Crisis Management & Planning: What to do if you have a Food Safety Issue

Transcription

1 Crisis Management & Planning: What to do if you have a Food Safety Issue Marsha Laux mlaux@iastate.edu Extension Program Coordinator Value Added Agriculture Program

2 OVERVIEW Crisis Definition Good Agricultural Practices Application Applications Outside of GAP certification 3 stages of Crisis Management Management & Planning Activities Creating a Crisis Management Plan Employee & Media Training Farm Operations Priority List Priority contacts Testing Crisis Management Plan Warning Signs of a Developing Crisis Importance of Communication Resources

3 How Do We Define Crisis? A safety, health, or environmental crisis is an unplanned event which triggers a real or perceived, or possible threat to safety, health, or environment, or to the organizations reputation or credibility. A crisis has the potential to significantly impact the company s operations or to pose a significant environmental, economic, reputational, or legal liability. (Covello, 1995.)

4 Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certification puts you in a better position to deal with a crisis. Benefits inherent to GAP: Plan in Place Written and Documented Traceability Corrective Actions Self-Audits Better Prepared for the unplanned

5 Food Safety: It s Your Responsibility!

6 Traceability and Recall - GAP Audit questions: Do you have a written product traceability program in place? Do you have a written recall procedure? Do you have a documented corrective action procedure? Has training in traceback, recall and corrective action procedures been documented for relevant personnel?

7 With Traceability In the event of a foodborne illness outbreak, you will be able to identify what products you have in the marketplace and recall product if necessary. Traceback cannot prevent foodborne disease but it can serve as a complement of GAPs and GHPs, which are intended to minimize liability and prevent food safety problems such as physical, chemical, or biological contamination. The traceability system can be developed from a system you already have in place based on invoicing and harvest dates. Although it can be very high tech with bar codes and computers, it does not need to be. The important part is to know what product went where on what day.

8 Crisis Management Plan NOT just for GAP Natural Disasters Fire, Explosions, etc. Injuries & Accidents Activist Group Activities Environmental Emergencies Violations of the Law Lawsuits

9 GAP focus is on PREVENTING PROBLEMS TO AVOID A CRISIS: The best time to deal with a crisis is BEFORE it happens The best way to deal with a crisis is having a PLAN IN PLACE

10 Emergencies and Disasters Occur Will you be ready??

11 Food Safety Issues are too important to not take seriously

12 If you fail to plan, you plan to fail!

13 Three Stages of Crisis Management 1. Crisis Prevention 2. Preparedness 3. Recovery

14 What to do if you have a food safety issue.. Go to your Crisis Management Plan (What needs to be in your plan?) Comprehensive Lists (key stakeholders, others) 1) Support Staff & Organizations 2) Trade Organization contacts 3) Farm Experts at Land Grant Institutions 4) Cooperative Extension Educators & Others who can provide assistance on scientific issues, media contacts, and strategies to address the emergency 5) Emergency Response 6) Health Department Officials 7) Lawyers 8) Vendors/Buyers 9) Consumers 10) Media contacts

15 Key Stakeholders Grower/Shippers Industry Associations Regulatory Agencies Retailers/Wholesalers Consumers Media

16 What to do if you have a food safety issue.. Go to your Crisis Management Plan (What needs to be in your plan?) Comprehensive Procedures & Policies Early Warning Systems Monitor messages, news reports, etc. Identify the Issue Quantify the Extent

17 Other Policies & Procedures detailed: How to Respond to the Crisis Communications with relevant people Media Messages Created Talking Points, verbiage in place Control Exposure Limit Risk Quarantine Product

18 How to Put Closure to the Crisis Replace supply chain Communication & Review of Procedures Communicate confidence Prevent future incidents Improve processes

19 Responding to a Food Safety Issue. Know what you are going to go before you have to do it: Employee Training Media Training Messages Crafted

20 Training Specifics GAP & GHP Training and Certification Designated Leader Know roles & expectations Employees assist with crafting the Crisis Management Plan Employees know where it is located and can access & explain it Regular Updates to Plan Conduct Drills Fire, Tornado, Food Recall, Etc., Use Various Scenarios & Case Studies Self-audit, Mock recalls (Traceability one step back, one step forward) Messages crafted ahead of time Standard Operating Procedures (also for the Unknown/Unlikely) Contact Lists Developed & KEPT UP TO DATE & DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT!!

21 Responding to a Food Safety Issue. Build Trust and Credibility Empathy and caring Competence and expertise Honesty and openness Commitment and dedication

22 Top Tips Don t over reassure Acknowledge uncertainty Express wishes ( I wish I had answers. ) Explain the process in place to find answers Acknowledge people s fears Give people things to do Ask more of people (share risk)

23 As a Spokesperson Know your business/organization s policies Stay within the scope of responsibilities Tell the truth, be transparent Embody your agency s identity

24 Risk Categories

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26 Additional Resources CDC Crisis Emergency Risk Communication (CREC) CDC CREC Manual Primus Labs GAP & GMP toolkit National Good Agricultural Practices Program Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration FARM INVESTIGATION QUESTIONNAIRE /UCM pdf Penn State Resources for Food Safety Penn State Environmental Health & Safety

27 Questions?? Thank you! Marsha Laux Iowa State University Extension & Outreach Value Added Agriculture Program