Global and Domestic Issues in the Food Supply Chain
(Source: Roger W. Hutt, Arizona State University)

High-value and processed foods, accounting for three-fourths of total world food sales have increased in response to consumers diversifying their diets or demanding higher-quality and labor-saving food products (Regmi and Gehlhar, 2005). More and more, consumers are asking for convenience, and the food system is responding. The relatively higher cost of a ready-to-serve bag of salad is preferable to a head of lettuce that must be trimmed and prepared. Demand for foreign brands and consumer-ready products, in particular, are expanding as well. Food producers and marketers are responding to the demands of the marketplace. Producers are investing in processing facilities in many host companies. Adjusting to meet the needs of consumers, retailers are importing high-value foods from around the world and selling it from a variety of retail store formats, with supermarkets and hypermarkets accounting for more than fifty-percent of global packaged food sales in 2003 (U. S. Department of Agriculture, Global Food Industry Structure, 2007).

Globalization and safety and defense of the nation’s food system are themes very much intertwined in the literature. As Cheek (2006) pointed out, “Today, global consumers are demanding a source-verified and disease-free food supply. . . Changing consumer attitudes have resulted in demands for greater food safety on the retail market.” Food safety describes the handling, preparation, and storage of food so as to prevent foodborne illnesses through unintentional contamination. In addition to its providing safe food for all citizens, the food supply must also be defended from intentional harmful acts. Broadly defined, food defense is the protecting of the food supply from deliberate contamination (International Food, 2006).