When it comes to food manufacturing, the safety and quality of the food we produce and serve are paramount. Creating a culture of food safety yields not only significant public health benefits in the form of consumer well-being, but also economic advantages. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that millions of Americans are affected by foodborne illnesses annually,¹ many of these are preventable. Preventing one food recall² could save a manufacturer millions of dollars in fines and lost sales from reputational damage.

The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), signed into law in 2011, serves as a guide for proactive food safety measures, with the goal of preventive practices over reactionary measures. While legislation such as the FSMA has helped the industry make progress toward reducing food contamination, food safety and quality cannot hinge on regulatory requirements alone.