Food Safety - Stakeholder Views

The stakeholders for food safety are numerous. This blog takes a look at the latest news and views from some of those groups, including some stakeholders that are less obvious:

Consumer activists

Food Safety Defense Attorneys

Small Businesses

Meat Suppliers

Non governmental organisations (NGO's)

As you can see, the issues and their effects on stakeholder groups varies. One thing remains constant, the need for transparency across the food supply chain. Only with that transparency can the sector begin to win back stakeholder trust. Ultimately, trust leads to confidence, which is in short supply in the food sector.
The recent food safety scares have led to action on the part of the global food industry. I was in Washington D.C. last week  at the Global Food Safety Conference and the 700 delegates in attendance from organisations around the the globe proved that the issues are real and are being taken seriously.
It is important that food safety stakeholders know the truth about their industry. Organisations, governments and regulators, they all care! Companies want nothing more than their supply chain to be safe. They are willing to invest people and time to get it right. The complexity of global food supply chains means that large, global organisations and their corporate reputation are only as good as the weakest point in their supply chain. That weakest point could be anywhere, as recent scares have shown.
In today's world, it is not enough for food sector organisations to say what they are doing or even do what they are doing. Independent assurance of food supply chains is crucial if the sector is to restore stakeholder confidence. So, food organisations need to take action, have a comprehensive food safety management system in place, get it independently assured and then tell everyone about it (starting with your own supply chain!).