Tag Archives: Retail

Where has that meat been?

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A news team in South Carolina used a hidden camera to catch nine area grocery stores reselling meat that had been returned to the store by members of the news crew.

Nine other stores tested by the team did not put the returned meat back in the display case. These stores were concerned that once the meat was outside of their control, it could be deliberately contaminated or allowed to get too warm – as they should be.

The same is true for meat coming to a store for the first time. Smart retailers use suppliers they can trust based on those suppliers’ openness about handling procedures.

Toronto police are currently alerting the public that a truckload of chicken breasts was stolen last week and has since been repackaged and sold.

Police photographs show that the stickers on the new packages tell consumers to keep the chicken refrigerated. Nice touch.

Retailers should know that consumers are not the first line of defense against foodborne illness.

What happened to the product before it was sold to stores? Did the thieves take the steps necessary to reduce the microbial risks associated with transporting raw meat? Could they prove it?

Peanut Corp. of America epitomized a business whose sole concern was turning a profit. I’m sure a crime ring would be quite similar.

So the big question is, did anybody ask?

Grocery stores who resell returned meat are taking the same risks as stores who sell meat from suppliers they know very little about.

It never hurts to ask questions.
 

When danger lurks in the grocery aisles, call the Recaller

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Deciphering recall information is tough for the regular consumer.

Automated phone calls to shoppers have been appreciated. Pictures of products have also helped to clear things up.

But it seems that retailers need some assistance accessing and utilizing recall information to better aide consumers.

Recalled products were found on grocery and convenience store shelves after:
– Salmonella bacteria were discovered in Veggie Booty snacks,
– botulinum toxin was found in Castleberry’s chili,
– Topps meat was recalled due to E. coli contamination,
– Listeria monocytogenes was detected in Maple Leaf deli meats, and
– dairy products were found to contain melamine.

Growing up, my brother Skyler had an awesome Batman alarm clock. When it was time to get up, the Bat-Signal would shine on the ceiling and a voice would say, “Gotham City is in trouble; call for Batman!” It was a great call to action.

I think the citizens need another hero: The Recaller.

Along with a handful of producers, some grocery retailers have specialized personnel on staff to manage food safety issues.

Barry Parsons fills that role for the three Stauffers supermarkets in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

When he gets news of a recall, Parsons says,

"Twenty minutes to a half an hour and it’s off the shelf."

POW. BAM. WHAP. The threat is negated.

My bother Jesse (currently a third grader) found a hero in Spiderman.

All the aforementioned recalls have shown that the production and distribution of food today has the power to reach and—positively or adversely—affect many, many people. And you know what Uncle Ben says about great power….

"There’s a lot of responsibility being in the food business," Parsons said. "I really care about this.

"Because it could be a child. I’ve had children myself. Imagine if your child got sick. How would you feel as a parent? The elderly — they’re susceptible. My parents are in their 80s. That really hits me."

That’s what I see as a culture of food safety.

The superhero I favored was a good guy from Kansas: Superman.

(At right: Dean Cain’s costume from ‘Lois and Clark’ was on display alongside old mining equipment and [representative] boxes of stored film reels at the  Kansas Underground Salt Museum when Bret took me last year.)

The Pennsylvania Recaller says of his position,

"You’ve really got to be dedicated to it, and you’ve really got to have a sense of caring.

"You’ve got to say, ‘No matter what’s going to happen, I’m going to make sure my customers are safe, my employers are safe.’

"This is not something I do as a job. It’s just what I do. It’s who I am."
 

Retailers can do more: market microbial food safety

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An editorial in Tuesday’s L.A. Times stated that,

“Retailers have both the clout to compel high standards and better tracking in agriculture and a direct reason to worry about consumers’ concerns.”

In response, the Times published this letter from me:

“The Wal-Marts and McDonald’s of the world have been requiring enhanced food safety from their suppliers for more than a decade, and, as your editorial notes, they may be the best advocates for consumers. Making customers sick is bad business.

But many of the checks and balances on supplying fresh produce, like the kind involved in this year’s salmonella outbreak, are hidden and poorly validated. Any commodity is only as good as its worst grower.

There are too many outbreaks and too many sick people. It’s time for retailers and restaurants to market microbial food safety and compete using safety as a selling point. This would introduce a heightened level of accountability throughout the farm-to-fork food safety system and capture the imagination of a public weary of food scares.

The first company that can reliably assure consumers they aren’t eating poop on spinach, lettuce, tomatoes and any other fresh produce will make millions and capture markets. May the best food safety system win.

Douglas Powell
Manhattan, Kan.
The writer is an associate professor in food safety at Kansas State University.”

Emergency plans for retail food establishments

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Ever wonder what to do in an ice storm. A tornado? How about a flood? Living in the Midwest, we get everything.

Now imagine it’s not just you and your family. It’s a restaurant, a store, even a really big store.

The Conference for Food Protection (CFP) has released “practical guidance for retail grocery and food service establishments to plan and respond to emergencies that create the potential for an imminent health hazard.”  It includes a list of on-line resources.

It’s a great starting point.

Tomatoes continue to disappear from retail …

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The Los Angeles Times reports that fast-food chains Taco Bell Corp. and Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. have, in addition to McDonald’s and others, stopped serving certain tomatoes. Same with supermarket chains Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons, which stopped selling red plum, red Roma or round red tomatoes cited by the FDA.

Elizabeth Weise of USA Today reported this morning that simply washing tomatoes can help, but it won’t necessarily remove the salmonella bacteria, because when tomatoes are picked on very hot days and put into cold water to chill, salmonella on their surface can be drawn up into the fruit.

David Acheson, director of the FDA’s Food Safety and Security Staff, said that doesn’t mean the public should stop washing produce, adding, "If there is surface contamination, washing is going to help remove it."

Below is a  photo from the Tampa Tribune of a Burger King at Kennedy and West Shore boulevards, indicateing it’s not serving tomatoes.