STORES Magazine - November 2008 - (Page L7)

local and foreign governments to better understand the track-andtrace systems that are in use or under development. These include technologies that speed and enhance the traceback process and the systems that connect all the links in the produce supply chain. Mandatory tracking system n another front, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) in September introduced an amendment to the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act tentatively called the Food Tracking Improvement Act (S.3422), a mandatory tracking system for food manufacturers and retailers through the FDA. “We must ensure that the federal government has the ability and authority to protect the public, given the global nature of the food supply,” Brown said in introducing the bill, noting that he wants the FDA and USDA to have the power to declare mandatory recalls. The legislation calls for $40 million over three years for a traceability system under the FDA’s jurisdiction. A committee made up of consumer advocates, industry leaders and representatives from the FDA and USDA would determine which tracking mechanisms, such as tracking numbers, electronic bar codes and federal databases, should be used. The Food Tracking Improvement Act would give “the government the resources it needs to protect the public,” Brown said. O Food and beverage recalls resulted in losses exceeding $10 million last year. Source: AMR Research Earlier this year, Brown and Senate colleagues Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) called on the USDA to make public the lists of retailers and manufacturers subject to product recalls. Whether additional governmental oversight is needed has become a subject for debate, particularly since the reputation of government agencies has been impacted by their inability to trace tainted products more quickly. “It’s difficult for [the] agencies making the rules,” says David Theno, senior vice president and chief product safety officer for Jack in the Box restaurants. “Typically, they start with the best of intentions, but then it becomes a debate.” Asked about S.3422, Theno says he’d like to see the creation of a working group among the USDA, FDA and Marine Fisheries “to get commonality. They are in charge of all foods in the U.S.,” he says. “If you can get a consensus among them and minimum standards on traceability, imagine how powerful that would be.” Ultimately, the industry itself may be best equipped to handle the issue. Track and trace “has become an industry best practice,” Theno says. “The private sector really picked up the ball and the free market has, for the most part, driven traceability. When something works, it tends to be adopted and, after a while, becomes mainstream.” Jack in the Box’s own priorities include a rigorous pre-approval process for vendors that measures their traceability and recall capabilities, and it has applied the same stringent rules to its own operations. “If something comes up, we can tell you where the lettuce, onion, pickle, tomato, bacon, hamburger patties, bun and packaging all WWW.LPINFORMATION.COM STORES / NOVEMBER 2008 L7 http://WWW.LPINFORMATION.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of STORES Magazine - November 2008

STORES Magazine - November 2008 Contents Executive Editor's Page President's Page Every Cup Counts What Shoppers Think Less Park Time, More Shop Time 10 Things You May Have Missed Numbers Worth Counting Full Price/Markdown Retail People Retail Held Captive First Look Concept2Watch Marketing Technology Custom Software PCI Compliance Data Security Arts Update Newsbeat LP Issues: Q&A Cover Story Surveillance Systems Online Fraud Industry Perspective LOEB Retail Letter Point of View NRF News Retail Crossword Retail Industry Calendar Last Laugh

STORES Magazine - November 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.