Farmers may need to answer to manufacturers

Jan 13, 2016

Consumers more conscious about food safety

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, International Content
Farms.com

Whenever a food recall is issued, consumers look to the food manufacturers for answers as to why the product needed to be recalled in the first place.

When that happens, a manufacturer may turn to the farmer and question their practices in food production.

In 2015 there were over 200 food recalls in the United States due to a variety of issues including salmonella, listeria and undeclared allergens. On top of that, there’s the emergence of new bacteria.

“We’re finding bacteria in places we didn’t find bacteria 20 years ago,” said Lance Reeve, senior risk management consultant for food safety with Nationwide Agribusiness Insurance Co. at the American Farm Bureau Federation convention in Orlando, Florida.

Reeve said farmers may be expected to have their own defenses when it comes to things including cleaning procedures and asked which grain elevators are actually prepared to separate GMO from non-GMO.

When it comes to GMO and its proper labeling, Campbell Soup is supporting mandatory national labeling and will begin placing GMO labels on some of its products.

GMO can

“Campbell is prepared to label all of its U.S. products for the presence of ingredients that were derived from GMOs,” the company said in a press release.

Denise Morrison, Campbell CEO, said these actions raise the bar when it comes to transparency.

“GMO has evolved to be a top consumer food issue reaching a critical mass of 92% of consumers in favor of putting it on the label,” she said in a release.

Join the discussion and tell us your thoughts about possibly having to defend your practices to manufacturers. What’s your opinion on Campbell Soup deciding to support national GMO labeling?

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