The short answer is that globalization has created security gaps in the food supply chain and, as a result, recalls are increasing. Food production, storage, transportation and supply chain technology has evolved to close these gaps. On Monday morning, June 8, session 103 will include the Food Microbiology Division conference by William Sperber, global ambassador for food protection at Cargill, Inc. In addition, a case study will be presented on the process used by a food plant to obtain the certification of its food safety management system.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has worked with other federal and state food safety agencies, retailers and producers to increase surveillance and improve detection methods to improve the safety of fresh produce and reduce the incidence of foodborne illnesses. The increasing globalization of the food industry, from the supply of ingredients and packaging materials to the production of products for export or repackaging in another country, has profound implications for food security. The growing global adoption of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) as an accepted standard for food safety compliance has also complicated the administrative burden for producers.
