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Emergency Preparedness in the Retail Food Industry:
Assessing the Gaps

Principal:
Jennifer Ibrahim
Public Health

Participants:
Robert Gage
Alice Hausman
Tamar Klaiman (RA)

The purpose of this study is to document current policies of major retail food corporations as related to an emergency requiring major deployment of food to a region or to handle a contamination or poisoning situation. In addition to studying the policies of the organizations, the study also proposes to consider the manner in which policies are translated into practice by analyzing the awareness of such policies and implementation of practices at the store level.

Background: There is an increasing need for research on the infrastructure of the U.S. food industry to be prepared for and respond to an emergency situation. While research is currently underway to assess the role of the government in such scenarios, there is a paucity of research related to the private sector. The purpose was to analyze emergency response policies of major food retailers in Pennsylvania as well as the manner in which those policies are translated into practice at the store level.

Methods: We surveyed a random sample of 50 retail food corporations and 200 individual retail stores from among the corporations selected. The surveys addressed response plans currently in place in the event of a food emergency, training activities, internal communications and infrastructure, and external relations with local, state, and federal agencies. Follow up was conducted via telephone and fax machine, as necessary.

Results: A total of 7 corporations and 14 individual store managers responded to the surveys. The low response rate can be attributed to the E.Coli outbreak in September 2006, only 2 weeks after the survey instruments went into the field. Based on the responses that we received, it was clear to see that while food corporations in Pennsylvania appear to be prepared for an emergency food situation, there is a definite need for an improved system of response and increased collaboration and communication between private corporations and the government.

Conclusion: Adequate emergency preparedness in the food industry is essential. Improved collaboration between the public and private sectors, related to both policies and practices, may help to minimize morbidity and mortality in the event of a food-related emergency.

Funding Source:
Temple University OVPR, January 2005-June 2006