Security Pie

I have a passion for Risk Management. In my opinion it does not matter if one is managing information security or financial risk. If we watch closely we see that the financial guys aren’t the best risk managers (Assaf wrote about it many times…). One of less touched areas of risk management is related to food safety. Sure, there are plenty of regulations and mandates as well as different agencies including the CDC, FDA, USDA just to name a few, but overall there are too many health issues with food.

Take sprouts. Those harmless looking, healthy food are known to cause health issues.  According to this article:

Between 1996 and 2005, raw or slightly cooked sprouts have caused an estimated 1,636 cases of illness, or 40 percent of all food- borne illness associated with produce, according to the FDA. Though the number of cases has dropped substantially since 1999 due to stepped-up decontamination attempts by the industry, federal regulators say the current push is necessary because sprouts–a favorite among health-food enthusiasts–still pose a measure of risk to consumers.

Years later, we are still facing food- borne illness associated with sprouts.

Just recently the FDA and the CDC advised people not to eat raw alfalfa sprouts after at least 31 people were sickened by Salmonella Saintpaul infection.  According to the FDA, an investigation shows that the problem may be linked to contamination of seeds for alfalfa sprouts.

The FDA and the CDC note that suspect lots of seeds may be sold around the country and may account for a large proportion of the alfalfa seeds being used by sprout growers, and cases of illness are spread across multiple states.

Even my favorite grocers, Trader Joe had to recall my favorite Nature’s Choice Alfalfa Sprouts.

But now, we can all rest assure.  They always test the product. Where were you during the Salmonella outbreak?

The point I’d like to make is that risk management is a never-ending story process. One should understand the associated vulnerabilities (e.g. sprouts can contain Salmonella) review the business process and add the necessary controls (e.g. test for Salmonella), adding compensating controls if necessary.

At least now I have more confidence. I know that they ARE testing. Good to know.

The government is now asking people to avoid eating raw alfalfa sprouts, including sprout blends that contain alfalfa sprouts, because of possible salmonella contamination.  According to the FDC press release, 

Initial investigation results trace the contaminated raw alfalfa sprouts to multiple sprout growers in multiple states. This suggests a potential problem with the seeds used, as well as the possible failure of the sprout growers involved to appropriately and consistently follow the FDA Sprout Guidance issued in 1999 . The guidance recommends an effective seed disinfection treatment immediately before the start of sprouting.

To me, this whole issue sounds like a classic case of malfunction with the risk management process: I’m not an expert in food safety, but I know few things about risk management. From reading the last reports, it looks like someone in the FDA should start to enforce better controls on food manufacturers.  We can’t change our diet because someone forgot to read a manual from 1999.