How safe is the food you are eating?

January 16th, 2012

What are we really eating?

Today?s post is by Danielle Begley, Account Manager at SafeSourcing.

Recently, Coca Cola announced they found traces of a fungicide in their orange juice imported from Brazil.? While the fungicide is used by farmers in Brazil, its use is not permitted in the US.? Although the traces are insignificant, it made me think how heavily we rely on imported food and wonder how safe is it really??

According to USA Today, the FDA only inspects about 1% of all imported food, which is significantly down from the number inspected 20 years ago when imported food was not as prevalent.? What is more concerning is that the FDA does not require exporting countries to carry the same safety requirements as the US.? As the number of foods imported increases the FDA simply does not have adequate resources.? As a consumer it is somewhat staggering that we have such stringent guidelines required by the FDA in our own country, however other countries of which we are heavily reliant are not held to the same standards.? What can the average consumer or better yet the local retail outlet do to be less reliant on the seemingly uninspected imported food?

Alternative sources of supply are quite useful for this concern.? Local farmers are the best source as they are held to the same safety regulations.? As a retail outlet, buying local or at least importing within the country is the way to maintain safety.? Above all, if the issue of food safety is important to your company, it is your responsibility to make it part of your corporate social responsibility.

For more information on food safety and sourcing, please contact a Customer Service Representative for more information.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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