Long weekend reading
I found this paper a really interesting read this morning. We've essentially put food safety in the lap of corporate buyers who are uneducated at best, and opening the door for people getting sick at worst
krex.k-state.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/2097/15431/PowellFoodControl2013.pdf
Yeah, Doug Powell has always been really skeptical of audit lip service. I agree with him generally, though I put more stock in GFSI than he does, simply for the fact that in general GFSI auditors are infinitely more qualified than government auditors, and look into real food safety issues like validating kill steps and tracing. Heck, the inclusion of sanitation in HACCP plans via FSMA is a regulatory solution to get auditors to actually hold companies accountable for cleaning their equipment, as the multitude of warning letters show that enforcement hasn't treated sanitation as truly "pre-requisite".
The only time companies seem to be truly penalized is when an outbreak occurs. And I have full confidence that given a couple months, I could get any company to "pass" an SQF audit at the cost of one employee generating records in a non-ethical manner, and GFSI would have no idea. Audit standards continue to only be one more tool in the box, but should not give an assurance of safety.
Oh Scampi,
But they keep telling me that ignorance is blissful. Being aware of the corruption of all things sacred does have advantages sure, but aren't you envious of the average goober running around that still thinks our governments are watching out for our best interests?
From the corrupted food supply to the corrupted information they teach generations..
https://jamanetwork....article/2548255
The Curse of Cassandra ? I will share your posted article with friends this weekend and I hope you have a very fine FRIDAY !!
Thank you SCAMPI!!
oh, ignorance is bliss Plastic Ducky!!!!! How I wish I could go to the grocery store right now and not think, hmmmmm do they know exactly where that romaine lettuce came from?????
The curse of Cassandra indeed and chicken little too
At least I can lay my head down at night knowing I've done all I possibly can, but the posts I've commented on here make me cringe (laundry detergent through bottling lines--really you needed someone to tell you that was a very very bad idea???)
Historically mixing profits with doing the right thing rarely works out well for consumers in the end
There needs to be hotlines for people like us!!!!!!!!!!! and they need staffed for follow up.............the labour board and workers comp have hotline to call..........ohhhhhhhhh I'm going to ask my member of Parliament about this......it's a provincial election year for me!!!
Happy Friday to all and a Happy Victoria Day to my commenwealth breathren
(laundry detergent through bottling lines--really you needed someone to tell you that was a very very bad idea???)
That one hurt me too..it never ceases to amaze me how food as a commodity for some people carries none of the respect that food as a meal at home would, even when accounting for various non-ideal home practices.
E.g. no one just works around small roof leaks at home or just doesn't wash their dishes ever. Not saying I haven't used a dirty dish, but never.
What has amazed me over the past 30 years in the food industry is the devaluing of the threat of recall. In the past, a recall was often tantamount to a death knell, everyone knew and remembered the details and it would be very difficult for these companies to win the trust back from their customers. These days, the recalls and withdrawals are so frequent (mostly here in Canada they are mislabeled recalls for undeclared allergens) the people just take them in their stride. Even when a number of people die, it still seems that the company continues on. It's hard to see that lessons have been learned. in lots of cases