At the Crossroads of Food Safety and Consumer Transparency

The food industry is experiencing a true transformation unlike anything it has seen in over 50 years. Processes are being modernized to meet FSMA compliance and food safety regulations. At the same time, there has been an overwhelming flood of consumer interest in the food they eat.

Consumers are more informed than ever. Because of the instant access to information from the Internet, consumers can learn nearly anything they want to know about a food company’s supply chain practices.

They also want to know as much information from labels including nutritionals, the country of origin, allergen alerts, and any GMOs. This knowledge is informing consumers to ask even more questions and demand more visibility into the food they eat and the companies they patronize.

To understand this current mindset, FoodLogiQ recently surveyed over 2,000 consumers about their expectations of the food industry including how companies should handle recalls, issues surrounding labeling and what are the brand loyalty deal breakers. The survey revealed that incorporating transparency initiatives helps foster stronger, more authentic relationships, build brand loyalty and give you an edge over your competitors.

How can you meet your consumers' demand for transparency?

Offering transparency to consumers starts with supplier visibility and establishing trust and open communication with your trading partners. By centralizing your supplier management processes and communications in a SaaS-based technology platform, you (and your global team) will start knowing who has expired documents, failed audits or which supply chain partners have the most quality or safety issues.  A quick glance at the FoodLogiQ Connect dashboard will tell you who your strategic suppliers are and perhaps more importantly, who are creating risk for your brand. With this knowledge, you can now set expectations with your suppliers and remain compliant.

Using enhanced traceability technology allows you to stitch together critical tracking events across your supply chain. This provides crucial visibility and reporting you need to react quickly based on real-time data should an incident arise.  This is absolutely essential when you are facing a recall or stock withdrawal.

I recently discussed this topic and the impact of consumer transparency demands on how food companies operate with Food Safety Tech's Editor-in-Chief Maria Fontanazza at this year’s Food Safety Summit.  

Transparency can be a successful business strategy and best in class companies are winning with it.