Consultative Report

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curriculum icon Curriculum/Training Development
woman holding a book icon Consultative Report
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An Assessment of Food Pantries Transporting Refrigerated and Frozen Retail Food Donations

( W. R. Melichar ) 2018 Mather Award Winner Paper

There has been a considerable increase in refrigerated and frozen food donations to food pantries in the U.S. by retail grocery stores since 2000. Although federal and state regulations ensure the safe transportation of perishable products from food processors to retailers, no such regulations exist for transporting refrigerated and frozen food donations from local grocery stores to nearby food pantries. Many food banks and associated food pantries work under contracts that mandate compliance with specific food safety standards during transportation, but no large-scale assessments of how well these guidelines are followed currently exist. Knowing the various procedures that food pantries use to pick up, deliver, and receive perishable food donations would help identify areas where further food safety training might be warranted. To obtain this information, 200 food banks associated with a large hunger-relief organization in the U.S. were surveyed to determine how many of their food pantries transported temperature-dependent food donations from local grocery stores and the procedures used to do so. The results from this study indicate that the majority of food pantries complied with most of the contractually based food safety requirements but that the deficiencies noted warranted the implementation of improved and specific training and accountability measures among some of the food pantries.

Food Defense Program Consultation For A Food Business in Afghanistan

( R. Klaiss )

Recent advancements in storage container technology (i.e., refrigerated, low oxygen environments) now allows fresh produce to be shipped across greater distances with minimal effects on quality. However, greater access through shipping also increases the threat of food tampering, especially where food is shipped from developed countries into third world countries. Prior to receiving this report, “Company X”, a newly formed, Kuwait-based company doing business in Afghanistan, understood the need to increase its food supply security for both their US military and civilian-based customers but lacked the expertise. This consultative report addresses the environmental and cultural challenges that Company X faces with regards to food defense and analyses specific risk factors within the scope of their dealings in Afghanistan. This report is meant to guide Company X’s leadership through the thought process of conducting a vulnerability assessment, and educating the company on how to use risk analysis matrices in order to assign values to each vulnerability. The end product will help Company X better understand where and how to apply its food defense resources.