JAN - MAR 20199Digital...Data...Food?o you ever think about the food you consume and where it comes from? Or how quality is enforced? Food is essential to our survival, and yet few consumers have a basic understanding of how food safely arrives at our tables. An entire supply chain of food growers, distributors, processors and retailers work together--to help ensure overall health and safety. Despite these efforts, food safety remains a nationwide issue. In fact, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 48 million foodborne illness cases occur in the United States every year. At least 128,000 Americans are hospitalized, and 3,000 die after eating contaminated food.Throughout the world, a complex set of relationships between government regulators, global health entities, food companies and quality suppliers exist to help verify the safety of the food we consume. At the core of all these alliances lies science, as the ability to test food for contaminants was born in scientific methods dating back to over 100 years ago. While technology recently entered the scene to automate many laboratory tests, the original methods to confirm food safety remain largely unchanged.Of course, there are always exceptions since it is impossible to test every piece of food before it reaches the consumer. The volume of food entering the market is too great and the channels they move through are too complex to test every item. As consumer demand increases, these issues will continue to only grow more intricate. You've all read about food recalls for contaminated products, some of which results in life-threatening situations. In 2015, the US alone saw 626 food recalls, costing food companies and manufacturers over $10,000,000 in direct costs plus the cost of a damaged reputation and potential litigation. There is no denying the steaks are high (yes, I spelled it like that on purpose--who said IT folk can't have a sense of humor?) and the pressure is even higher on the food industry to enforce government regulations at every step of the supply chain.These developing needs are not local to the US, but actually affect consumers on a global scale. This is driving change that will affect the future of the food industry. The requirement to move food around the world quickly, safely and in larger quantities is increasing at a faster pace now more than ever Edward RybickicIo insightsDEDWARD RYBICKI, GLOBAL CIO, MÉRIEUX NUTRISCIENCES
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