Can labels actually help in a crisis?

There have been many cases of food and beverage recalls over the years. Statista stated that the FDA actually recalls much more than we’d expect – near 100 million units of food each quarter, contamination being the main culprit.

Once consumers have gotten sick and recalls are made, can anything be done to prevent further problems? In addition to recalls, the FDA can issue corrections, meaning that they will direct the modification or re-labeling of a product without having to remove it entirely.

Public warnings are another strategy that will often go hand-in-hand with recalls, if there is any danger in consuming a product. 

The recent romaine lettuce E. coli outbreak spurred the FDA to implement special safety labels, so that consumers will know which region the lettuce came from and thus if it’s safe to eat. 

However, critics are saying the labels won’t do much of anything to help consumers.

Will labels have any impact on public safety?
The chair of the Congressional Food Safety Caucus and a consumer advocacy organization are reportedly claiming that the labeling of romaine lettuce will have no impact on public safety, positive or negative, according to Food Safety News. 

The argument is that the labels don’t actually address the issues behind the lettuce outbreaks – three of which have occurred in the past 12 months in the U.S. and Canada. 

Instead of trying to fix the problem with labels, these critics say that the FDA should focus on the water quality issues that led to the contamination. By focusing on water standards, the FDA could identify sources of outbreaks faster.

In defense of labels
However, the FDA makes convincing counter arguments. 

The group said when it announced the use of the labels that they will allow more detailed, targeted information to be provided to consumers. This information will help in the event of future illness outbreaks, because once the source has been identified, people can view the label to see where their product originated.

This would further prevent wasting of perfectly fine products, as happened when consumers were recently advised to throw out or avoid all romaine lettuce since they couldn’t identity the source of the E. coli contamination.

Consumer Reports also says that the labels should be used on all leafy green products moving forward. 

Whether or not these details on labels will prevent future outbreaks, it’s important to stay on top of new FDA requirements for food labels and other products. When you need to update your labels in a pinch, be sure to check out our label printers at Optimedia Labs’ U.S. page or visit our Canadian site.