Celebrating Food Safety
World Food Safety Day is observed every year on June 7. The holiday was originally proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and aims to raise awareness about the importance of prevention, detection, and management of risks through food safety practices, promoting debates, solutions, and ways to improve human health, trade, agriculture, and sustainable development.
How important is food safety? Every year, 600 million people get sick due to the 200 different types of illnesses that can be transmitted by food. Young people and populations with limited resources are among the most affected. In addition, foodborne illnesses cause 420,000 preventable deaths every year.
Feed, in other words, Animal Food. As part of the food chain, feed mills are a key part of food safety, and this year, the team celebrated by having an educational luncheon on how Wenger Feeds Food Safety Programs affect Food Security. Lead by Quality & Food Safety Director Kim Raczka, the information was available to anyone who wanted to attend in person or online.
The key takeway was: There is No Food Security without Food Safety. Biosecurity is part of food safety. The highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak of 2023 was the largest food security breach in the agricultural industry in 2022.
Food safety directly impacts human health. Wenger Feeds controls various animal feed contaminants—mycotoxins, microbiological, prions, pesticides, heavy metals, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). If these substances were to be ingested by an animal and that animal were harvested, all these substances could be harmful to the end consumer. There are also different medications that could have harmful effects on both animals and end consumers if included in animal feed.
Good food safety practices positively impact the economy and protect producers. Animal feed recalls can be costly for companies and consumers alike. To protect our business and yours, the Company has many Food Safety Management Programs including:
Approved Supplier Program: We only purchase from approved suppliers.
Ingredient Approval: We only purchase from approved ingredient suppliers and regularly sample ingredients for safety.
Foreign Supplier Verification Program : We assess the foreign supplier on several areas including biosecurity and food safety.
Receiving Policies: We test grain for mycotoxins, foreign material, bushel weight, moisture, and fines prior to receiving.
Everyone is a Food Safety Risk Manager. It is imperative to practice good management practices, good personal hygiene, and biosecurity programs on your farm every day.