Food Safety in our industry is a consumer-right, requiring a collaborative effort from all sectors of the industry. Dr Douglas Powell, Professor of food safety at Kansas State University was at PMA Fresh Connections 2013 Conference last week to challenge businesses not to rely on regulation, but to rely on their staff to deliver safe food.

If you missed Doug’s presentation, it is now available for download below in three abridged segments:

Speaking to www.freshfruitportal.com following his presentation, Doug said:

“Having lived here [Australia] for over two years, I don’t see that public culture of food safety. There were 140 people sick in Canberra, because they were using raw eggs in mayo and yet there was no media coverage about it.”

“The thing I hear most in food safety, whether it’s produce or anything else is – ‘We’ve always done it this way and I’ve never made anyone sick’. What it probably means is that you don’t have the surveillance systems to pick it up.”

“This is a reality – there will be outbreaks, like with rockmelon and peanuts in Australia and you as an industry have a chance to come together and get proactive, or wait until the next outbreak.”

Doug’s blog, ‘Barfblog’ is a handy source of current food safety information. You can check it out at www.barfblog.com