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GOURMET NEWS MAY 2019 www.gourmetnews.com NEWS & NOTES 8 FSMA Continued from PAGE 1 to walk, and it's unlikely he'll ever fully re- cover. A 70-year-old woman developed acute kidney failure ― hemolytic uremic syn- drome ― after eating contaminated ro- maine lettuce. She'll be on dialysis three days a week, for the rest of her life. What Went Wrong? The new FSMA rules were supposed to pre- vent consumers from getting sick from their food, but incomplete safety rules, lack of enforcement and resources, and some foot- dragging have gotten in the way. As a result, hundreds of people get sick from leafy greens every year, and that's expected to continue unless the industry takes drastic action. "I don't think anyone thought we'd be in this place eight years ago. Everyone was hopeful FSMA would make a difference in reducing recalls and outbreaks," said Hi- lary Thesmar, Vice President of Food Safety at Food Marketing Institute. "We were all hopeful that we would see a safer food sup- ply. I think there's a number of reasons why we're seeing what we're seeing." Marler thinks that one of the problems is that the rules don't yet go far enough. "They continue to kick the can down the road exactly what are the standards for water," he said. "You can't grow romaine lettuce next to a feed lot or across the street from a dairy operation. Those are the things that both the produce rule and the water rule don't address, because they're difficult and complex and have a lot to do with property rights, farmers and how they've always done things ― they're very difficult. But that's what's going to have to happen, unless we just make the decision that the cost of doing business is that you poison 300 or 400 people, and kill five peo- ple every year from eating romaine lettuce." Trevor Suslow, Vice President of Produce Safety at Produce Marketing Association, agrees that the FSMA rules need more work. The FSMA produce rule provides amini- mum, baseline framework for pathogen haz- ards and risks across the fresh produce industry, he said. "But it doesn't complete the need that's out there, which is what we're all working on.... There are very few specifics." The data in the final rule, according to the federal Food and Drug Administration Director of the Division of Produce Safety Samir Assar, is too complex for producers to implement or understand. But even once producers are properly trained on it, the earliest compliance dates still won't come until the beginning of 2022. Thesmar added that a lack of funding for the FDA is hampering proper enforcement, which is especially difficult with new rules in place. "There aren't that many inspectors that are trained and properly prepared to go and do the inspections," she said. "There's not enough inspectors, there's not a lot of oversight rigor," said Marler. "We sort of expect companies to follow the rules, but many of them don't and many of them never get inspected. There's not enough resources thrown at the problem." Industry Responds to the Challenge The leafy greens industry, the FDA, and re- tail partners like FMA and PMA, are edu- cating farmers and other parts of the supply chain in order to close the knowledge gap. They're meeting together as food safety taskforces to find solutions to the problem, but it's a slow process, and the clock is tick- ing before the next outbreak. "You look at the photographs, you look at the test results ― this is not rocket science," said Marler. He cited a 2010 outbreak in pre- made salads people purchased at Trader Joe's. When his team did the traceback and found the company that was growing the ro- maine lettuce used for the salads, they saw a cattle operation directly across the road from the farm. "They were spreading dairy manure on the fields directly across the road from where the romaine lettuce was being grown," Marler said. This isn't anything new, but it's of partic- ular concern now that pre-packaged salads are extremely popular. Marler said this be- came an issue about 20 years ago, when only a handful of companies were pre-pack- aging lettuce. "They were doing it in areas that let them be more selective of where they were growing it, because they knew it was a high-risk product and they were growing it in areas that had less likelihood of environmental contamination," he said. Then, he added, everybody else saw how profitable that industry was, and some started growing on less-than-ideal land, sometimes grazing lands and other areas susceptible to environmental pathogens. That's dangerous to consumers, but it's also dangerous for the farmers who grow leafy greens, according to Marler. "You've seen in the last decade-and-a-half a signifi- cant jump in the number of E. coli cases linked to leafy greens," he said. "We've got- ten to the point where romaine lettuce, leafy greens – if you continue to grow product in areas where it's known to be hazardous, at some point it crosses a line into punitive damages or criminality for selling romaine lettuce. At some point, it's like being a drunk driver ― drive drunk enough, you're even- tually going to kill people and eventually they're going to put you in jail. No leafy greens grower thinks of themselves that way ― they say it's a raw agricultural product and there's risks. Well, yeah, there's risks, but you're growing product in an area that's prone to contamination, and the public does- n't understand that. They don't know that." Steps to prevent outbreaks like the na- tion saw last year is crucial, and pressing. It could start affecting trust, and eventually sales, and also debilitate and kill more peo- ple who just wanted to eat a salad. "Everyone understands that everybody is impacted by every one of these events," Suslow said. "What we don't want to do is to continue allowing consumer confidence to be eroded." The Clock is Ticking If there's any ray of sunshine in all of this, it's the example of the beef industry, which didn't need FSMA regulations to cut back foodborne illness. When Marler got his start, he said, 95 percent of his firm's rev- enue came from E. coli cases linked to ham- burger meat. That revenue is nearly zero now, as the beef industry took action ― a combination of interventions, product test- ing and preventing presumptive positive product onto the marketplace cut illnesses way back. Now the leafy greens industry has to make similar changes. In the meantime, though, we can all ex- pect to hear about more outbreaks of food- borne illness again this summer. "Let me put it this way," said Marler. "They're going to grow romaine lettuce in Yuma, and that cattle feeding operation is still in Yuma. Cows are a known reservoir of pathogenic E. coli. So, go figure." GN Kroger Named LGBTQ Inclusive The Kroger Co. earned a perfect score on the 2019 Corporate Equality Index, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's national benchmarking tool for corporate policies and practices supporting lesbian, gay, bisex- ual, transgender and queer employees. The annual survey assesses non-discrim- ination workplace protections, domestic partner benefits, transgender-inclusive health care, competency programs and public engagement with the LGBTQ com- munity. Kroger met or exceeded all Corpo- rate Equality Index criteria, resulting in a perfect score of 100 and designation as a "Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality." "This is a very proud moment for Kroger. We have worked to create a more inclusive work environment where every associate can be their best self every day and this recogni- tion reinforces our commitment," said Tim Massa, Kroger's Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Chief People Officer. "It is also a testament to the thoughtful in- sight provided by our LGBTQ associates and allies, who have shown us what we do well and where we can improve." Among the items that the HRCF report highlighted are that Kroger offers an asso- ciate resource group, providing an uplifting community for LGBTQ employees and al- lies, Kroger provides same-sex partner ben- efits and transgender-inclusive health care, and that Kroger partners with the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce to create and enhance partnerships with LGBTQ suppliers. In addition, Kroger achieved Billion Dol- lar Roundtable status for reaching more than $1 billion in spend with certified mi- nority- and women-owned suppliers, and Kroger ranked 13th on Omnikal's 2019 Omni50 list, which recognizes America's top 50 corporate and government buyers of products and services from inclusive and diverse suppliers. "Our steps to create a more uplifting workplace and culture for all associates will continue," said Massa. "There is great power in recognizing our unconscious bi- ases, learning from each other and listening to understand, so we can best support the people who matter most: our associates." The Human Rights Campaign is the na- tion's largest LGBTQ civil rights organiza- tion that envisions a world where LGBTQ people are ensured equality at home, work and in every community. For more infor- mation on the 2019 Corporate Equality Index, or to download a free copy of the re- port, visit www.hrc.org/cei. GN Associated Partners with CB4 on AI Associated Food Stores has joined the growing list of grocers whose store man- agers are using CB4's technology in their stores. CB4's patented artificial intelligence technology uses pre-existing point of sale data to identify when physical issues in a store are holding back sales and hurting the customer experience. These issues include products that aren't easily visible, ticketing issues, and out of stocks. As late as the 1990s, grocery stores car- ried 7,000 items. Today, that number has ballooned to an average of 40,000. With that number of items, even if 99 percent of a supermarket is perfect, that leaves 400 potential problems for a store manager to deal with. It's impossible to fix every one of those problems. By accurately projecting how much sales will increase after fixing an issue, CB4 helps store managers identify the exact SKUs in their stores that need the most attention and guides them on how to fix potential issues. Because the software requires no in-store hardware or external data sources, implementation and onboard- ing can be done in a few days. AFS was founded in 1940 by Donald P. Lloyd and 34 independent grocers deter- mined to thrive in the face of stiff competi- tion from national chains, low margins, and rising wholesale prices. During an era of consolidation, where regional chains and independents have been swallowed up by national chains, AFS grew to 400 strong by emphasizing exceptional, personal service and high-quality products. "What really caught my attention was the ease of implementation," said Wade Judd, Chief Information Officer of AFS. "We were able to roll out some pretty so- phisticated technology, train our store man- agers, and start reaping the benefits in weeks rather than months. It was one of the simplest implementations that our team has been involved with." "The founding members of AFS were faced with a tough situation and re- sponded by creating an innovative busi- ness model centered on cooperation and strength in numbers," said Yoni Ben- shaul, Chief Executive Officer of CB4. "We're happy to join forces with them and continuing to build on their estab- lished foundation of customer-focused excellence." GN

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