safety systems under this assumption will inherently position existing systems to be non-optimized for success and inherently vulnerable. Under this structure, there would be no incentive or reward to favor players toward moving along the risk spectrum to a lower risk position. No overarching market force will automatically encourage continuous improvement, and any risk reduction will come from force applied from within the supply chain, creating a system that will falter if/when that force is lessened or deemed unnecessary. Unintentionally, the respectable goal for safe food has created a marketplace where those who invest less in food safety management often find themselves at a financial advantage over those who do more to remove risk. Food safety is generally treated as a requirement (everyone should have it). However, this creates a false dichotomy, implying that there can be completely safe or unsafe food. This assumption then sets up a false expectation that all food is safe in the marketplace (otherwise it wouldn’t be for sale). Unintentionally, this belief eliminates pressure to find measures to improve. If your current product sells, why make safe, safer? Food safety is not black and white, and risk will always exist on a spectrum. It is unrealistic to expect an absolute zero risk in complex supply chains and products, and even more unlikely that if safe, all foods are equally so. Under this assumption, little incentive exists for investing in improved food safety since no one is asking, monitoring or demanding it. Creating market forces that continually select for a system of reduced risk requires intentionally creating conditions that reward entities that invest and expend the effort toward it.
To achieve a sustainable food system favoring continuous risk reduction, markets must be designed to encourage and reward those who strive for residual risk reduction. Food safety may be a requirement, but food safety improvement is a value-added activity that comes with additional costs. If investments in improved risk reduction are truly valued, then the marketplace must evolve to be transparent regarding where enhanced food safety efforts are implemented. With transparency, the feedback loop to reinforce the value of improved efforts will be established, rewarding those who invest in it with increased consumer confidence, orders and trust.
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23 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com July | August 2025
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