Americans eat a lot. It is estimated
that the average
citizen consumes around one ton of food a year. That’s roughly the weight of a fully grown polar
bear. It’s unbearable, then, to imagine what a disruption in the food industry might mean to the nation. There are a number of
risks, however, that threaten America’s food producers on a daily basis. Here
are some of the dangers facing the industry.
Contamination
Businesses must be vigilant to protect
against food contamination. Outbreaks of Salmonella and food-borne illnesses
make international news by disrupting global supply chains and impacting the
health of consumers. Some contamination results from foreign matter, such as
plastics, making its way into products, whether by human error or even
sabotage. Having strong quality control procedures catches most problems, but
there’s always a risk of unexpected issues like power outages resulting in
spoilage or other damage.
Fire
Fire can be a major disruption to the
industry. The ultimate concern is its potential for injury and death to
workers, but it also can quickly wipe out an entire inventory and cause
millions of dollars of damage to equipment and infrastructure. The presence of
combustible dust increases the risk for factories and warehouses working with
certain agricultural products, such as grains, sugar and powdered milk. It’s
important for companies to embrace combustible
dust management strategies, which could
include training employees in proper handling and storage techniques and
providing flame-retardant clothing.
Cyber Attacks
Governments and financial organizations
may be the biggest targets for online attackers, but the food industry is also
threatened. Viruses risk the health and well-being of both the public, by
potentially impacting critical components when diagnostic systems that manage
and assess air quality and fire suppression are disrupted. Companies also may
be financially crippled when hackers threaten data loss through the use of
ransomware programs.
Addressing risk takes significant
investments of time, money and manpower. Thankfully, America’s food industry
has the stomach for it.
