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The Importance Of Recall Preparedness for Supply Chain Resilience

By Roger Hancock
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Hot dog recall

At recent meetings with the FDA and USDA in Washington, DC—which I attended as Co-Chair of the steering committee for the Alliance for Recall Ready Communities, along with Gillian Kelleher and Dr. Darin Detwiler—the agencies provided updates on their recall modernization efforts. They both acknowledge the increasing challenge of complex supply chains, and continue to prioritize recall process improvements. They expressed strong interest and support for continued collaboration with the Alliance and the industry as a whole.

We updated the agencies on the Alliance’s efforts, explaining how our workgroups are finalizing draft models for a supply chain recall process, recall simulations, and standardized recall data. We plan to pilot implementation of the Recall Ready Community model in the first half of 2026. Ultimately, both meetings had similar takeaways: now is the time to address recall management as an important part of resiliency in increasingly complex supply chains.

Resilient Supply Chains: Connectivity, Communication & Action

With federal policies and priorities continuing to shift under the current administration, companies need to stay focused on protecting consumers and their businesses. While regulatory agencies have committed to improving the recall process, the industry must still shoulder the responsibility of protecting consumers when something goes wrong.

The way recalls are managed impacts consumer trust, public health, business continuity, and brands’ reputations, for better or worse. The negative impact of recalls often grows exponentially when companies and their trading partners are reactive vs. prepared. That’s where resilient supply chains come in.

A resilient supply chain allows food companies to anticipate and mitigate risk, identify and contain issues quickly, and absorb disruption without losing control. It shortens recovery time, reduces financial and reputational damage, and satisfies regulatory compliance. Just as importantly, it builds confidence—with consumers, regulators, and trading partners—through clear communication and decisive response.

This level of resilience is built on preparation. Recall modernization is a critical part of that preparation. Modern recall management treats recalls as a shared supply chain process, not isolated company events. It replaces siloed systems and fragmented workflows with connected data, standardized communication, and coordinated execution across partners.

Trademarks of a Resilient Supply Chain

Individual companies can’t be entirely resilient on their own. True resilience is built across the supply chain, through shared systems, aligned expectations, and coordinated action with trading partners. A resilient supply chain:

  • Enables fast, accurate data flow
  • Coordinates recall plans with trading partners in advance, and
  • Practices for recalls collaboratively.

Resilience is characterized not just by how quickly a company reacts, but by how well the entire supply chain works together. The following trademarks separate resilient supply chains from reactive ones:

  • Built-in visibility – Trading partners have real-time insight into product movement, testing, and crisis response.
  • Actionable data – Clean, structured information empowers better decision-making, data sharing, and response.
  • Clear, fast communication – Predefined protocols, easy to access contact data, and customized templates help trading partners distribute the right messages to the right people without delay. This helps key stakeholders—including trading partners, consumers, and regulators—take quick, proper actions.
  • Calculated adaptability – Resilient trading partners have the ability to shift sourcing, adjust operations, or re-route product without compromising safety or traceability.
  • Interoperability – Systems work together across functions—testing, traceability, recall execution—rather than operating in silos.
  • Dynamic training – Supply chain partners must prioritize ongoing training, regular practice, scenario planning, mock recalls, and post-incident reviews to test, learn, and improve. Working collaboratively helps trading partners prepare for real-life recalls so they can act quickly, confidently, and properly to reduce risks, damage, and disruption.
  • Coordinated responses – Resilient supply chains work together, ensuring a coordinated, integrated response to recall management. Think about recalls as supply chain activities, not individual company activities.
  • Proactiveness – Resilient supply chains are proactive, not reactive, working continuously to improve safety and quality, mitigate risks, and address issues before they become widespread problems.

Resilience isn’t a backup plan, or a measure of how well a company improvises under pressure. It’s the result of deliberate preparation—building systems, aligning partners, and practicing responses long before a recall occurs. True resilience assumes disruption will happen and ensures the supply chain is equipped to respond with clarity, coordination, and control when it does.

Work Together to Protect Public Health

Effective recall management starts well before a food safety issue is identified. Resilient supply chains also work to minimize the chances of a recall occurring in the first place. This includes proactive risk monitoring activities and the use of tech tools to flag potential safety risks early, helping prevent breaches and subsequent recalls.

Still, disruptions will continue to happen. With the right systems and processes in place, companies can identify and contain affected products faster, communicate clear instructions, and reduce risk to public health, brand reputation, and consumer trust.

As the industry looks ahead, preparedness is a practical place to focus—within individual organizations and across the supply chain—long before the next recall demands it. That focus aligns with ongoing recall modernization efforts at both the agency and industry levels, as resiliency is increasingly recognized as essential in today’s complex, global supply chains. Progress will depend on putting those shared frameworks into practice across the supply chain.

The State of Food Safety in 2026: Risks, Technology, and What FSQA Leaders Are Prioritizing Next

By Paddy McNamara
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Food safety in 2026 sits at a critical inflection point. Global supply chains remain fragile and volatile, regulatory scrutiny continues to intensify, and consumer tolerance for food safety failures is at an all time low. On the other side of the coin, food safety and quality assurance (FSQA) leaders are being asked to do more with fewer resources, manage risk proactively, respond to incidents faster and more effectively, and demonstrate compliance across increasingly complex operations. According to Mars company FSQA Director Vera Dickinson “coupling food safety with innovation is just a logical thing.”

The past year underscored a key truth: traditional, manual approaches to food safety management are no longer sufficient. As we move into 2026, FSQA executives are prioritizing digitization, data integration, and predictive technologies, not as “nice to have” tools, but as foundational capabilities for protecting public health and brand trust going forward into the future.

According to Brendan Niemira, IFT Chief Science and Technology Officer, “our food system is under pressure like never before. Climate change, resource scarcity, geopolitical disruptions, and rising consumer demands are creating unprecedented challenges. In 2026, those challenges will only intensify, but with those challenges comes opportunity for the food science community to turn uncertainty into innovation, complexity into clarity, and challenges into solutions.”

3 Persistent Pressures Defined Food Safety in 2025

1. Continued Supply Chain Complexity

While most problems that arose within the pandemic have eased, but with the U.S. tariffs policy changing so frequently, global sourcing still remains volatile. Ingredients often cross multiple borders, increasing exposure to contamination risks of country-specific germs, inconsistent regulatory oversight, and traceability gaps.

Larry Rehmann, former Diamond CEO an Senior Operations Leader said “food companies are in the business of managing risk.” FSQA teams are now responsible for monitoring risk well beyond their four walls and what they traditionally handled  and that has become an increasing focus as supply chain complexity has grown.

2. Heightened Regulatory Expectations

Regulators are demanding faster access to records, stronger preventive controls, and clearer accountability, all piled onto the plate of the FSQA. In the U.S., enforcement of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) continues to emphasize prevention, traceability, and rapid access to digital records. Similar regulatory trends are emerging globally.

3. Rising Consumer and Retailer Scrutiny

Word of food safety incidents travels faster than ever. Social media, online news, and retailer compliance programs amplify the reputational and financial damage of recalls, even when public health impacts are limited. As a result, food safety has become a board-level concern rather than a back-office compliance function.

When something goes wrong, almost everyone hears about it, all thanks to our age of exponentially increasing social media communication. On top of this, recent consumer trends have shown that the public has grown much more attentive to the quality of the food they consume in recent years and decades. This combined with the breadth of social media creates a difficult reputational playing field to please the public eye.

Food Safety by the Numbers: 2025 Snapshot

Despite advances in regulation and technology, foodborne illness remains a significant global public health issue. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 48 million people experience foodborne illness each year, resulting in approximately 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths annually. That’s about 7.25% of the U.S. population affected annually. These figures have remained relatively consistent year over year, underscoring the persistent nature of food safety risk. Peter Begg, Lyons Chief Quality Officer, underscores this truth. He noted that “microorganisms don’t care who you are.”

Globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 600 million people fall ill from contaminated food each year, leading to 420,000 deaths worldwide

Food recalls were also frequent in 2025, with pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella, and undeclared allergens continuing to be among the leading causes of regulatory action.

Top Priorities for FSQA Leaders in 2026

As organizations look ahead, several priorities are emerging as central to food safety strategy.

1. Proactive Risk Management

FSQA leaders are shifting away from cause and effect, incident-driven approaches toward proactive risk identification. This includes earlier detection of deviations, real-time monitoring of critical control points, and the use of predictive analytics to prevent issues before they escalate into recalls. Vera Dickinson, Founder, InnovaQ & Former FSQA at Mars & Mondelēz, sees AI being the copilot for food safety leaders in this respect. Instead of worrying about job replacement with AI, Dickinson encourages food safety leaders to adopt it and use it to more efficiently manage risk.

2. End-to-End Traceability

Traceability expectations are expanding beyond “one step forward, one step back.” Regulatory agencies and trading partners increasingly expect organizations to demonstrate end-to-end visibility across suppliers, co-manufacturers, and distribution channels, communication across the board. Faster traceability has been shown to reduce recall scope and response time

3. Continuous Audit Readiness

Rather than preparing for audits periodically, FSQA teams are prioritizing continuous audit readiness. Bryan Armentrout, VP at Whitewave Foods, said, “audits main; risk assessments prevent.” Digital recordkeeping and standardized workflows are becoming essential as regulators expect immediate access to complete and verifiable documentation. This also goes a long way in the eye of the public, a sort of, “nothing to hide,” approach.

4. Workforce Enablement

Labor shortages and high turnover continue to challenge food safety operations. Leaders are investing in systems that simplify training, reduce manual paperwork, and enable frontline teams to execute food safety programs consistently and accurately. The real challenge comes from finding the balance of efficient and timely onboarding that leads to proficient and effective workers.

The Expanding Role of AI in Food Safety

Like a growing tidal wave, artificial intelligence is moving from experimental use cases to practical application within food safety programs, being deployed on the front lines more and more frequently.

AI-enabled systems are increasingly used for anomaly detection, identifying patterns or deviations in operational data that may signal emerging risk. Predictive models can help prioritize inspections, preventive maintenance, and corrective actions by analyzing historical and real-time data more timely and effectively than a human counterpart.

Additionally, AI is being applied to document intelligence, supporting faster analysis of audit reports, corrective action records, and compliance documentation. These tools help FSQA professionals focus less on administrative review and more on risk mitigation and continuous improvement, staying ahead of the curve.

However, AI is not replacing food safety professionals. Instead, it brings both worlds together, augmenting human expertise, enhancing visibility, speed, efficiency, and decision-making across complex food systems.

The Benefits of Technology for Food Safety Programs

Across the industry, digital transformation is delivering measurable benefits:

Faster recall response: Digital traceability systems enable organizations to identify affected products and locations in hours rather than days, again, allowing for much more proactive responses.

Improved compliance confidence: Centralized digital records reduce the likelihood of missing or incomplete documentation during inspections, keeping everyone on the same page.

Stronger cross-functional collaboration: Integrated platforms allow quality, operations, procurement, and leadership teams to operate from a single source of truth.

Roger Hancock, CEO, Recall InfoLink, went on the record as saying that “connected technology improves visibility, traceability, and recall response efficiency. While progress has been made, siloed systems and disconnected data make it harder to manage recalls effectively. The industry is finally shifting toward more responsive, tech-enabled food safety workflows”

Reduced financial impact: The Consumer Brands Association estimates that the average direct cost of a food recall can exceed $10 million, excluding long-term brand damage, making prevention and early detection financially critical.

Will Food Recalls Increase or Decrease in 2026?

The outlook for 2026 is mixed. In the short term, recall activity may remain steady or increase slightly, not necessarily because food is becoming less safe, but because detection, testing, and reporting capabilities continue to improve. Greater transparency often results in earlier identification of issues that previously went undetected. Think of it this way: a new wave of recalls in 2026 doesn’t signify steps backward, but rather shows the growth and advancement of food safety technologies doing its job better, catching already established food safety issues earlier and more frequently.

Over the longer term, organizations that adopt preventive, data-driven food safety systems early are expected to experience fewer large-scale recalls and more targeted product withdrawals, reducing both public health impact and business disruption.

What This Means for the Future of FSQA

Food safety in 2026 is no longer defined solely by compliance. The most resilient organizations are those that treat food safety as a strategic, technology-enabled function, supported by real-time data, predictive insight, and continuous improvement. Those willing to get ahead of the game will come out on top.

As regulatory expectations rise and supply chains grow more complex, the gap between digitally mature food safety programs and legacy, traditional approaches will continue to widen. For FSQA leaders, the path forward is clear: proactive risk management, enabled by data and technology, is essential to protecting both public health and brand trust in the years ahead.

Food Fraud Quick Bites

The Cascading Food Safety Risks from Tariffs on the Food Industry

By Benjamin Miller, Ph.D., MPH
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We’re now a month out from “Liberation Day,” the Trump administration’s launch to restructure global trade by increasing tariffs on imports into the US to levels not seen in over 100 years.  While “reciprocal tariffs” for most countries are currently on “pause” until July 9th, 10% across-the-board tariffs remain in place for many countries, with tariffs against Chinese products currently at or greater than 145%. These tariffs create interconnected challenges requiring systematic attention.

While it is inevitable that some buyers in tariffed countries will shift their purchases from U.S. suppliers to avoid the tariffs, it is just as expected that many U.S. food companies will shift their purchasing to domestic supply chains to save costs. And as those food companies move away from expensive imports, domestic growers and manufacturers may experience demand surges, creating a fundamental safety challenge where production pressures increase faster than the food safety infrastructure.

Increased Capacity Leads to Increase Risks

Processing facilities operating beyond designed capacity may compromise existing food safety management systems. Rapid workforce expansion typically outpaces adequate food safety training, increasing food safety handling risks, while quality assurance programs designed for standard production volumes become stretched if production volumes increase substantially. Companies expanding domestic production should conduct comprehensive risk assessments before increasing capacity, with particular attention to known or reasonably foreseeable hazards that may be compromised under accelerated production schedules.

Supply Chain, Traceability and Recording Keeping Concerns

The economics of high-value imported foods like avocados, mangoes, meat, and specialty cheeses will fundamentally change under the tariff structure. When legitimate import channels become prohibitively expensive, sophisticated black market operations emerge that specifically target food supply chains. These operations present unique food safety hazards, as products may be transported without temperature monitoring or verification; traceability documentation is often falsified, eliminating the ability to conduct recalls; and products may be “washed” through multiple intermediaries to obscure origin.

Food Fraud

Product substitution represents perhaps the most immediate economically motivated adulteration (EMA) risk in this environment. When high-value ingredients face substantial tariff increases, suppliers may substitute lower-value alternatives without disclosure. For example, we might see conventional produce falsely labeled as organic to command premium pricing that offsets tariff costs. Similarly, expensive oils like extra virgin olive oil might be diluted with cheaper oils while maintaining premium labeling and pricing. Food companies will need to enhance receiving processes specifically to identify potentially diverted products by implementing enhanced documentation verification, supplier approval processes, and potentially laboratory testing to verify product authenticity and safety.

Companies facing margin compression commonly target operational efficiency measures that inadvertently compromise food safety systems through extended production runs between sanitation cycles allowing biofilm formation and harborage point development, reduced preventive maintenance increasing equipment failure risks during production, and reformulation to extend shelf-life requiring additional validation.

Similarly, economic uncertainty may cause some international and domestic food companies to delay capital investments in food safety-related infrastructure, continuing to use equipment that may be past its useful lifespan or more difficult to clean and maintain, leading to increased microbiological or physical hazards during production.

While most food items from Mexico and Canada that meet the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement rules of origin remain tariff-free, the Canadian supply chain realignment (due to long-term uncertainty around US policies) may represent a more than temporary adaptation—it may reflect a fundamental restructuring of North American food trade that will have persistent effects even if tariffs are eventually removed. New supplier relationships will need to be established and a holistic assessment of food safety programs should be conducted as part of new supply identification and onboarding processes. Canadian companies may approach these changes as permanent structural adjustments requiring comprehensive revisions to supplier verification programs rather than as temporary workarounds. In preparing for these challenges, companies should implement a structured approach that includes:

  • Conducting systematic vulnerability assessments of supply chains to identify specific points where tariff pressures create food safety risks.
  • Developing enhanced verification processes for the specific risks of rapidly onboarded new suppliers.
  • Revalidating critical control points under new operating conditions.
  • Implementing targeted testing programs for high-risk imported products potentially subject to black market diversion.

In these uncertain times, navigating the complex intersection of international trade policy and food safety requires specialized expertise that combines regulatory knowledge, technical assessment capabilities, and strategic planning.

Editors Note: this article was originally published March 12, 2025 and was updated May 5, 2025

Recall

Even With a New Administration, Food Companies Still Need To Be Recall Ready

By Roger Hancock
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Recall

As the new administration moves to make regulatory changes, food recalls remain a constant, with donuts, potato chips, chocolate, chicken nuggets, and more being recalled in the first few months of 2025. In fact, recalls are at a five-year high. Tech-driven recall readiness will prepare food businesses and supply chains for an uncertain future.

Digital solutions are transforming recall management, helping food businesses reduce response times, improve information-sharing, and ultimately protect public health. Automation, real-time monitoring, and cloud-based platforms provide the agility needed to adapt to regulatory shifts while ensuring an effective recall process. Companies that adopt tech solutions will not only mitigate risk but also be better equipped to handle whatever policy changes lie ahead.

Communities that are resilient, even amid uncertain regulatory and political climates. Tech solutions are central to this effort. Here’s how to build a tech-driven Recall Ready Community with your supply chain:

Prioritize food safety

Strong food safety protocols should always be the foundation of your recall strategy, even as policies evolve. Using traceability software and predictive analytics helps you detect risks early and act swiftly when a recall is necessary. Ensure your team is trained and prepared, with clear procedures in place, knowing that a recall could happen at any time.

Work collaboratively with your supply chain

Align with your trading partners to improve speed and accuracy – streamlining the recall process for smoother, more effective responses. Use interoperable systems, supplier verification platforms, and cloud-based communication platforms to elevate data-sharing, transparency, and accuracy. Share expectations for action, and practice your recall process with your supply chain to reduce delays and confusion when a recall occurs.

Standardize data and processes

Standardized data sets ensure all stakeholders (e.g., regulators, trading partners, consumers, the media) have access to accurate, actionable information. Traceability and recall management platforms should use standard data sets (like GS1 standard), and your team should be trained on clean and secure data practices.

Practice in advance

Conduct recall simulations so your team knows exactly what to do in a real-world recall situation. Recall management platforms that allow mock recall simulations and VR training tools create lifelike sample scenarios ideal for effective practice with your supply chain. These simulations help identify and close gaps (like whether you have current contact information for your stakeholders), so you can reduce confusion, build confidence, and ensure preparedness for actual recalls.

Communicate clearly

Even as Federal health agencies paused communication, you can proactively alert consumers and other key stakeholders about recalls. Use automated notification systems and customer loyalty programs to quickly disseminate key messages about recalls to your customers. Provide clear, actionable messaging about what happened, why it happened, and what to do next.

Conclusion

By embracing digital solutions, food businesses can stay agile, respond quickly, and maintain consumer confidence. Don’t wait for Congressional decisions or court rulings around food safety and recalls. Be proactive to protect your brand and consumers, no matter what the future holds. Today’s tech solutions are affordable, accessible, and user-friendly. Now is the time to invest in technology that strengthens your recall strategy and builds a more resilient industry.

Building a Resilient Food Supply Chain: Lessons in Streamlining Operations

By Ainsley Lawrence
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Supply chain stability has a great deal of influence over food safety and security across global markets. When food networks experience disruptions, the consequences affect production, distribution, storage conditions, and consumer well-being. Recent events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, have demonstrated the urgency of developing adaptable food supply systems that maintain strict safety standards under pressure.

Modern food supply chains must balance operational excellence with strategic planning to respond to market shifts and evolving safety requirements. An ideal approach integrates vendor partnerships, technological solutions, and risk management practices to create robust networks that protect business value and public health. Successful food supply networks blend time-tested operational practices with smart innovation, maintaining quality standards through every market shift and challenge.

Streamlining Operations for Efficiency

Food supply networks depend on seamless coordination between multiple moving parts, from initial production to final delivery. Each step in the process — from cold storage management to transportation scheduling — requires precise timing and careful quality control. Optimizing these operations demands attention to two critical areas: building strong vendor partnerships and integrating smart technology solutions.

These core elements create reliable, efficient systems that maintain food safety while reducing operational costs. Success begins with cultivating strong partnerships throughout the vendor network and amplifying these relationships through strategic technology adoption. Striking this balance requires careful attention to supplier relationships and smart implementation of digital monitoring tools.

Building Strong Vendor Networks

Strong vendor relationships start with clear performance standards and consistent communication practices. Regular quality assessments and collaborative planning sessions help create lasting partnerships built on mutual success. These relationships become especially valuable during supply chain challenges when quick responses and flexible solutions matter most.

Effective vendor invoice processing reduces costs through automated systems and standardized procedures. This streamlined approach eliminates common error sources while freeing staff to prioritize strategic improvements. Well-managed vendor documentation also supports compliance efforts by maintaining clear records of all transactions and quality verifications.

Technology Integration for Safety and Efficiency

Advanced digital systems monitor food safety throughout storage and transportation, offering precise control over environmental conditions and product tracking. Modern IoT-driven sensor networks provide continuous updates on temperature, humidity, and other critical factors that affect food quality. These systems also utilize AI technology to analyze and formulate rapid responses to potential issues before they affect product safety.

Digital platforms also improve communication across the supply chain, connecting vendors, transporters, and facility managers through unified data systems. Real-time updates and automated alerts help maintain product integrity while reducing waste. Supply chain managers use this precise, real-time data to reinforce both immediate decisions and strategic planning.

Risk Mitigation and Flexibility in the Supply Chain

Food distribution networks face persistent challenges from multiple sources. Seasonal storms disrupt transportation routes, equipment failures compromise cold storage systems, and sudden demand spikes strain production capacity. Each type of disruption presents unique challenges to food safety and quality control, requiring specific strategies and response protocols.

Effective risk management combines two essential capabilities: systematic vulnerability assessment and operational flexibility. Organizations must develop methods to spot potential problems before affecting product quality. They then need adaptable systems that can quickly adjust to changing conditions without compromising safety standards.

Identifying and Addressing Vulnerabilities

Effective risk prevention begins with regular assessment of potential weak points. Transportation delays, equipment malfunctions, and storage complications can all threaten product integrity. Maintaining food safety during disruptions requires systematic monitoring and clear response protocols. Organizations particularly benefit from detailed contingency plans that anticipate various scenarios and outline specific actions for each situation.

Quality control teams must stay alert to subtle indicators that might signal developing problems. This vigilance includes monitoring supplier performance metrics, tracking delivery patterns, and analyzing temperature control data. Early detection of potential issues allows swift intervention before minor concerns escalate into significant disruptions.

Building Adaptable Systems

Flexible distribution networks accommodate sudden changes without sacrificing safety standards or operational efficiency. This adaptability stems from strategic redundancy in critical areas, including backup supplier relationships and alternative transportation routes. Cross-trained staff members provide additional flexibility, allowing quick reallocation of resources when specific areas need extra support.

Clear communication channels prove essential during periods of adjustment. Team members at every level need accurate, current information about changing conditions and modified procedures. Staff training drills sharpen emergency response skills and build team confidence. Well-prepared personnel protect food quality standards while smoothly executing needed process adjustments.

Branding and Consumer Trust in Food Safety

Consumer confidence grows from consistent safety practices paired with open communication. Food producers and distributors sharing detailed information about quality control measures build lasting market relationships. Today’s consumers look beyond basic safety claims — they want to understand specific handling procedures, storage protocols, and quality certifications. This heightened interest in food safety creates opportunities for meaningful dialogue with customers about quality assurance practices.

Meeting these expectations takes a coordinated approach that spans internal operations and external communications. Organizations can build consumer trust by creating clear, accessible messages about safety standards and fostering active participation in safety practices across all stakeholder groups. From employee training programs to consumer education initiatives, each element of safety communication plays a vital role in building and maintaining market confidence.

Communicating Safety Commitments

Clear messaging about food safety practices builds credibility with consumers and retail partners. Documentation of safety protocols, quality certifications, and handling procedures demonstrates dedication to product quality. Promotional products highlight your brand values while educating consumers about specific safety measures, from temperature monitoring to contamination prevention. If possible, tailor your materials to match the relationship in question.

Safety communication involves more than standard product packaging and labels. Websites, social media, and print materials collaborate to share detailed quality control processes and safety innovations. Using multiple communication methods helps consumers find accurate safety information wherever they look. Generally speaking, it’s better to have more information available than you need than to be too opaque.

Engaging Stakeholders in Safety Culture

Food safety excellence starts in warehouses and continues through every delivery route. Quality control teams conduct hands-on training sessions, from temperature monitoring to contamination prevention, to simulate real-world challenges. Staff members contribute valuable insights through structured feedback programs, often identifying practical improvements to daily operations. Employee recognition programs celebrate exceptional safety practices, spurring healthy competition and innovative approaches to quality control.

Safety education has far-reaching effects throughout the distribution network. Distribution centers conduct specialized training sessions for retail partners, teaching proper handling techniques for various food categories. Store staff learn optimal storage methods for different products and then pass this knowledge to customers through clear guidelines and practical tips. Local food safety workshops bring together warehouse teams, retail staff, and consumers, creating collaborative learning environments.

Final Thoughts

Strong food supply networks emerge from careful attention to three core elements: operational precision, risk readiness, and stakeholder engagement. Organizations that excel at vendor management while integrating advanced monitoring systems create reliable distribution channels that withstand market pressures. Clear safety protocols and quick-response capabilities maintain food quality through unexpected challenges.

Safety-focused communication strengthens every link in the food supply chain. Informed employees can spot potential issues early, trained vendors can follow precise handling procedures, and educated consumers can make smarter storage decisions. When each participant understands their role in maintaining food safety, the entire system benefits through consistent quality, reduced waste, and increased market confidence.

Food Safety Technology Can Protect Businesses from Recalls and Other Risks

By Colin Rose, Patricia Baxter
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Recalls represent one of the largest threats to a food company’s profitability and reputation. In recent years, technology solutions such as cloud-based software have been introduced to better prepare and safeguard businesses.

According to the US Department of Agriculture, more than 300 food products were recalled last year, representing a significant 31% increase compared with 2022. The reasons behind recalls vary and include food containing contaminated items such as metal or plastic, exposure to pathogens and undeclared allergens on product labels. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that each year, roughly one in six Americans (or 48 million people) gets sick from foodborne diseases. Recalls represent one of the largest threats to a food company’s profitability and reputation. In recent years, technology solutions such as cloud-based software have been introduced to better prepare and safeguard businesses.

Supply Chain Connectivity

Despite advances in technology, many food manufacturers and processors still rely on manual tools and management across their supply chains. Manual systems can result in major issues during a crisis, including errors in inputting or updating data and miscommunication, such as being unable to quickly reach multiple vendors and suppliers at a given time.

Proper and comprehensive supply chain management is critical to food safety. In the instance of a recall, businesses must be able to quickly activate their recall management plan, disseminating important information both up and down the supply chain while documenting to meet certification and regulatory requirements. It’s key that all suppliers – local, national and international – demonstrate that they are compliant with all relevant food and market regulations. Product source information must also be tracked and searchable in records.

Robust and proactive document control can help an organization avoid recalls by quickly identifying risky suppliers or non-compliant ingredients.

Innovative Solutions Support Recalls

Several new technologies are being employed to support greater traceability and transparency across the food supply chain. With cybersecurity attacks now being a risk that can result in product recalls, more companies are investing in information security solutions to further protect their data. Certifications to standards such as ISO/IEC 27001, which has requirements for establishing, managing and maintaining an information security management system help businesses to demonstrate that they follow an international standard for managing security controls. This can provide an added level of assurance that cybersecurity risks have been identified and safeguarded.

Some companies are now using RFID to tag and track food items. QR codes and bar codes can be scanned on easily accessible devices such as smartphones and tablets, providing instant access to records to ensure traceability.

Cloud-based software also allows companies to manage complex and critical data more confidently. NSF TraQtion® is a new software solution that directs suppliers to an online portal to upload documents, complete questionnaires and communicate. Beyond supplier data, cloud-based software can also be used for recipe management and storage, tracking complaints, label compliance and setting company-wide standards. By simplifying and digitizing data, documents and records collection, leaders can instantly access information during audits and assessments, allowing for quick delivery when program documentation is requested or required.

If not properly and swiftly handled, a recall or outbreak can cost a business tens of thousands of dollars or more. By using cloud-based technology to put an easily accessible and implementable risk management plan in place, businesses can be better prepared for a food safety incident. Overall, software can minimize back-and-forth messaging, urgent data requests, meetings and calls by digitizing and streamlining both communication and documentation.

How to Select the Right Tech Solutions

When preparing for a potential recall, it’s important to be proactive. Start with identifying the pain points in the organization’s risk management plan and then see if there are tools that can be used to strengthen the plan and address its weaknesses. While some tools may require greater investment, this can pay off in the long run when you consider how detrimental recalls can be.

As we look at recalls and technology solutions, we must acknowledge that the requirement for full compliance to the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) 204 rule is January 20, 2026. For those applicable, technology will play a major role in the FDA’s recordkeeping requirements and 24-hour turnaround of an electronic, sortable spreadsheet for traceability of products. In most cases, with larger-scale operations, this can only happen with the utilization of new and emerging software.

The goal of technology implementation is to create a more sustainable food system. With earlier identification and traceability of adulterated products, the removal and retrieval process from commerce will be faster and, in turn, should result in a decrease of incidents reducing illness and potential deaths.

Digital solutions will also help to fill the gaps for root cause investigations, thus more efficiently allowing for enhanced preventative actions and training to avoid recurrence. While onboarding of new technology can sometimes be costly, over time, the ROI of reduced recalls and product losses can increase revenue gains and negate the initial investment.

Food is a global commodity, and advancing technology and innovations in system processes can help move the supply chain forward in delivering safe, quality consumable products around the world. Now is the time to lead the industry forward for a safer, more sustainable future for both companies and consumers. We must invest in technology solutions within our food supply chain to continue advancing human and planet health.

David Hatch

Food Safety Risk Assessments are “Data Hungry”

By David Hatch
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David Hatch

This past year, I was invited to participate in a risk assessment workshop led by a third-party consultant at a food safety event. During my 30+ year career, I have been through many different types of risk assessments across several industry segments. I have been a participant seeking to define and address risk at my own organization, as well as a consultant helping my clients perform their own risk assessments. Each time I experienced a risk assessment exercise, I learned something new, and this time was no different. The key learning for me in this case is encapsulated in the title of this blog: Food Safety Risk Assessments are “Data Hungry.”

What Does This Mean?

As we went through the workshop exercise, we explored the elements of risk. Specifically, risk is defined as a combination of three factors: Is something POSSIBLE, how PROBABLE is it to occur, and what is the potential SEVERITY if it were to occur?

  • The first element is a yes or no question. Anything that can possibly happen should be included in the assessment.
  • The second element, probability, is measured on a scale. In our exercise, we assigned probability to a scale of 1–5 (least to most probable). A subset of probability is the expected frequency. This is a tricky one. If something has been occurring over time, then the frequency is known and can be easily factored into the probability scale. If it is a newly discovered issue, then “expected frequency” becomes an exercise in guesswork — one that must be refined over time. In our exercise, frequency was measured on a scale of 1–5 (least to most frequent).
  • For the third element, severity, we also used a 1–5 scale (least to most severe).

The room then proceeded to use these elements and measurement techniques to assess risk across 10 different scenarios. These included descriptions of foodborne illness, food safety testing outcomes, discovery of allergens, labelling mishaps, chemical contamination, food fraud, supply chain disruptions, and other risks.

The risk assessment included a worksheet laid out as a table, where each scenario could be prioritized and scored according to the risk measurement elements (Figure 1).

Example Risk Scoring Table]
Figure 1: Example Risk Scoring Table

The room was divided into three teams, and each was asked to prioritize the various scenarios in order of highest to lowest risk. Each group completed this task, and here is where things got interesting — each team had different results!

As shown in the example table, a lower priority may yield a risk score above that of something that was originally considered a higher priority. Each team’s tables looked significantly different from the others. To be clear, these were not strangers performing the exercise with no knowledge of each other’s priorities. In fact, the three teams comprised the global food safety leadership of one company — yet each team seemed to have very different ideas on risk prioritization. This unexpected result caused some lively discussion; meanwhile, the consultant leading the exercise was the only one in the room who was not surprised at all by the results. Here’s why:

There was one more factor to consider — one that was on the minds of each team, but not openly expressed as a factor for prioritizing risk: The TYPE of risk.

The consultant then asked the room to describe what type of risk they were thinking about from the following four categories:

  • Public Health
  • Reputation
  • Regulatory
  • Business Operations

The room concluded that the type of risk had a significant impact on how the risk was originally prioritized. Each team had set out their prioritization criteria based on a preconceived risk category, and it turned out that each team’s selected category was different. Depending on which of the four risk types or objectives was dominant, a different prioritization and risk scoring resulted.

This is where the “data hungry” concept factors in. The final analysis revealed that a risk scoring exercise conducted in this manner is capable of yielding only a “perceived risk” score. While perception is a good start, an actionable risk assessment should be based on actual outcomes and experiences. The availability of real-world data, collected over time, has a dramatic impact on validating perceptions.

For example, the availability of pathogen testing diagnostic data, along with the probability, frequency, and likeliness of occurrences, would allow a risk assessment score to be based on a historical trend, rather than a perceived level of frequency and probability. A risk assessment exercise would be informed by the data, and a score of 1–5 could be applied with far more confidence.

Data, in the words of one of the participants, “removes the guesswork and assumptions” within a risk assessment. I learned that data is the necessary element to transform risk perception into risk knowledge. While it is useful to perform a risk assessment based on perceived scoring and prioritization, it is essential that a risk assessment be validated with real data.

Prasant Prusty and Arundhathy Shabu

Foreign Material Contamination: Challenges and Management of Risks

By Arundhathy Shabu, Prasant Prusty
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Prasant Prusty and Arundhathy Shabu

Do you recollect the recall of nearly 250,000 pounds of a frozen chicken strips entree product due to a consumer discovering a piece of plastic in one of the chicken pieces, as announced by the USDA FSIS on September 2nd, 2023? Although food manufacturing facilities often implement diligent foreign material contaminant detection and control protocols, recalls due to foreign materials continue to happen. Therefore, it is critical for food businesses to understand the potential routes for foreign material contamination, analyze the challenges they bring, and employ a comprehensive approach to foreign material control and management, utilizing efficient methods to ensure consumer safety.

Origins of Foreign Material Contamination

The extraneous materials found in the food supply are defined by the FDA’s Food Defect Levels Handbook as “any foreign matter in a product associated with objectionable conditions or practices in production, storage, or distribution, including objectionable matter contributed by insects, rodents, and birds; decomposed material; and miscellaneous matter such as sand, soil, glass, rust, or other foreign substances.”

The origins of foreign substances found in food are commonly classified into five categories:

  • Unintentional introduction from the field (stones, metal, insects, unwanted plant material like thorns or wood, soil, or small animals).
  • Accidental inception during processing and handling (bone, glass, metal, wood, nuts, bolts, screening, cloth, grease, paint chips, rust, and similar items).
  • Substances that enter the food during distribution (insects, metals, soil, or stones).
  • Deliberate inclusion of materials in food (employee sabotage).
  • Miscellaneous materials, such as struvite and other similar substances.

Not all foreign materials make a food item unsafe, but they all can have a profound effect on consumer satisfaction, which can result in negative publicity and decreased sales and regulatory compliance.

Foreign Object Contamination Risks and Challenges

Foreign material contamination in the food supply chain presents significant risks including:

Consumer Health Risks. Consuming contaminated food can lead to injuries such as broken teeth, choking, internal injuries, or illness if the foreign material carries pathogens. These incidents can result in severe health consequences, including hospitalization or even death, depending on the nature of the contaminant and the sensitivity of the consumer.

Regulatory Compliance. Regulations enforced by governmental agencies require strict adherence to food safety standards, including contamination prevention measures. Failure to comply with these regulations can lead to fines, legal penalties, product recalls, and even business closure.

Supply Chain Disruption. Contamination incidents can disrupt the flow of products through the supply chain, leading to delays, shortages, and increased operational costs. These disruptions can ripple through the entire industry, affecting a multitude of stakeholders.

Damage to Brand Value. Foreign material contamination incidents can tarnish a company’s reputation and erode consumer trust. News of contaminated products spreads rapidly through traditional and social media channels, leading to negative publicity and brand damage.

Financial Losses. The costs associated with product recalls, legal settlements, and loss of sales revenue can be significant and have long-term implications for profitability and sustainability.

Despite understanding the significant risks associated with foreign object contamination, these events continue to occur. That is because there are significant challenges in preventing and detecting foreign materials in food products, such as:

Supply Chain Complexity. The modern food supply chain is highly interconnected, involving numerous stakeholders, including farmers, processors, distributors, retailers, and consumers. Each step in the supply chain opens doors for contamination, making it challenging to trace the source of foreign materials accurately.

Implementation of Preventive Measures. Establishing effective preventive measures to mitigate the risk of foreign material contamination requires collaboration, investment, and ongoing vigilance. Verification of the efficacy of the employed preventive actions is often overlooked, which may lead to recurring foreign material presence.

Addressing these challenges requires a coordinated effort across the entire supply chain, with a focus on proactive risk management, quality assurance, and continuous improvement. The fundamental point remains that foreign substances should not be present in food items and hence, processors must create, record, execute, and sustain foreign material control programs to tackle these challenges and guarantee the exclusion of such materials from both their products and procedures.

Prevention Strategies

A foreign material management program is a protocol established to avert, identify, and investigate occurrences of foreign impurities within any food processing or manufacturing facility. An effective foreign material control program should adopt a holistic framework, integrating components that assess potential risks throughout the supply chain and establish appropriate preventive and corrective measures against foreign contamination. Following are the three key components to an effective program.

  1. Risk Assessment & Management in Farming

Food manufacturers and ingredient producers, including farmers and agronomists, must understand the specific risks and proper handling procedures of their ingredients to ensure food safety. Risk assessment in agriculture involves identifying hazards and vulnerabilities that could introduce foreign materials throughout the farming process, from planting to post-harvest handling.

Examples of hazards include contaminated water or soil, improper pesticide handling, inadequate pest control, and poor sanitation practices. Risk management involves scrutinizing farming operations to eliminate points of entry for foreign materials. Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) are crucial for controlling food safety hazards and are categorized into eleven segments, covering various aspects of farming practices. Compliance with GAP standards helps minimize the risk of contamination throughout the production process.

  1. Risk Assessment & Management in Receiving, Storage, and Transportation

In the context of receiving, storage, and transportation, the identification of potential sources of contamination is essential, with bulk shipments presenting significant challenges due to their susceptibility to foreign material introduction. Hazards during these stages can arise from various factors, including handling and environmental conditions.

Supplier approval programs serve to both ensure product safety and mitigate foreign material contamination risks. These programs primarily involve assessing suppliers’ food safety measures, including protocols for food handling and foreign object detection. Buyers can enforce measures such as sieving, screening, or employing metal detectors or X-ray machines before packaging, which should be specified in purchasing agreements. Effective risk management strategies involve thorough supplier verification and monitoring processes to ensure adherence to quality standards and practices. Intervention strategies, such as specific protocols for bulk deliveries, and communication with suppliers are required to prevent and address contamination issues promptly.

  1. Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)

Good Manufacturing Processes are defined by regulatory agencies and developed to ensure that products are consistently produced following set quality standards. They cover multiple aspects of company operations that may allow for the introduction of foreign materials including:

Personnel. GMP dictates policies regarding attire and personal items for personnel involved in food processing, emphasizing the importance of verification programs to ensure the detectability of items within the processing environment.

Premises. Ensuring the proper condition and maintenance of the physical facility minimizes the risk of foreign material contamination. This includes regular upkeep and designated areas of operation to minimize the risk of cross-contamination. Effective waste management systems are also necessary to eliminate potential breeding grounds for contaminants.

Equipment Designing and Utensils. Equipment and utensils must be designed with materials resistant to shattering or splintering that feature smooth, non-porous surfaces for easy cleaning. Regular inspection and maintenance protocols are required to ensure equipment integrity and minimize the risk of foreign material contamination.

Preventive Maintenance. Preventive maintenance programs address equipment malfunctions before they pose a risk of contamination, with scheduled tasks tailored to the usage lifespan of different components. Timely replacement of parts is important to prevent failures that could compromise product safety.

Wood Control. Implementing a pallet management program helps prevent contamination from wooden pallets.

Glass and Brittle Plastic Controls. Food manufacturers are required to have a dedicated program for managing glass and brittle plastic as part of their GMP. This begins with establishing a policy prohibiting the presence or use of glass or ceramic objects in food processing areas or warehouses. A comprehensive inventory of all glass and brittle plastic items in food storage or handling areas, including their locations and protective measures, must be maintained.

Sanitation and Validation. Thorough cleaning and disinfection procedures are integral to maintaining sanitation standards, with validation processes to ensure the effectiveness of cleaning protocols. Comprehensive testing and verification are necessary and required to confirm the absence of contaminants.

Detection and Removal with Ongoing Surveillance. Various detection and removal methods, including sieves, electronic sorting, and centrifugation, can be employed to identify and eliminate foreign materials during processing. Collaboration with suppliers is key to optimizing detection equipment configurations and calibration, ensuring the removal of contaminants throughout the production process.

Innovative Approaches for Foreign Material Control

With technological advancements, innovative approaches have emerged to enhance foreign material detection and prevention processes. One such approach involves the use of advanced imaging technologies, such as X-ray inspection systems and metal detectors, which can identify foreign objects within food products. These systems utilize sophisticated algorithms to distinguish between desired food components and foreign materials, enabling manufacturers to detect contaminants with high precision. For example, X-ray inspection systems can detect metal, glass, plastic, and other dense foreign materials, while metal detectors are effective in identifying metallic contaminants.

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms has revolutionized foreign material control in the food industry. AI-powered systems can analyze vast amounts of data in real time to identify patterns and anomalies associated with foreign material contamination. This enables proactive detection and prevention measures, reducing the risk of foreign material incidents and product recalls.

For instance, AI algorithms can continuously monitor production lines for deviations from normal operating conditions and trigger alerts when potential contaminants are detected. Additionally, advancements in sensor technology, such as hyperspectral imaging and laser-based systems, offer enhanced sensitivity and specificity in detecting foreign materials, further improving food safety standards. Overall, these innovative approaches underscore the importance of leveraging technology to enhance foreign material control and uphold the highest standards of food safety in the industry.

By building and maintaining competent foreign material contamination management systems and incorporating new technologies, companies can safeguard product quality, protect consumers, and preserve brand reputation.

Paul Damaren

The New Era of Quality Management Solutions

By Paul Damaren
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Paul Damaren

Food businesses must prioritize safety and quality by taking every known precaution to protect their foods, customers, employees, and businesses. The most effective way for food brands to ensure safety, quality, and compliance is to use technology to elevate their quality management programs.

Technology, including artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, and machine learning, can make food significantly safer by improving food safety protocols, quality control, compliance, and supply chain management.

The Importance of Quality Management

Whether you’re a processor, manufacturer, distributor, retailer, or other food business, you must ensure that your safety and quality practices are consistent and properly maintained. And you must confirm that all employees follow gold standard safety protocols to minimize risks and maximize safety. But that isn’t enough on its own. You must also manage your entire supply chain to be certain that foods are safe and proper protocols are followed through every step of the journey.

Businesses need to maintain high-quality standards while also scaling production, introducing new products, providing exceptional customer service, and meeting evolving consumer demands. That’s no small feat! Fortunately, several tech tools now exist that can help food brands elevate their quality management programs and safety efforts.

Quality Management Tools Have Improved Dramatically

The way that organizations manage their food safety and quality programs has improved significantly over the years. Savvy food businesses have ditched their manual paper systems due to drawbacks such as being unable to provide real-time, integrated data across an enterprise. Manual systems also come with compliance risks, as employees could do sloppy or incomplete work on inspections, audits, and safety checks — or skip them altogether. Tech solutions offer more efficient and accurate ways to conduct and track quality management programs.

Food businesses should rely on digital quality management solutions that:

  • Are made specifically for the food sector, addressing food brands’ unique challenges and needs.
  • Are comprehensive, offering audit management, compliance tracking, risk assessment, supplier quality management, and quality control in one easy-to-use solution.
  • Include mobile auditing features to enhance on-site inspection efficiency, which is crucial for maintaining quality in fast-paced environments.
  • Feature compliance and reporting capabilities to ensure adherence to the latest regulatory requirements.
  • Allow brands to manage their suppliers, ensuring everyone is committed to the highest safety and quality standards, as any weak link in the supply chain can jeopardize the integrity of the food, leaving end-users vulnerable.

Technologies To Elevate Quality Programs

The integration of technology in the food sector has been exciting, and we have learned much about which technologies offer the greatest benefit. Some of the most valuable solutions include:

  • Busy food brands can leverage automation to reduce administrative burdens and time-consuming tasks and improve efficiency, consistency, accuracy, and productivity.
  • AI and machine learning. These solutions offer predictive maintenance of equipment, quality control, and yield optimization, and give business owners critical, real-time data to drive more informed decision-making. Additionally, machine learning algorithms can predict food safety risks based on various parameters, such as storage conditions and handling.
  • IoT devices monitor safety and quality parameters, including temperature, humidity, and vibration to identify and either resolve or alert companies to safety and quality risks. IoT provides constant feedback, so food brands can quickly prevent (or remediate) safety breaches and quality degradation.
  • Blockchain can provide food authentication through increased transparency and enhanced food traceability. Food brands can leverage blockchain technology to ensure the food they’re getting is safe, authentic, and high-quality. Blockchain can trace food back to its source to prevent food fraud, increase food safety, and improve recalls in the event of a safety breach.

A New Era of Food Safety & Quality Software

As these technologies have made their way into the food industry, we are seeing continuous improvement in quality management tools, including:

  • More comprehensive functions. When multiple functions are packaged together in a single intuitive solution, it allows food brands to streamline their quality management processes, aligning with industry-specific requirements.
  • More robust compliance management. Additional compliance management features help brands better understand ever-evolving regulations and adhere to stringent safety standards. And that’s reassuring for customers and end-users, including the retailers that sell the products, the restaurants that serve them, and the consumers that eat them.
  • Focus on supply chain management. Supply chain management has seen a technological overhaul around quality assurance, providing more transparency and traceability from farm to fork. Focusing on every point across the supply chain is crucial in an industry where the quality of the end product is directly influenced by the quality of the sourced materials.
  • Mobile auditing. Mobile auditing solutions within quality monitoring programs allow organizations to facilitate real-time data collection and reporting, a critical factor for onsite inspections in food production, processing, manufacturing, and retail environments.
  • Accessible for all. As tech solutions have become more affordable, accessible, scalable, and user-friendly, they have become more attainable for food businesses of all sizes and budgets. While some brands may worry that digital quality management solutions require significant investment, think of the ROI you’ll receive by avoiding brand damaging and expensive safety and quality breaches.

Digital quality management solutions have become essential for every food business, allowing brands to avoid costly, damaging breaches. Food businesses would be wise to adopt and embrace this new era of quality management solutions to maximize safety, minimize risks, and demonstrate their commitment to quality and compliance.

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Food Safety Think Tank

Food Safety Is About Trust and Relationships

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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“It’s not what we know that worries me. It’s what we don’t know,” said Jorge Hernandez, VP of Quality Assurance at The Wendy’s Company. He spoke with Matt Regusci and Francine Shaw, co-hosts of the “Don’t Eat Poop” podcast during the 2023 Food Safety Consortium to discuss his career, and how to make a difference as a food safety professional.

Hernandez began his career as a local and then state food inspector in Illinois before moving to U.S. Foods and then Wendy’s. Looking back on his early career, he noted that the most important thing he learned as an inspector is that people want to do the right thing, and if you take the time to explain the problem and offer solutions, they are willing to learn and will become compliant with the rules.

English is not Hernandez’s first language, which has helped him with his communication. “As I was learning English, I learned that it’s not what you say, but how they receive it,” he said. “So I’m very sensitive to ‘Are they understanding what I’m saying and my words?’ If not, I stop and listen to them and their feedback to make sure my message got through. If you just walk away, you don’t know if they got it or not.”

The need to develop relationships that extend beyond the transactional was a key message, particularly when it comes to suppliers. “To me a supplier is a partnership. How can I make them better and how can they make us better?” said Hernandez. “If it’s all about 5 cents here or 10 cents there, that drives a suppler to go around you or start doing things [you don’t want]. I’m committed to working with them to make them better, faster, more efficient, whatever it needs to be.”

Regusci and Shaw asked Hernandez to share the biggest changes he’s seen in the industry since he started his career. Technological advances were No. 1. “Technology has taken us a lot farther and moved faster than I thought. Now we’re looking at the DNA of bacteria and we can identify it and follow an outbreak to levels we never thought possible,” said Hernandez. “But also, there are practices we thought were safe and now we’re discovering, not necessarily. Look at listeria. While technology has helped us see more, there are a lot of risks that our systems are not able to handle, and we need to address that.”

In terms of future risks to the food supply, the evolutionary nature of bacteria and changes in weather are what keep him up at night. “Bacteria have been evolving and they will evolve to the point that our sanitizers and processes will not be effective. Also, the weather is changing; things are warmer. And in the U.S., we are seeing more outbreaks from bacteria that were more common in warmer climates,” he said. “So we need to be smart enough to know our technology and our food safety systems, but also flexible enough to prepare for what is coming next.”

When asked what he wished—as a former inspector—that food inspectors and regulators understood about the industry, he shared that, “People who are from outside the industry don’t acknowledge as much as they could or should that everyone is trying to do the right thing. They just need to understand the why and how.”

At the close of each episode, Shaw asks, “What does trust mean to you?”

“Trust means everything,”, said Hernandez. “In order for me to develop a relationship with a supplier, I need to trust them and they need to trust me. When I hire a new employee, I need to trust that they are going to do their job and they need to trust that I have their best interests at heart and that we as a company are going to take care of them and give them a career. Trust is essential to everything we do.”

Listen to the full episode here: