Demand For More Prepared Meals Has Created New Food Safety Concerns For Supermarkets

NEW YORK – The “explosion of prepared meals” at supermarkets is bringing new food safety challenges that many chains are racing to manage, reports the Wall Street Journal. 

The news source writes that in June Whole Foods Market was forced to temporarily shutter one of its commercial kitchens that produces fresh meals for its stores over an FDA warning about food safety concerns. Last year Costco Wholesale Corp. was linked to an E.coli outbreak from rotisserie chicken salad that sickened 19 people. And deli foods from the natural-foods grocer Boise Co-Op were linked to a salmonella outbreak last year that sickened nearly 300 people.

“The grocers’ woes highlight challenges facing supermarkets competing for consumers forgoing home-cooking and traditional restaurant meals in favor of fresh offerings from sushi counters or taco bars at neighborhood grocery stores. As prepared-food offerings increase in volume and complexity, the risk of food-safety issues also grows, with supermarkets now facing safety concerns that have beset the restaurant industry for years,” writes the Journal.

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