METRO FOOD TRAINING ALL EMPLOYEES IN HACCP PLAN

JONNA CRISPENS

BALTIMORE -- Metro Food Market here, a 17-store division of Richfood Holdings, Richmond, Va., is expected to become the first supermarket company in the nation to train its entire staff -- about 2,200 employees -- in a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point-based food-safety program, according to John Ryder, Metro's president and chief executive officer.

Although two other supermarket companies in the nation have implemented similar HACCP-based training programs, neither are requiring company-wide training, according to Ryder.

"Participating in the program is costing us quite a bit of money, but it's worth every penny," said Ryder, who believes that such programs should be required for all supermarkets. "Long-term, we expect [this program] to protect and help grow our business."

Ryder said the program helps build customer confidence by enhancing the company's image and positioning the company as a "safe and sanitary place in which to shop."

Because the program was originally developed for the restaurant industry, Ryder said, his company's home-meal replacement category -- to which Metro is making a "huge commitment" with a 20% growth attained during the past year -- can only benefit from program participation.

"Our industry's biggest hurdle in HMR is the consumer perception that we do not follow the same high standards as restaurants," he said. "If the supermarket industry wants to stand up to restaurants and reclaim [lost food dollars], it has to [convince] consumers to view it as they do the restaurant industry."

Metro's program, called The Seal of Commitment, is a state-based program that was introduced to Maryland's restaurant industry in October 1997 and expanded to its supermarket industry only this past May. It was developed, and is administered, by the Maryland Council on Food Safety and the Maryland Hospitality Education Foundation, in conjunction with state and local health departments.

Metro, which became Maryland's first supermarket company to participate in the program, began its staff training in mid-May and expects to complete it by the end of October, according to Ryder, who has also completed the program requirements.

To earn the program's Seal of Commitment, all of a company's managerial staff that comes into direct contact with perishable food items must attend a 16-hour food-safety seminar, and at least 75% of the company's store-wide, nonmanagerial staff must attend a two-hour food-safety seminar.

In addition, all new employees are given a food-safety training manual to study in preparation for a 10-question quiz on which they must score 100% before beginning work.

Metro surpassed the regular program requirements by opting for company-wide training for all employees and requiring new employees to take the two-hour course, in addition to studying the food-safety training manual and scoring 100% on the 10-question quiz.

Ryder said the company's employees have been "really amazed" at what they've learned in the program, and that "everyone I've spoken to has responded positively," with many of them saying they've learned things that would change the way they handle food in their own homes.

Metro is spreading the good word to its customers through an extensive food-safety campaign that includes a bold in-store presence throughout all departments, as well as strong print, radio and television advertising.

For example, each store features educational and interest-piquing signage and shelf-talkers throughout its various departments -- such as those listing the "Top 10 Food Safety Mistakes," and those reading "Your Food Is Only as Safe as the People Handling It," and "If You Worked Here, You Would Be Certified."

The company is also committed to distributing two million brochures, "Tips on Food Safety at Home" and "Tips on Food Safety: Seafood, Meat and Produce." Each bears the credit, "Brought to you by: The Maryland Council on Food Safety and Metro Food Market."

In addition, employees who have completed the training program are given certificates of completion and wear buttons that read, "I've Been Trained in Food Safety," and employees in the perishables departments don navy blue Seal of Commitment aprons.

A number of media outlets have also written or aired stories on Metro's involvement in the program, and the company, itself, has launched an aggressive advertising campaign, which spans print and radio.

For example, the company began devoting at least half of the top portion of its full-page, weekly newspaper advertisement to the food-safety campaign shortly after beginning the program in mid-May, and plans to continue doing so through the holiday season.

The themes of the newspaper advertisements -- which are also mirrored in the company's weekly radio advertisements -- are catchy and educational. For example, one features two packages of meat -- complete with eyes -- with one asking the other, "How long ya in for?" and then, underneath, a schedule of maximum storage periods for various types of meat and the phrase "Shouldn't you be as committed to safety as we are?"

Ryder, himself, believes so strongly in the importance of such programs that he is involved in pursuing legislation that would require Maryland supermarkets to be certified in food safety and thus held to the same standards as restaurants.

"If supermarkets are going to start thinking like restaurants, they need to start acting like them," he said. "If you preach it and act it, it'll work."

The MCFS is a program developed and operated by the MHEF in partnership with state and local departments of health. The MHEF, based in Baltimore, is a nonprofit organization that serves Maryland's hospitality and tourism industries.