RTP company offers answers for future food scares

Food Logiq uses software technology to trace problems along the food supply chain from farm to fork.

Posted 11:30 a.m. Nov 30, 2018 — Updated 7:53 p.m. Nov 30, 2018

Rick Armstrong, producer,

and

Debra Morgan, anchor/reporter

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — RTP company FoodLogiQ believes their food monitoring technology is the answer for future food scares and safety recalls.

Dozens of people across the country were sickened by the recent instance of e-coli-tainted Romaine lettuce grown in the central coastal region of California.

Representatives of FoodLogiQ say the event illustrated the importance of a faster response in identifying and removing tainted food from stores or restaurants.

News of the scare attracted huge national interest.

"Consumers want to know more about what they're eating than they ever have," says Katy Jones, FoodLogiQ's chief marketing and strategy officer.

Jones says her the company's mission is to minimize the impact of food recalls. They count many food stores and restaurants as partners who benefit from their services.

The company's data collection along the various parts of the food supply chain along with their software technology enables them to identify and trace affected products "from farm to fork."

Chief Product Officer Todd Dolinsky says their platform for food safety and traceability is called "FoodLogiQConnect."

Pointing to data that represents a sample recall scenario, Dolinsky said, "So this is kind of like the central hub for the recall process." Graphics show how many people were contacted in the scenario and how many case units were removed.

Dolinsky says that without these tools available during a food scare, restaurants and stores play it safe, removing all meats or produce that could possibly be under suspicion. With FoodLogiQ Connect, Dolinsky says, "Not only can you try to determine what the source of a food-related issue is, you can also determine where else did that product go."

Not only can affected stores and restaurants be identified, but Dolinsky says unaffected food businesses can be notified so that they might avoid wasting safe food, keep more of their customers and save money.

"Those are the food companies that are really going to win in the future," says Jones.

Jones says it may seem like the public hears more about tainted food lately. She suggests that it is not necessarily due to an increase in unsafe food practices. She says it is more likely due to the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2015. She believes more regulation has led to closer monitoring and therefore more reporting of outbreaks.

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