This new year’s eve I went with my family to dine out at a very famous restaurant in my city. To my horror the experience was horrendous. The restaurant charged exorbitantly for the food which was sloppy and unhygienic. The service was pitiful and the overall experience compelled me never to return back.
This happens with us all the time. Over years the consumer awareness with respect to food safety has increased many folds. Food packaging and food hygiene has become a major cause of concern for everyone. The consumer not only looks for Food Safety and
Standards Authority (fssai) registration number and ISO 22000:2005 certification but also checks for nutritional information on the packets. Every individual wants fresh and hygienic food for their family. Therefore, there is an upward trend in organic, homemade and
hygienic products. GMO foods are hugely boycotted by people world over.
With recent maggi noodles controversy, there is a growing discontent in the consumers. A lot of other products have come under scan. Such products whose target audience is specially kids, makes it even more dangerous as they are a vulnerable group susceptible to illness. The consumers have also started questioning the credibility of products served by food chains like McDonalds, KFC and alike. The growing consumerism and affording ability gives the consumer the power to question such big giants.
A lot of restaurants and consumer products become famous overnight and those famous loose business in no time merely on the basis of consumer feedback and reviews. The toughest thing about the power of trust is that it’s very difficult to build and very easy to
destroy. The increase in litigation in consumer forums shows the growing intolerance of people against low standards of food industry. To look at its brighter side it’s a boon in disguise as it has led the consumers to become more concerned about food safety and
hygiene. One must understand that the end consumer is the real king. If a product has been deceiving and proved unsafe for human consumption, its demand is sure to go down. Therefore, the food companies should pay huge attention to the quality of product they are
selling. It shouldn’t be misleading and should meet the genuine expectations of consumers.
In the paragraphs above we discussed how the confidence of consumer is lost but what is that the companies can do to ensure that food safety is not compromised. What would you do if you were a food company?They must adopt highest standards of hygiene and safety at all stages of handling food. Be it choosing the raw materials for preparing
They must adopt highest standards of hygiene and safety at all stages of handling food. Be it choosing the raw materials for preparing their product to hygienic and clean ways of cooking. It also includes separating raw food from cooked and storing the food in right
temperatures. The employees must be instructed to wash their hands thoroughly before coming.
The employees must be instructed to wash their hands thoroughly before coming in contact with food. The equipment used in preparation of food must be cleaned with care.
The food must not only look appetizing and inviting but it should be fresh and taste good.
The onus is on the food enterprises to use good quality wrapping and packaging material which keeps the food intact and lowers the chance of germ activity.
