A CONTAGIOUS MESSAGE

STEPHEN DOWDELL

CHICAGO -- Better safe than sorry.

This could very well emerge as the food industry mantra for the 1990s, particularly with regard to the handling of fresh foods and their connection to instances of foodborne illness. Retailers across the country are chanting it louder now than probably ever before.

Concerns about the microbes that can harm customers -- and the publicity that can hurt sales -- were a big topic at the industry's biggest annual gathering, the Food Marketing Institute's convention, held here earlier this month.

The convention's agenda included three workshops geared specifically to helping retail-

ers meet the challenge of making sure the food they sell is safe. And just as important, the message was broadcast to retailers loudly and clearly that they've got to shoulder the burden of convincing consumers of their food's safety, despite the avalanche of negative images in the media.

The show reflected the ascendancy of food safety as an acute concern in the upper echelon of retail food management, and the need for that concern to be reinforced at the front lines of store meat, seafood, deli and produce operations, where the food is being handled and the education of employees and consumers has got to happen.

One thing's for sure, a sizable portion of the 35,000 or so attendees at FMI may be thinking a little bit more now about E. coli 0157:H7 and salmonella enteriditus.

"Let us all make food safety our highest priority in all aspects of our operations," said Michael Sansolo, group vice president of education and industry relations for the Food Marketing Institute, during the convention's central "big room" forum, the FMI Speaks report, "from showing meat personnel when and how to wash their hands, to instructing deli and dairy associates on proper temperature controls. Let's strengthen programs to educate consumers that their best protection is common sense: handle meats properly and cook them thoroughly.