@Risk

A new study by a former U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) economist estimates that the total annual health-related costs of foodborne illness across the nation is $152 billion annually – four times that of earlier estimates calculated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

This total is based on an FDA cost-estimate approach: health-related costs are the sum of medical costs (physician services, pharmaceuticals, and hospital costs) and losses to quality of life (lost life expectancy, pain and suffering, and functional disability). It includes the costs of medical bills, lost wages and lost productivity. (Note: These are health-related costs only. An aggregate economic impact total that included losses to food manufacturers and distributors involved in recalls would be significantly higher.)
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Supply chains involve people, and that means there are always embedded risks from “the human element.”

Employees quit. They strike. Sometimes they get sick and can’t work. And occasionally, an employee who’s an integral component of your supply chain will lie, cheat and steal in a manner that could threaten your company’s entire future.

Think I’m exaggerating? I’m not. For proof, take a look at “Bribes Let Tomato Vendor Sell Tainted Food,” an article published last week in The New York Times.

In the article, reporter William Nueman reveals that federal agents have uncovered a startling, widespread scheme of corruption in the food industry. SK foods, one of the nation’s largest tomato processors, is at the center of the plot because according to federal prosecutors, SK Foods’ owner and others there offered bribes to a handful of corporate buyers in exchange for lucrative contracts and confidential information on bids submitted by competitors. (more…)

In her speech last week at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Dr. Margaret Hamburg, Commissioner of Food and Drugs, announced that the FDA is deploying a new web-based information technology system designed to more reliably monitor imports of food and medical products at the port of entry and to target high-risk shipments for further inspection.

The new system, called Predictive Risk-based Evaluation for Dynamic Import Compliance Targeting (PREDICT), uses a variety of assessments to rank import shipments according to risk. It considers everything from whether a product is intrinsically risky (raw seafood, e.g.) to information the FDA has acquired from previous examinations of shippers or producers. Officials can even factor in transitory data such as floods, hot weather or market conditions which might imply that a particular shipment is at risk of being spoiled.  Taken together, these elements add up to a risk score—and the riskiest items are the ones that FDA investigators will check first, Dr. Hamburg said.

In addition to the announcement about PREDICT, Dr. Hamburg’s speech included several statistics that really drive home the message about : 1) the enormous complexity of the challenges faced by the FDA and 2) the dire necessity to improve the status quo at our ports. For instance, she explained that: (more…)

The food industry is contending with yet another recall of contaminated food.

This time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is collaborating with public health officials in many states, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the State of Rhode Island to investigate a multistate outbreak of a particular strain of Salmonella.

Since July 1, 2009, 207 individuals from 42 states and District of Columbia have been sickened with this Salmonella strain, and preliminary analysis of this study has suggested salami as a possible source of illness. As a result, Daniele International Inc., an establishment with operations in Pascoag and Mapleville, R.I., recalled approximately 1,240,000 pounds of ready-to-eat (RTE) varieties of Italian sausage products. Specifically, the FDA is actively investigating the supply chain of the black pepper used in the manufacturing of the recalled meat products.

The CDC has identified three interesting and unique features of this outbreak: (more…)

Last week, Nestle announced that it will begin using heat-treated flour in the manufacture of its Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough.

This move came two days after routine testing found two samples of Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough manufactured at the company’s Danville, Virginia facility were contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. The finished product involved never left the factory or entered the supply chain. None was shipped, and no product is being recalled.

However, this new incident certainly serves as yet another wake-up call that more needs to be done to make this product –and by extension, the entire food supply –safe. (more…)