• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile

  • CORONAVIRUS
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • REGIONS
    • Asia Pacific
    • Canada
    • China
    • Europe
    • Latin America
    • Middle East/Africa
    • North America
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » How to Minimize Damage From Foodborne Outbreaks Before They Happen

How to Minimize Damage From Foodborne Outbreaks Before They Happen

How to Minimize Damage From Foodborne Outbreaks Before They Happen
February 6, 2019
Angela Fernandez, SCB Contributor

The increasing complexity and interconnected nature of today’s food supply chain calls for proactive risk mitigation — at every step in the supply chain.

In 2019, it is absolutely essential for food industry trading partners to focus on traceability to regain consumer confidence, proactively manage their reputation in the marketplace, and protect themselves from future losses.

From Reactive to Proactive

“If you don’t know where your romaine lettuce is from, do not eat it.” This statement from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in late November after one of the most widespread food-borne illness outbreaks was a sobering reminder of just how vulnerable our food supply chain really is.

The romaine lettuce crisis not only left consumers fearful, it caused an entire commodity category to suffer long-lasting financial losses. According to Nielsen, romaine lettuce sales fell nearly 45 percent in May due to the outbreak tied to Yuma, Arizona, and along with sales of iceberg (22 percent) and red leaf (17 percent) — all key indicators of the public’s perception of safety.

Supply chain partners must work together in 2019 to leverage this spotlight moment on food traceability and move toward a culture of vigilance and brand protection, or risk further long-lasting damage. Using a reliable foundation for data sharing based on GS1 Standards, many companies in the fresh foods industry have already made traceability progress; however, large gaps in the supply chain exist where trading partners have not yet modernized their systems with electronic record-keeping or implemented standards for better systems interoperability.

With consumers demanding more product variety, a retailer may have dozens of suppliers to manage globally, complicating trace-back procedures as they shift from one linear chain to a web-like network with many different nodes supplying product at different times of the year. This has led to more multi-state outbreaks recently, making the source more difficult to identify with certainty.

During a recall or withdrawal, GS1 Standards are vital for tracing product faster and more accurately in several ways:

  • They can identify suppliers’ products in the supply chain through the use of Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs), as opposed to proprietary product identification numbers.
  • They can more easily pinpoint locations, farms, processing plants, and other places where the products were shipped by using Global Location Numbers (GLNs) to identify these locations and through barcode scanning of product at each stop.
  • They can leverage a consistent structure to label product with pertinent traceability information such as batch number or lot number, and harvest dates. In the most recent case of the November romaine E. coli outbreak, labeling product with a harvest date and the state where the romaine was grown became an essential requirement of the FDA to bring product back to market.

Additionally, many companies including Tyson, Walmart and Cargill have been piloting blockchain to help optimize traceability. While blockchain has driven renewed interest in cross-organizational data sharing, it does not by itself provide end-to-end traceability. The integration of internal and external business processes must occur. Standards are foundational to creating this interoperability, and a standards-based data structure has been recommended by technology providers to ensure blockchain success.

The Outlook

While food-borne illness outbreaks are one of the harsh realities of a complex food supply chain, taking a more proactive approach to traceability can limit damage to the public health, and to a company’s bottom line and reputation. In 2019, look for the food industry to join together to learn from the romaine crisis and close existing gaps in traceability processes. 

Angela Fernandez is vice president of initiatives for GS1 US.

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Quality & Metrics Regulation & Compliance Supply Chain Security & Risk Mgmt Food & Beverage
KEYWORDS Food and Beverage food and beverage supply chain Quality & Metrics Regulation & Compliance SC Security & Risk Mgmt
  • Related Articles

    GAO to Probe How Administration Calculates Damage from Carbon Pollution

    What Needs to Happen Before Electric Cars Take Over the World

Angela Fernandez, SCB Contributor

The Impact of Accurate and Complete Product Information

More from this author

Wake up to live
“Supply Chains in Crisis”
updates and the latest Supply Chain News!

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • silicon wafer

    Fate of U.S. Chipmaking Looks More Like Fantasy

    Technology
  • Warehouse worker

    Why Higher Wages Alone Won’t Solve the Supply Chain Labor Shortage

    Warehousing
  • Adidas

    From Sneakers to Teslas, China Lockdowns Upend Global Supply Chains

    Coronavirus
  • Mobile App

    Podcast | Companies Are on a Shopping Spree for Supply Chain Software

    Technology
  • gas

    Supply Worries Send Gasoline Prices to Record Highs

    Global Supply Chain Management

Digital Edition

Scb feb 2022 sm

2022 Supply Chain Management Resource Guide

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • 3PL Doubles Productivity With Robots to Fulfill Medical Supply Orders

  • E-Commerce Company Cuts Order Fulfillment Time by 40%

  • Fashion Retailer Halves Fulfillment Time With Omichannel Automation

  • Distributor Scales Business by Integrating Warehouse Automaton Software

  • Fast-Growing Fashion Brand Scales E-Commerce Fulfillment With Whiplash

Visit Our Sponsors

Yang Ming Alithya Barcoding
Blue Yonder BNSF Logistics Generix
GEP GIB USA GreyOrange
Here Honeywell Intelligrated Inmar
Keelvar Kinaxis Korber
Liberty SBF Locus Robotics Lucas Systems
Nvidia Old Dominion Parsyl
Redwood Logistics Saddle Creek Logistics Schneider Dedicated
Setlog Holding AG Ship4WD Shipwell
Tecsys TGW Systems Thomson Reuters
Tive Trailer Bridge Vecna Robotics
Whiplash    
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2022 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing