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When it comes to food safety, perception is reality

It’s no secret that food safety is a hot-button issue these days.

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Given the fact that the Centers for Disease Control estimate that each year as many as 76 million Americans become ill from some type of food-borne pathogen or bacteria, it’s also no surprise the issue is top of mind for brand owners and consumers alike.

Whether it was last year’s massive peanut recall due to salmonella contamination or a more recent, albeit smaller-scale, ice cream recall due to a packaging error, the preparation, transportation, and packaging of America’s food supply is under scrutiny. Unlike other industries, like pharmaceuticals, that are heavily regulated, the food industry by comparison has thus far avoided significant government intervention into its facilities and practices.

But the times, they are a changing. In March of 2009, the current administration announced the formation of a Food Safety Working Group tasked with upgrading our food safety laws for the 21st century. The administration has also requested $1 billion to be earmarked to hire additional inspectors and invest in modernizing laboratories.

If you’re old enough (and I am...), you’ll remember the Tylenol scare of the 1980s. What could have easily destroyed the iconic brand instead became an opportunity to re-examine the safety of the products we consume. From a tactical standpoint, we saw the packaging industry respond with tamper-evident features that have become the standard—not just for OTC pharma products, but a bevy of food and other consumables. Tamper-evident packaging has become something that consumers expect, a feature that engenders trust in the package, the product, and the brand.

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