Food safety is of a serious issue, and there is a growing concern on the rise of voluntary recalls by food brands.
Are these snack brands too eager to take their products to market without the due diligence in ensuring high quality and safety for consumers?
I think so, says Professor Tom.
The most common reason for voluntary food recalls is the discovery of listeria monocytogenes in the foods consumed.
Listeria monocytogenes is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headaches, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea.
Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.
Headlines such as “beef recalled over ecoli contamination” in our newspapers are all too common.
eColi a common recall reason…
E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause dehydration, bloody diarrhoea and abdominal cramps 2-8 days (3-4 days, on average) after exposure the organism. While most people recover within a week, some develop a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome.
Consumer need to feel comfortable from what they buy on supermarket shelves, and accountability needs to take place with heavier fines on those who provide sub-par food products.
Where are the QA managers?
There needs to be some sort of law passed that requires all food produced for public consumption to pass certain quality standards. This is where the role of a Quality Assurance manager comes in. For those smaller manufacturers, outsourcing quality assurance can be a cost effective answer to this continuing problem.