutting-edge research and opinion from food science-, technology-, marketing- and business-leaders.

More information on each conference is available online at http://www.am-fe.ift.org .

* According to Tradeshow Week® 200 magazine.

Founded in 1939, and with world headquarters in Chicago, Illinois, USA, the Institute of Food Technologists is a not-for-profit international scientific society with 26,000 members working in food science, technology and related professions in industry, academia and government. As the society for food science and technology, IFT brings sound science to the public discussion of food issues. For more on IFT, see www.ift.org .