Global Food Collaborative

Happy Mother's Day?


Yes it is July and Mother's Day was early May, but this week-end, the US Food And Drug Administration posted a recall of 'G Collection' Mother's Day and Valentine's Day Gift Boxes.    It is a VOLUNTARY recall.  According to the announcement, has "one chocolate piece in the G Collection - the Praline Crunch – contains a dry nonfat milk ingredient purchased from Plainview Milk Products Cooperative, which has reported potential salmonella contamination on its equipment."      


Do you honestly think that a mother still has her Godiva Chocolates from Mothers Day?   


The good news is that the companies involved let the public know what they knew about possible contamination and when they knew.    The bad news is that it is so after the fact.


Like Kevin Browning, Director Food Safety & Supply Chain Quality of J.R. Simplot said in his remarks at Global Food Alaska, "it's not good enough to know your supplier anymore, you must know your supplier's supplier."       Having trust or verifying food safety is not easy and often combines data and good working relationships along the supply chain.  


With that said.   Why would it take over 2 months to detect this possible contamination?     Industry standard techniques normally take 1 to 7 days.       In fact, there are many new methods being developed to more rapidly test and report.    One is an adhesive tape being developed by researchers at Iowa State University.    The tape is applied to produce (one of the major contributors to food borne illness) and analyzed under a fluorescent glow after it is removed.  The technique is called FISH (Fluorescent In-Situ Hybridization) and can tell if the produce is contaminated with salmonella in about two hours.     Two hours....not two months ( or more likely 4 months from initial manufacturing).    



I would hope, with the scientific and technology knowledge we have today, that we could have a zero tolerance on possibly making our mom's sick from their mother's day gift chocolates.      In fact, shouldn't we have a zero tolerance for our dad's, grandparents, children, friends and colleagues in food safety?    


Check out the President's Food Safety Working Group and let us know what you think about these efforts toward a safe food supply?