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Food safety must address interconnected challenges across the entire food supply chain

Food safety must address interconnected challenges across the entire food supply chain
Ravi Pillay and Lucia Anelich
By Ravi Pillay and Lucia Anelich
12 Sep 2024
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As the ongoing fallout from the listeriosis outbreak shows us, ensuring food safety in today’s complex and rapidly changing environment necessitates a collective effort — no single entity, regardless of its power or technological capabilities, can achieve this goal in isolation.

During one of the writers’ tenures at a global organisation promoting a popular consumer product, he and his team encountered a deeply troubling incident at a school event.

Several children fell ill and were rushed to hospital after consuming a nutritious malt drink (global brand and market leader), leaving him with the daunting task of addressing more than 200 anxious parents at the school hall. Rigorous testing followed, with samples sent worldwide for analysis by multiple experts.

It was ultimately discovered that the contamination stemmed not from the company’s product, but from one of 50 dispensing mechanisms in a single canister. Although the sampling service provider was a separate entity, this did not matter, lives were at risk and there was potential reputational damage to the beverage brand, and to the parent brand as well. The brand and the reputation of the company were called into question.

This incident ingrained in him an unforgettable lesson: food safety demands a holistic and systems-based approach.

Recent analysis and experience have underscored a critical shortfall in current leadership models — they often operate in silos, failing to address the interconnected challenges across the food supply chain.

Necessity for collaborative leadership


This point was emphasised during the Food Safety Summit held in June 2024 by Anelich Consulting, where speakers, including the authors of this piece, highlighted the necessity for collaborative leadership and industry-wide awareness as top priorities.

Our food chain, spanning from farm to fork, reveals systemic challenges that are often overlooked due to leadership practices operating in isolation.

For instance, in the event of a major disruption caused by protests or other crises, a truly holistic approach would involve working with local communities to stabilise the region, investing in infrastructure to boost resilience, and, over time, diversifying supply sources to reduce dependence on any single region.

Furthermore, it is essential to educate consumers about the realities of food availability, particularly with seasonal products like citrus fruits, avocados or similar, and the carbon footprint that getting those foods to another country out of season generates. Such awareness could pave the way for alternative recipes, thereby easing pressure on suppliers.

A forward-thinking approach requires the integration of modern technology with traditional knowledge systems. South Africa’s rich agricultural legacy offers invaluable lessons.

Long-term sustainability


By merging indigenous practices that emphasise sustainability and resilience with cutting-edge technologies, we can significantly bolster food security and safety. This integration will ensure long-term sustainability and resilience in our food systems.

To effectively address these challenges of silo structures, fragmented systems not allowing for synergy, and inadequate rapid early warning systems, a new leadership framework is needed — one that embraces systems thinking, collaboration, and innovation. This framework should rest on three key pillars: stakeholder theory, effective leadership styles, and psychological safety.

Stakeholder theory, championed by R Edward Freeman in 1984, provides a foundation for leaders to consider all groups affected by an organisation’s actions, including employees, customers, suppliers, communities, and the environment.

Safety, a cornerstone of wellbeing, naturally extends from this approach. Leaders in the food industry who prioritise stakeholder theory are likely to invest in appropriate food-handling procedures; comprehensive employee training not only on safe practices but also in rapidly changing food safety developments; and rigorous quality control measures.

This collaborative approach not only ensures consumer wellbeing, but also protects a company’s reputation, sustainability, and trust with stakeholders.

The Food and Drug Administration released the “New Era of Smarter Food Safety” blueprint in July 2020. The research demonstrates that strong leadership commitment to food safety practices fosters a positive food safety culture within organisations, thereby reducing foodborne illnesses and highlighting the tangible impact of effective leadership.

Sense of ownership


Leadership styles play a crucial role in influencing safety outcomes within organisations. Transformational leadership and a growth mindset, characterised by the creation of a shared safety vision, instils a sense of ownership in safety practices among employees, motivating them to actively engage in safety initiatives.

Technological integration within food safety systems also offers a robust defence against foodborne threats. Technologies such as blockchain provide a decentralised, immutable ledger, ideal for tracing every item throughout the supply chain. For example, when contaminated food is reported by a consumer, blockchain enables us to trace every step of the food’s journey, allowing us to quickly isolate the problem and prevent further distribution.

Moreover, artificial intelligence (AI) can predict potential outbreaks and contamination incidents by analysing vast datasets beyond human capacity. AI systems can learn from each recorded instance of food contamination to forecast future risks, enabling preemptive measures to be implemented.

Ensuring food safety in today’s complex and rapidly changing environment necessitates a collective effort from diverse stakeholders. No single entity, regardless of its power or technological capabilities, can achieve this goal in isolation.

Essential


Collaborative networks that integrate food safety organisations, tech companies, logistics experts, and consumer advocacy groups are essential to building a robust and responsive food safety system. Public-private partnerships are vital for fostering innovation and sharing knowledge.

Consider the rise of urban agriculture in cities like Cape Town or Johannesburg as a response to the increasing demand for sustainable food sources. Urban farms reduce the carbon footprint associated with food transportation and provide fresh produce directly to city dwellers. Such initiatives demonstrate the potential of embracing change to create resilient, localised food systems.

We must also always be prepared for disruptions and new drivers that affect food safety, and build resilient and adaptable systems, whether facing another pandemic, natural disaster, or geopolitical conflict.

The climate crisis we are facing will change the food landscape with microorganisms that will adapt to those pressures, accordingly. These changes will probably bring new challenges that we must be aware of and prepare for proactively. This preparation involves not only technological innovation, but also strong leadership and a commitment to continuous learning and improvement.

Leaders must prioritise an end-to-end view of the food chain, understanding that safety and quality are maintained through coordinated efforts across all stages.

Key actions


Key actions include integrating pest management systems to reduce chemical pesticide use where possible; adhering strictly to hygiene and food safety standards during processing; ensuring cold chain logistics in distribution; and educating consumers on food safety practices at home.

Furthermore, many developing countries have a large informal sector where food hygiene and safety are secondary considerations to simply filling the belly with food that is readily available and affordable to billions of people. South Africa is no different and thousands of workers in the formal food sector come from these environments.

Public-private partnerships can certainly make a difference here too, but courageous leadership with a different mindset is required.

Finally, addressing the challenges in our food chain demands a mindset of continuous improvement and innovation. This includes investing in technologies and infrastructure that enhance traceability and transparency across the supply chain, and fostering a culture of collaboration among farmers, processors, distributors, and retailers to identify and mitigate risks.

In our humble view, collaboration and awareness are the central pillars of ensuring food safety. We call on industry leaders to recognise the critical importance of food safety and to support initiatives that will secure the future of our food systems. DM

Ravi Pillay has a 25-year association with the FMCG sector and is a former advisor to the chairperson of Nestlé East and southern Africa. He is currently a Gordon Institute of Business Science faculty member endeavouring to bridge the gap between business and academia.

Dr Lucia Anelich is a global food safety leader and has over 40 years’ experience in the field of microbiological food safety. She runs Anelich Consulting and is the convenor of the annual South African Food Safety Summit, a gathering of stakeholders concerned about food safety trends in the industry.

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