Food Recalls: Are Your Shelves Clean Enough to Prevent Further Contamination?

There are dozens of food recalls issued every month in the United States.

If you think you've experienced an overwhelming amount of vegetable recalls, you're not alone. A whopping 88 percent of food recalls in 2018 were vegetables, according to a recent study from Stericycle ExpertSolutions, a company that helps manufacturers recall food and other goods. In the last month, the Food and Drug Administration has recalled alfalfa sprouts, baby spinach, frozen green beans, and frozen mixed vegetables.

The most famous recent recall may be the romaine lettuce recall involving E. coli. What began in early December 2018 escalated as the farm linked with the main outbreak also began recalling cauliflower, red leaf lettuce, and green leaf lettuce harvested in certain fields. More than 59 people in 15 states fell ill, with at least 23 hospitalized.

Recalls can have a serious impact on consumer buying behavior. In some cases, sales of entire product categories have been reduced by around 20 percent even months after the recall has concluded.

While bacteria are naturally present on surfaces throughout any store, unpacked fresh-area produce is particularly susceptible to contamination. Fresh produce that's merchandised in open, refrigerated cooler cases creates a cool, moist environment, which can foster bacterial growth.

You mostly likely create regular maintenance schedules to clean out the cases, but how often are they followed? How clean are your merchandising displays – clean enough to protect against further contamination?

Most standard retail displays lack the right equipment to ensure proper cleanliness. To properly clean produce areas, your employees can take an entire shift or more to empty entire cases of product, spray and wipe down the interior, and then rebuild the entire plan-o-gram again.

siffron's ModoShelf™ is the only NSF Certifed shelving on the market. Easy to install and easy to clean, ModoShelf™ has removable antimicrobial ABS tiles that are 100% dishwasher safe. In a recent independent study, the ModoShelf sample showed less than 20 CFU/ml – effectively eliminating more than 99% of E.coli.

Protect your customers by reducing further bacterial growth. Keep your produce section clean and organized with the ModoShelf system that protects and showcases a variety of produce while preventing bacterial growth.