U.S. Food Companies Should Keep An Eye Toward Future Trade
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recent alert on farm-raised Chinese seafood is only one of the latest developments for an issue that has been brewing quietly for years now. You can expect to see many more news stories about Chinese food and consumer product imports like those about pet food and toothpaste. But U.S.-based food producers with an eye toward trade would be warned against loudly criticizing the products that have become so integral to our economy and our day-to-day lives.
The FDA–and Chinese government officials–are actively working to ensure food imported from China is safe. U.S. food companies should support them in their efforts, and let them do their job–tell your consumers how your company is cooperating with FDA efforts, but stop short of comparing Chinese and American food safety practices or pointing fingers. A hot-headed approach could ignite a national firestorm of protest against Chinese products; if that happens, we should expect that China would simply stop importing a variety of processed U.S. products.
Let the inspectors or pundits give the strong sound bites to media. The job of the U.S.-based food producer is to be part of the solution by cooperating with the FDA and telling consumers–on your web site and via other means–of your assistance.
For now, food and consumer product companies that depend on Chinese imports would be well-advised to steer the following course:
- Create and maintain a special web page to keep consumers up-to-date on you efforts to safeguard your products– especially your ingredients, which until now have been largely unnoticed.
- Monitor consumer blogs and examine your monitoring reports at least once a week to measure the levels of public concern over the Chinese import issue. Use that information to update your web site and all consumer correspondence.
- Consider developing alternative global sources for food ingredients and commodities. You don’t want to be caught flat-footed if access to Chinese products is blocked by U.S. regulators or the Chinese government.
- Reach out to key members of Congress and other FDA officials now to maintain an open line of communications about the issue and to avoid an overreaction on the part of lawmakers and regulators who are highly sensitive to consumer concerns.
