instore IDDBA Recap - June 2015 - 16

speaker recap

"And when lawyers get involved, the costs
get even higher."
Stevens says that such cases happen
more often than people think (260 deaths
attributed to listeria every year in the US),
and outbreaks can happen in retail stores
and at the processor level. "It's critical
to know your suppliers," he adds. "If we
wouldn't buy a used car over the phone,
why would we do it for food?"

"The goal is to have your customers talking
to your customers," he says, "because they
like what you stand for."
Mike Eardley, president and CEO of
the IDDBA, spoke about the age of the

Stevens cited three steps to achieving
greater success in preventing foodborne
illness outbreaks: compassion, commitment and communication.

Shawn
Stevens

recalls of USDA and FDA related products.
Hundreds died.
"When things go wrong, the results can be
catastrophic," Stevens says. "Risk is everywhere when it comes to food. We're really
trying to avoid the deadliest batch."
Listeria monocytogenes can grow on meat
and cheese items that are sold in retail deli
establishments. It is important for retail
establishments to understand how to best
limit the risk of listeria in retail cases where
there are products with exposure during
handling and storage. To help minimize the
public health burden of listeriosis, USDA's
Food Safety and Inspection Service and
the Food and Drug Administration in 2013
conducted a major study to better understand the risk of foodborne illness associated with eating certain foods prepared in
retail delis and developed recommendations for changes in current practices to
improve safety.
The study found that 4.5 percent of food
contact surfaces tested positive for listeria,
according to Stevens, and 14.2 percent of
non-food contact surfaces showed positive.
"Once microorganisms enter the deli, they
can spread quickly. Microorganisms want to
survive. It's our job to make sure they don't."
16 * 2015 IDDBA Recap * instore

"Make sure to put resources behind it," he
says. "That's when we start saving lives, and
we stop hearing about food safety illnesses
because they never happened."

Age of the Omnichannel
IDDBA speaker Walter Robb, co-CEO
of Whole Foods Market, discussed the
arrival of "Big Food" in the media spotlight
and how companies across the nation
are scrambling to take steps to achieve
"conscious capitalism," or turning a profit
while making a difference. This can mean
everything from embracing sustainability
to corporate responsibility.
"Every company is taking a step forward,"
Robb says. "I've never seen anything like it
in my 30-plus years in this business. There
is a tremendous shift in how people are
thinking about food, and the quality of food.
Food safety. Climate change. I know it keeps
me up at night because we sell a lot of food."
It's been 35 years since Whole Foods
Market opened its first supermarket in
Austin, Texas (the company opened its
first service deli case in 1988), and now
Whole Foods has grown to 421 stores in
North America and the United Kingdom.
Robb points out 90 million consumers
in the US are reaching their peak earning
over the next 20 years, a fact that is fueling
tremendous capital investment in food.
Being a solid corporate citizen is good
business, especially to younger consumers.

Walter
Robb

"omnichannel" and the importance of
taking care of customers on their terms.
"The move to omnichannel requires retailers
to shift their focus from products - features,
price, and inventory - to the outcome of
the shopper's experience that results from
buying or using the product," he explains.
Digital merchandising is one
prime example.
Instore merchandising mainly involves
visual displays, variations in selection,
packaging, pricing and timing, all to
encourage shoppers to buy more.
Digital merchandising has the same goals
as traditional merchandising but several
characteristics set it apart and, in some
cases, make it even more effective:
* It's more flexible. It's easy to change
digital pictures and other content without
using additional store labor.

instore IDDBA Recap - June 2015

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