Neigh: Don't Horse Around with My Food Supply Chain

FSA plan to take investigation into horsemeat scandal in the food supply chain further

The fact that we do not know the size and scale of the horsemeat scandal in Europe demonstrates a lack of supply chain visibility in the manufacture and distribution of processed food products.

Last week, the Food Standards Agency’s director in Wales Steve Wearne said, it is likely to be "impossible" to ever know the full extent of horsemeat mis-labelling.

He said: "What we have in these set of results is a snapshot of what has been on the market and provided by wholesalers, by caterers, by retailers in the period between January, when this story broke, and now."

The problem appears to be wide-spread with most of the major supermarkets having to remove products from their shelves. The FSA also announced today that they plan to take their investigation further and also examine productscontaining gelatine, such as stock cubes and other beef-based foods for traces of horse DNA.

Over the past few years, whilst the consumer thought they were getting more for less, they really were. The choice of the consumer and right to make an informed decision about what they chose to eat has been taken away by incorrect labelling and a mis-managed supply chain.

Whether the majority of cases come down mishandling or fraud, the food supply chain must now strive to meet the same standards as the supply chain for temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical products.

In the pharmaceutical supply chain patient safety is of the paramount concern. Changes in temperature during the distribution and handling of temperature-controlled drugs can potentially reduce their drugs efficacy, whilst the responsbility lies with the manufacturer for the product, all stakeholders are active finding ways to improve supply chain visibility.

The need for cost containment in the supply chain of convenience foods has been driven not only by the large supermarkets, but also by the consumer demanding to purchase value meals, often of very little dietary value.

Despite the complexity of the processed food supply chain, all stakeholders must take an invested interest in strategies and solutions to improve supply chain visibility.

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