Food safety & consumer trust

Trust in the food industry is generally good Consultancy LLYC surveyed 4,000 consumers across Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru and the Dominican Republic, and found that food and drinks businesses were on average the most trusted (financial services were the least trusted). 44

However, some high-profile scandals, such as Brazil’s Operation Carne Fraca, where major meatpackers were found to have bribed food safety officials to certify rotten meat for sale, vastly eroded public trust both domestically and internationally 45

Use of voluntary food safety and quality certification is one way to win consumer trust. Although voluntary certification is less prevalent in South America than other regions and tends to target the international export market,46 this is changing In the past years, Latin America has become one of the biggest regions of growth for Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) certification, increasing by 14% in 2019. Senior project manager at GFSI, Anne Gerardi said that:

“The business case for food safety is gathering momentum in Latin America. There is growing awareness from companies that third party audits create a better food safety culture, manage risk, and generate more consumer trust. Being compliant with local regulations and international standards helps you gain new clients domestically and new export markets.”

GFSI’s work in Latin America has three strategic approaches: Public-private partnerships, whereby it works with regulators and government authorities to harmonise local standards with GFSI benchmarking requirements; its global markets programme, which strengthens the capacity of small and medium-sized enterprises; and building awareness of food safety 47

It has an ongoing memorandum of understanding with the Chilean Agency for Food Safety and Quality, ACHIPIA, and has worked with MINAGRO in Argentina in the past, although maintaining project continuity can be challenging when government administrations change hands, according to Gerardi Food operators are also embracing tech-based solutions, such as blockchain and QR codes, to offer consumers assurances on supply chain traceability and transparency

A number of South American food producers are using blockchain to make their supply chains more traceable with IBM Food Trust, such as Colombian coffee growers through Farmer Connect, Ecuador’s prawn producers through the Sustainable Shrimp Partnership, and Ecuadorian dairy company El Ordeño for its domestic brand TRÜ