Safe Food = Traceable Food?

by Kim, April 7, 2009 at 12:09pm

A previous post about the increasing scrutiny on food safety made the case for extending tha attention to working conditions and the relationship between food produces and consumers.The New York Times recently had an article about "traceability", which may be tracing these links.

The article mentions wheat farmers, pineapple growers, and chocolate makers who provide information and videos about producers.. They also referenced the Waitrose Supermarket Chain in the UK, who have "traceability" listings for many products, including meats. I found it hard to imagine most slaughterhouses wanting the same transparency and installing a webcam, so I checked it out. There didn't seem to be any videos of slaughterhouses in the bacon section, nor any of the other meat sections. Just some happy-looking pigs and farmers, quotes and some photos of well-prepared meats.  It is nice, though, that there is a curiosity about who is working in slaughterhouses, and that a supermarket would have such a well-developed site.

The idea is that if food productions is more closely monitored, it will be easier to prevent and track contamination. Maybe traceability will be a start in elevating the status of all food producers, preparers and servers, a  necessary step in more conscious eating overall.