ALEXANDRIA, Va. – On this week’s Convenience Matters, retail experts discuss how to keep your customers and your reputation safe.
It only takes one instance of foodborne contamination—or rumor of contamination—to essentially kill your brand and business. A long list of companies have struggled or failed to come back from a high-profile contamination case.
To learn more about the issue, NACS co-hosts Jeff Lenard, vice president of strategic industry initiatives, and Carolyn Schnare, director of strategic initiatives, talked with Wisconsin-based Kwik Trip’s food safety experts: Dr. Jay Ellingson, senior director of food regulations and science operations, and Martin Putz, director, food safety & quality assurance.
With respect to food safety, quality and security, “It is not an option to ignore it. You have to be incredibly vigilant, and it’s not because you have issues or a problem, but it’s to make something as unlikely as possible,” says Lenard.
Ellingson and Putz detailed processes Kwik Trip has in place to receive customer and employee feedback on food quality as well as any issues that may occur. They recommend working with local regulators and health departments to help each other determine best practices for retailers. Kwik Trip not only does everything possible to prevent food contamination, but has a very precise system to respond to possible scenarios. The same department that handles such emergencies also cares deeply about the quality of food and responds to all customer claims of dissatisfaction.
Protection of the food supply chain and the new food safety initiatives and regulations are increasingly important to the convenience retailing industry as it grows foodservice sales. In 2016, foodservice (prepared foods and dispensed beverages) accounted for 21.7% of in-store sales and 35.2% of gross profits for our industry.
Read more about Kwik Trip and NACS’s proactive approach to food safety and security in the July issue of NACS Magazine.
A new Convenience Matters podcast is released every week, focusing on topics related to convenience stores.