A third of all food recalls are the result of unreported allergens. Most of these are due to improper product labeling. This past week, several recalls were the result of a packet of salad dressing not having the proper ingredient labeling.
On August 26, Taylor Farms in Tracy, CA, Triple B in Anchorage, and So Ono in Hawaii all had to recall pre-assembled chicken caesar salad because included in the packages were caesar salad dressing packets which contained egg. The egg was not declared on the ingredient label. For the processing community, it is important to know what you are including in the package.
On August 24, Ajinomoto Frozen Food in Portland recalled trays of Vegetable Gyoza Dumplings because they contained shrimp and fish. The shrimp and fish were not mentioned on the ingredient labels.
On August 24, Texas Central Market Stores recalled Pretzel Logic Cookies because they contained undeclared pecans.
How does this happen? Sometimes it is due to a label change or a new formulation and the company failed to match the label to the ingredient listing. It is possible that the labels changed and an employee used a roll of labels, which was based on a previous formulation. The salad dressing packets may have been produced by another company and included with the meal.
Consuming allergens when you negatively react to them can be uncomfortable at the least and deadly in the worst cases. Extra effort needs to be taken to inspect product formulations and ingredient statements and labels.
If you need more information on allergens or on developing your food safety plan to ensure proper labeling contact me at Rudy@Powerinlearning.com
In the meantime, be food wise and food safe,
Rudy
Monday, August 29, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Will Food Safety Schemes Improve Food Safety?
SQF, BRC, GFSI and all the schemes in the world do not manage our plants and farms every day. The goal is to find a system that everyone can follow, to develop a HACCP plan for their processes, and provide the develop a sanitation, product handling and processing plan that employees will use every day to protect the consuming public.
And yet even with retailers demanding that suppliers have systems, we have to deal with individual people making decisions every day. The retailers do not totally trust the schemes because they are still too easy to make the grade and are dependent on auditors to find the holes in the process and see that people are doing the right thing every day. Can you judge the adequacy of a sanitation program from reports? Is one inspection every year or two enough to keep producers and processors focused on food safety?
How many recalls have you seen this year? Produce still has issues with Salmonella, seafood issues with Listeria, C. botulinum, meat and produce E. coli. How many times have we seen recalls for allergens, when we know that multiple allergens are processed on the same line, but not shown on the labeling?
Cilantro, smoked salmon, chocolate brownies? How can we recalling these products this week?
Do you know as a consumer how well your manufacturers are performing? Maybe we need a rating system that is consumer run, not manufacturer, not retailer? Do you make an informed vote with your food dollars?
How do we apply ethics to the mainstream and the fringes of the food industry? Let's devote ourselves to putting ethics back into all we do in our food industry. In the choices we make about what is "okay". In the ingredients we use. In the training that we give our people. In the accountability in our actions. Do you walk the talk? Is everything that you do the truth? Are the products you make beneficial to all concerned?
Let me know where you stand on food safety. Do the right thing everyday!
Rudy
rudy@powerinlearning.com
And yet even with retailers demanding that suppliers have systems, we have to deal with individual people making decisions every day. The retailers do not totally trust the schemes because they are still too easy to make the grade and are dependent on auditors to find the holes in the process and see that people are doing the right thing every day. Can you judge the adequacy of a sanitation program from reports? Is one inspection every year or two enough to keep producers and processors focused on food safety?
How many recalls have you seen this year? Produce still has issues with Salmonella, seafood issues with Listeria, C. botulinum, meat and produce E. coli. How many times have we seen recalls for allergens, when we know that multiple allergens are processed on the same line, but not shown on the labeling?
Cilantro, smoked salmon, chocolate brownies? How can we recalling these products this week?
Do you know as a consumer how well your manufacturers are performing? Maybe we need a rating system that is consumer run, not manufacturer, not retailer? Do you make an informed vote with your food dollars?
How do we apply ethics to the mainstream and the fringes of the food industry? Let's devote ourselves to putting ethics back into all we do in our food industry. In the choices we make about what is "okay". In the ingredients we use. In the training that we give our people. In the accountability in our actions. Do you walk the talk? Is everything that you do the truth? Are the products you make beneficial to all concerned?
Let me know where you stand on food safety. Do the right thing everyday!
Rudy
rudy@powerinlearning.com
Monday, January 31, 2011
Ethics and Food Safety at Its Worst!
Recently I noticed a recall come across my desktop. It was a recall by Candy Dynamics from an Indiana company that distributed this candy. The company was selling candy to children under the brands of Toxic Waste and Nuclear Sludge. The candy was imported from Pakistan. It was then distributed in the United States and Canada with limited quantities in Guatemala, Ireland, Jordan, Korea, Mexico and El Salvador.
The candy failed to pass the test for lead content. The lead content was 3 times the legal limit. You might think that the company would not handle this item from Pakistan any longer. But NO!
The company announced that it would no longer sell this product in the United States. The other countries did not have as low a legal limit for lead content.
If this candy was not safe enough for our children in the United States, then why should it be safe for anyone.
It makes one wonder how the owner of this firm can sleep at night. Where have ethics gone? Food industry leaders need to stand up to those who would give a bad name to the industry. Let's stand up for right, not just the right in the United States, but what is right for human beings around the world.
If your product doesn't pass U.S. standards, would you dump it on unsuspecting children in a foreign country? Or in a developing country where rules do not yet exist? Ethics is doing the right thing even when no one is watching.
Take the challenge and take the lead to provide safe, wholesome products for all of our world's citizens.
Rudy
rudy@powerinlearning.com
The candy failed to pass the test for lead content. The lead content was 3 times the legal limit. You might think that the company would not handle this item from Pakistan any longer. But NO!
The company announced that it would no longer sell this product in the United States. The other countries did not have as low a legal limit for lead content.
If this candy was not safe enough for our children in the United States, then why should it be safe for anyone.
It makes one wonder how the owner of this firm can sleep at night. Where have ethics gone? Food industry leaders need to stand up to those who would give a bad name to the industry. Let's stand up for right, not just the right in the United States, but what is right for human beings around the world.
If your product doesn't pass U.S. standards, would you dump it on unsuspecting children in a foreign country? Or in a developing country where rules do not yet exist? Ethics is doing the right thing even when no one is watching.
Take the challenge and take the lead to provide safe, wholesome products for all of our world's citizens.
Rudy
rudy@powerinlearning.com
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