Colorado State University Extension
SafeFood Rapid Response Network
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Stakeholder Groups Prioritize Food Safety Issues
Edited by: Mary Schroeder, M.S., R.D. & Pat Kendall, Ph.D., R.D., Colorado State - Winter 2003
For years, Food safety experts have debated how to best address the complexity of issues facing the safety of the U.S. food supply. In an effort to encourage dialogue among these groups, 13 stakeholder groups were recently surveyed by Paul Hall, Ph.D., Director of Microbiology and Food Safety with Kraft Foods. The stakeholder groups surveyed included industry, suppliers to industry, academia, consumer protection organizations, federal, state and local governments and various independent organizations. Of 360 surveys mailed, 231 were returned, for an overall response rate of 64%. Priority rankings were allocated by respondents among ten critical food safety issues, and then priority weighted per each stakeholder group.
The top priority area identified across all groups was more consistent application of the HACCP system by industry and government for assuring the safety of the U.S. food supply, followed by cooperative development of a comprehensive K-12 food safety education program by the federal government and industry. Also among the top four rankings were increased focus on on-farm practices for controlling pathogens and increased federal funding for microbiological food safety research. In contrast, there was little support across stakeholder groups for increased federal food safety inspection programs.
Respondents from consumer protection organizations were most divergent in their ranking of several issues. This was the only group to list increased federal food safety inspection programs as their number one priority. Also noted was their low support for increased consumer education as a priority area, while this issue was ranked in the top three among most of the other groups represented. Continued dialogue is needed among the various stakeholder groups to understand differences in their perspectives on food safety issues and to continue moving toward a safer food supply.
Source: An Expert Stakeholder Survey on the Microbiological Safety of the U.S. Food Supply. Food Safety Magazine. Oct/Nov 2002, pg. 28-34; Hall, Paul A. Protecting the U.S. Food Supply in a Global Economy: An Expert Gap Analysis.www.dissertation.com.
