MEAT+POULTRY - February 2015 - 8

C O M M E N TA R Y

Counting down to zero
For someone whose career is focused on writing copy
that engages and informs readers about topics that are of
interest to the majority of them, the challenge is often in
connecting with the right source. As editors and writers
covering the meat and poultry processing industry,
developing a story based on a news element, interviewing
the best-possible sources and crafting a written report
connecting all the dots is the obvious and constant
challenge. Gathering the information from sources who
are not only credible but also have a talent for effectively
sharing their expertise can make the dot-connecting not
only easier, but also a rewarding
exercise that affirms the mission
and feeds the passion of editors
and writers like me.
For the world's largest retailer,
Bentonville, Ark.-based WalMart Stores Inc., the man with
the credibility and the ability
to effectively communicate the
company's food-safety mission is
Frank Yiannas. As vice president
of food safety for the company's
stores and clubs all over the
globe, Yiannas is integral in
developing and implementing
supplier requirements and his
Never has the
jurisdiction extends beyond the
demand for
meat department.
safe, affordable
When I visited with Yiannas in
his Bentonville office, I was struck
food for so
first by the obvious passion he has
many people
for his job and his ability to discuss
rested on the
food safety in terms a non-food
scientist like me understands. It is
shoulders of
also hard to miss the charisma that
so few.
fuels his commitment to spreading
the word about the importance
of food safety to the people on the retail front lines. For
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., that includes influencing 2.2 million
associates who serve their customers 200 million times per
week. His mission extends to influencing and educating
all consumers (whether they shop at Walmart or not) and
working with food scientists, academics, officials with the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state and
federal legislators to improve food safety across the board.
When Wal-Mart Stores announces changes in food-

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MEAT+ POULTRY | 02.15 | www.meatpoultry.com

safety requirements to its suppliers, like it did in 2010
to enhance beef safety and more recently to bolster the
safety of its poultry products, the industry listens. And
having listened to Yiannas myself, he is a great spokesman
for all that is being done in the food industry to decrease
risks. But he realizes there is room for improvement and
challenges ahead.
In preparing for my interview with Yiannas, I watched
a video of a recent presentation he made at The New York
Academy of Sciences' Sackler Institute. He admitted that
the future of food safety is at a crossroads. He said there
is a race between food-safety detection and prevention
and he advocates focusing on prevention because it is
lagging. He also mentioned that the food industry is
widely scrutinized and is under fire, now more than ever.
Meanwhile, never has the demand for safe, affordable food
for so many people rested on the shoulders of so few.
But never does Yiannas look defeated or downtrodden
about the challenges. In fact, he is excited about the
progress that is being made and says there is proof that
when Walmart suppliers are challenged to raise the bar
to meet new standards, the ripple effect is that other
companies and suppliers raise their standards. In the
long run, the goal is for consumers to win and foodborne
illnesses to decrease each year.
Continuous improvement in food safety is the
message Yiannas preaches with zeal. And one of the
goals of Walmart's poultry initiative applies throughout
the food industry and is a reason to embrace the
optimism Yiannas exudes.
"It's a countdown to zero," he says. They can't get
there today, but they're constantly innovating and doing
research. "What is attainable is we can be better next year
than we are this year."
J O E L C R E WS, E D I TO R | J C R E WS @ S OS L A N D.CO M
http://www.meatpoultry.com
MEAT+POULTRY - February 2015

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