Consumers Looking to Food Manufacturers to Protect Them
05-13-2010
By Brian Giannini
Consumers are more concerned about the foods they eat than they were five years ago, according to Deloitte LLP’s 2010 Consumer Food Safety Survey. In fact, true or not, most consumers believe that the number of food recalls has increased over the years. So what does all this mean for you as a food manufacturer?
You need to understand that consumers expect you to protect them. For example, with all of the recent recalls of ingredients and flavorings, consumers want to see “Country of Origin” labeling. Now this may actually be a competitive advantage for you if you produce and sell domestically made foods. Consumers consider domestically made foods to be safer than imported foods. In fact, the trend is to buy locally grown foods because it’s easier for consumers to visualize where their food comes from and believe it’s a safer option. As a result, food manufacturers are going to have to do a better job of educating consumers about imported foods and ingredients if they hope to retain consumer trust. Better audit programs will need to be put in place to monitor imported ingredients and insure the quality and safety of the ingredients being used in multiple products in the United States.
I was recently at a Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals (SOCAP) conference in Atlanta, GA, where the subject of social media monitoring for food related issues was a hot topic. Companies want to be able to identify food safety issues in real-time and social media monitoring is becoming a part of everyday processes of protecting the public and the brand. Consumers are controlling the conversation and thus controlling the brands. Software and technology are changing so quickly that it’s becoming difficult for marketing, quality and consumer affairs to keep up with the trends.
I believe that the companies that are using the latest technology and keeping up with the early adopters are going to have a big advantage when it comes to protecting their brands and communicating with consumers. This includes food safety education and managing the message for a global audience. Cutting edge technologies and communication tools are going to have to be adapted for a company’s recall plan to deliver the most accurate message to the public.
So how do you make sure you are tailoring your message and deploying it to the audiences that matter most? Look to your Consumer Affairs department to be the leader in your company for social media monitoring and response. These employees know and understand where your customers are communicating and what they are saying. Incorporate their knowledge and know-how into your recall planning and processes. Be sure that these tools are quickly adopted across your firm and understood by your recall management team.
It is critical to quickly and accurately notify consumers about recalls . Is your recall plan up to date with the most efficient and effective tools and resources available? Now’s the time to make sure.
Stericycle ExpertRECALL™ is the industry leader in recall logistics and regulatory compliance for consumer product, pharmaceutical, medical device, juvenile product, and food and beverage recalls. ExpertRECALL’s professionals are experts in recall management who can help you streamline the entire product recall process.
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[...] Over the past few months, we’ve discussed several food safety reports on this blog, including Deloitte LLP’s 2010 Consumer Food Safety Survey and a report by former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) economist Robert L. Scharff that [...]