By Annette Bertelsen CONSUMERS EXPECT — DEMAND — FRESH, SAFE FOOD YEAR-ROUND. “ I t’s an exciting time. Like the rest of the industry, CHS is strengthening our proactivity,” says Ruth Small, quality assurance director, CHS processing and food ingredients. “We’re stepping up eff orts to protect consumers, and especially our vulnerable populations, from foodborne illness. Food safety is everyone’s issue.” Small is leading initiatives to standardize quality procedures and enhance collaboration throughout CHS global processing and food ingredients operations. “We’re addressing every aspect of food safety, department by department and plant by plant. We are investing in new staff , training, infrastructure and systems,” she says. “Our goal is to consistently deliver world-class quality.” Small World, Big Challenges The most signifi cant reform of U.S. food-safety laws in decades, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), has shifted the food industry’s emphasis away from responding to contamination and toward prevention. “The entire food industry has an ethical and moral responsibility to produce a safe food supply on a continuing basis,” says Charles Cook, managing partner of Country Fare Consulting, LLC, and co-founder of the third-party audit fi rm Cook and Thurber (now part of NSF International). “Unfortunately, we sometimes need legislation to ensure we do that. The FSMA is a very positive step.” Third-party auditing is essential to protect brands, but Cook says companies should actively manage the audits. “It’s not just about getting a piece of paper. Every operation should determine its safety criteria and decide what ratings it’s willing to accept. “There’s a lot at stake. The whole concept is to be proactive, and that includes determining your level of acceptability,” he says. The U.S. food industry is grappling with major changes. “In the past, we didn’t demand strawberries year-round. Now we have to > Your CHS Connection 7