Be Educated, Be Safe.
An estimated 76 million Americans are sickened each year by foodborne illnesses, with 5,000 fatalities annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This costs the U.S. economy $152 billion a year in health care and related expenses. As concerns from consumers grow, so do the recall lists, with more and more tainted products seem to be making their way into our homes.
This year, Deloitte commissioned the 2011 Consumer Food and Product Insights Survey, which highlighted the public’s increasing alarm about this ever-growing problem. From spinach and peanut butter to cribs containing Bisphenol A (BPA), numerous safety and recall stories have filled television screens and flooded the internet, hitting ever closer to home during the past few years. The findings show 73 percent of respondents in Deloitte’s survey are more concerned now than five years ago about the food they eat – up from 65 percent in 2010. Also, more than two-thirds said they are more concerned about the personal care and home products they use today than they were five years ago. This is a clear indication that consumer confidence in the current product watchdog system is weakening.
From the Field to Your Fork – What You Need to Know
We like to think of America as being a nation rich in farmlands. We lead ourselves to believe that our tomatoes are homegrown “Jersey tomatoes” or that our oranges come from Florida. Times have changed, however. Apples in the local grocery store can come as far away as Guatemala, peaches from China, and broccoli and cauliflower from Mexico. This raises the question: from the field to your fork, do you really know where your food comes from?
For example, a popular natural ice-cream contains only five ingredients: milk, cream, sugar, natural tara gum, and natural vanilla flavor. Now think about this scenario… what if the milk they used was laden with bacteria? Or the vanilla beans were somehow contaminated? Would there be any way to tell which ingredient was the problem and where it came from? How would you know what day and time an ingredient was added, and how many products or batches were affected? You can see some of the challenges today’s companies face in trying to answer those questions.
The simple truth is that current recall systems do not give manufactures and distributors the whole picture. Often, there is no true visibility of any given product within the supply chain. Worse yet, many organizations falsely believe their current recall response system is sufficient – that is, until they are suddenly faced with a recall and ultimately realize (often at the consumer’s expense) that their recall system doesn’t work as well as they thought it would. With more companies outsourcing for raw materials and distribution, keeping tabs on products is an absolute necessity in order to ensure public safety.
Now suppose there’s a way to tell you exactly where your food originated – not just the product as a whole, but every ingredient that went into it. Wouldn’t you want to be reassured, if there happened to be a problem, that your favorite food products could be recalled quickly and efficiently, sparing you or your family from becoming a statistic? The good news is that the technology does exist to track every component of every product. Who has this technology? Acsis.
It’s Not a Matter of “IF” your Favorite Product will be Recalled… but “WHEN.”
As we all know, recalls aren’t just seen in the food arena. In the past few years alone, there have been unprecedented major recalls in just about every industry: automotive, toys, medicines, appliances, baby products and even pet food, to name just a few. Widespread cases of recalls have posed a serious threat to the health and safety of consumers. For companies, the challenge is clear: focus on recall safety programs that protect the public and their brand. Acsis’ products were designed with those very goals in mind. Organizations using Ascis’ products know, 24/7, exactly where their products are at any given time, what went into those products, and which distributors handled them.
It Only Takes One
Just one mistake anywhere in the supply chain can have a devastating “domino effect", leading to widespread contamination, illness and even death. The recall that inevitably follows can ruin a company’s reputation and cost millions. Needless to say, delays in the recall process only increase the potential for a tainted or defective product to make its way into your home.
With all the technology available today, consumers need to ask one question: why aren’t companies using the very best and latest software out there to help protect the public? Acsis’ products provide the infrastructure so that in the event of a product recall, the process is streamlined like never before. Simply put, our system can show where a product came from, what went into it, and when, where it is and where it’s going – all the way from the warehouse to your house.
For consumers, there is one clear challenge: demand that your favorite companies — which have earned your loyalty and your business — earn your trust. Join Acsis in our Recall Management Initiative. Send the message to organizations that consumer and product safety should be their number one priority by signing our on-line petition. Help us in the fight to bring product tracking up to date and to change the recall systems of yesterday. Help us protect you and your family, one product at a time.