Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/654717
FROM THE PUBLISHER Why Food Safety and Product Integrity Are Worth the Worry SPECIALTY FOOD ASSOCIATION MEMBERS: Discuss this topic in the Solution Center on specialtyfood.com T hriving, despite economic downturns and generational pivots, the specialty food trade has proven its resilience over time. As we crest the current wave of high affinity for specialty foods, though, we need to be sensitive to two potential threats to the future of our businesses: food safety and product integrity. Chris Crocker Senior Vice President, Content & Media ccrocker@specialtyfood.com Could "Small Food" Mean Unsafe Food? Larger food producers have long been under regulatory scru- tiny because of the scale of threat posed. But for small pro- ducers—especially those with few controls already in place— compliance can have a proportionately larger impact, both in terms of money and time, and it can be daunting. A food business that operates under the assumption that it is not impacted by the Food Safety Modernization Act is whistling past the graveyard. FSMA affects all food businesses. More importantly, it has teeth, and it's likely that violations will be both visible and punitive. Reports of multiple food safety violations—or worse, food-borne illnesses—involving specialty food brands will start to erode consumer confidence in the "small food" supply chain. Given enough airtime, fear of illness will easily outweigh the consumer's desire for food adventure or artisanal production. Do Our Products Live Up to Their Packaging? More questions are being raised around specialty food- related product claims. Current allegations surround the validity of Mast Brothers Chocolates' artisanal origin story and counterfeit extra-virgin olive oils to name a few. Many consumers, I'd argue, are paying a premium based on a belief that a specialty food product lives up to its content, origin, and production claims. And, while there is likely some elasticity in that belief, imagine the result on sales if all customers were fundamentally skep- tical of premium-priced foods? Every time things are proven to not be as they seem, the value perception of specialty foods is diminished. I'd never bet my future on a disillusioned consumer base. What can we do to protect ourselves? On the food safety front, comply with FSMA. (Read more at specialtyfood.com/knowledge-center/topics/food-safety/). Product integrity is more complicated. If you're a specialty food producer with a conscience, give your own origin story and product claims a good sniff test. While we can't control what other businesses do, we can all educate both the trade and the consumer about our categories and the true differentiators between prod- ucts. If people make informed purchasing decisions, they won't have an opportunity to feel misled. SPRING 2016 5