HorizonScan™ Tracking Shows Global Food Safety Issues Increasing

HorizonScan shares its third quarter findings, noting an increase in food safety issues in key categories including poultry, seafood, vegetables and nuts.

Fairfield, IA (PRWEB) - HorizonScan, the world’s most comprehensive database of food hazards, shares its third quarter findings, noting an increase in food integrity issues in key categories including poultry, seafood, vegetables and nuts.

“One of the primary components of the Food Safety Modernization Act [FSMA] is that companies must conduct a risk assessment of their ingredients and suppliers to detect hazards,” says Ron Stakland, global product manager, HorizonScan. “However, the globalization of ingredient sourcing has made it more challenging than ever to assess the chemical, biological and physical risks in the supply chain.”

According to Stakland, several key food categories have seen an increase in hazards in the last quarter, most notably seafood, poultry, fruits/vegetables and nuts.

Poultry and poultry products saw an increase of 14.3% over last quarter, following a decline in Q1, which followed a record number of problems in 2017. These issues stemmed primarily from Salmonella contamination in chicken meat from Brazil.

Seafood issues continue to rise, up a striking 23.1% due to issues such as mercury, altered organolepsis (affecting, or relating to qualities such as taste, color, odor, and feel) or histamines in fish, and veterinary drugs in crustaceans. There were also significant issues with Listeria, E. coli and Salmonella in smoked/dried fish and clams.

There were numerous issues with vegetables and fruits, most relating to pesticides found in peppers, peas (with pods), strawberries and goji berries. In fact, issues were up 14.3% since Q2 and 67.6% annually.

Another category with significant issues related to aflatoxins (mold) were nuts including almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts, brazil and cashew nuts. Reported hazards are up 7.9% in Q3 but tracking an increase of 86.4% for the year.

On a more positive note, milk and dairy product hazard reports are down 4.7% and meat and meat product issues are down 14.1% after a Q2 increase of 9.9%.

Industry awareness is a critical issue. “Growing consumer and regulatory demand for food transparency and sustainability has spurred both mandated and voluntary global industry standards for greater visibility into the supply chain,” explained Stakland.

For manufacturers, the stakes have never been higher. Under FSMA regulations, failure to implement an effective supply chain risk management program could subject food companies and their officers to significant liability and even criminal charges.

“Fines are just one part of the picture,” noted Stakland. “It’s estimated that the average cost of a product recall is $10 million, which can easily multiply, depending on the size and scope of the recall. For example, consider the steep costs involved in the recent issues with Romain lettuce.

Add to that the potential damages a supplier, manufacturer or retailer can incur as a result of fines, consumer-facing litigation and negative publicity.”

The HorizonScan food safety management system monitors safety and integrity alerts worldwide, collecting data daily from over 110 food safety agencies and other reliable sources to deliver timely alerts on emerging food safety issues affecting nearly 600 commodities from more than 180 countries. It also contains data on over 20,000 suppliers who have been the subject of one or more hazard reports in the past 15 years. It is utilized by hundreds of companies across the food supply chain in sectors such as baking and milling, flavors and fragrances, meat processing, confectionary, cheese and dairy, spices, and many more.

This web-based, food-safety software displays the most important issues affecting each food commodity with pertinent, actionable facts. Users can search by commodity, country of origin, type of hazard, supplier, date of event, and set up automatic alerts for the commodities and issues they feel are most important.

FoodChain ID provides integrated food safety and food quality solutions that address the challenges and opportunities in the rapidly evolving food industry.

A free risk assessment for food industry professionals can be accessed on the company’s website at: https://www.globalhorizonscan.com/.

About HorizonScan

HorizonScan is exclusively available from FoodChain ID, which provides integrated food safety and food quality solutions that address the challenges and opportunities in the rapidly evolving food industry. Serving more than 30,000 clients in over 100 countries with a market-leading portfolio of testing, inspection, certification and consulting services, Foodchain ID helps companies navigate an increasingly regulated global food economy demanding higher levels of transparency, accountability, safety and sustainability.