CHICAGO — A consumer-industry initiative to improve food safety culture across the supply chain, The Alliance to Stop Foodborne Illness aims to bring leading food companies and consumers personally impacted by food safety failures together to affect positive change.
Annually, an estimated 48 million (one in six) Americans experience a foodborne illness. Of these, 128,000 people are hospitalized and 3,000 die.
"Safety must be a central value of our food system," said Vanessa Coffman, director of the alliance. "We know a lot of companies are already doing the right thing. We need to continue sharing knowledge and working together to advance food safety culture and modernize food safety policies."
Launched in 2018 with 10 companies, the alliance now consists of 18 industry partners, including new members: Consumer Brands Association (CBA), Chipotle Mexican Grill, JBS USA and PepsiCo, Inc. Fifteen returning members include: Amazon, Cargill, Conagra Brands, Costco Wholesale, Empirical Foods, The Hershey Co., Kellogg Co., California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (LGMA), Nestlé, Maple Leaf Foods, Mars Inc., Walmart, Wegmans and Yum! Brands.
"The alliance is eager to continue growing its thought leadership and initiatives. In the coming months, we will share these collaborative efforts including a free online food safety culture toolkit for small- and medium-sized companies and quarterly FDA-co-hosted webinars," said Coffman.
The Alliance to Stop Foodborne Illness is a program of Stop Foodborne Illness (STOP), a national, non-profit public health organization dedicated to the prevention of illness and death from foodborne pathogens. Founded in 1993 by those impacted by a deadly strain of E. coli, STOP continues to support and represent illness survivors, advance public understanding of foodborne illness and support public policies and industry practices that strengthen prevention.
STOP and the alliance engage farmers, food companies and food associations to enhance food safety culture measures that go beyond minimum regulations.
"We make it possible for those who might be competitors in the marketplace to collaborate toward the common goal of preventing foodborne illness. The momentum of the alliance is impressive. We are proud of the work that we have initiated in partnership with industry on behalf of consumers," said STOP CEO Mitzi Baum.
