Weaknesses
Compromised quality assurance departments
Most of the food processing company’s quality assurance departments have failed in their work of inspecting and recommending the sale of safe foods. These departments should ensure that the food that enters the market is safe for human consumption. They should also ensure the labeling of the food containers has no defects at all. Unfortunately, they are allowing unsafe foods to enter the market.
Poor customer service
The most important thing that food manufacturing companies should ensure is quality customer service. They provide quality products that meet the needs of the customers. However, focusing on the case at hand, it is clear that most food manufacturing companies are not conscious of customer quality. For instance, the source reveals that in Ireland, beef sold in supermarkets contained horse DNA. Besides, Tesco Company found burger foods containing some percentage of horse meat. Failure to control the production of foods containing horse meat compromises quality of the foods (Christopher et al, 2016).
Legal System Failure
Most governments failed to restrict the supply of food products thus encouraging companies to supply unsafe foods. For instance, the reluctance of Food Standards Agency in Romania to inspect food products entering the market encouraged meat processing companies to slaughter and supply horse meat which was very cheap for the companies to acquire.
Threats
Technology
Advancement in technology has played a great role in enhancing efficiency in supply chain systems. This implies that it has improved trade across the world. However, technology possesses a lot of danger when it comes to horse trade. It gives investors the opportunity to use horse meat as an ingredient for many foods thus providing unsafe food which is against the norms of various cultures. The article reveals that food containing horsemeat got its way to many nations of the world within a very short duration which shows how technology-enhanced efficiency in food supply chain. For instance, the article acknowledges that horse meat came from Romania and got its way to other nations like France and Ireland via web processors which happen to be advancement in technology (Christopher et al, 2016).
Shift of consumer preferences
Customers have become health conscious that requiring delivery of safe and quality products. The increased supply of horse meat could see customers shift from buying processed foods to buying local foods. This is a threat to food processing companies since they may face a decline in sales revenue.
Recommendations
It is recommendable for manufacturers to take the initiative of inspecting and analyzing beef samples before they distribute them to ensure that it is free from horse meat ingredients. They should make it mandatory so as to promote their public image and reputation. In so doing, it will be very hard for unsafe foods to find their way into the markets. Also, the companies need to have focused on customer health and safety thus able to provide safe foods.
Governments through Food Standards Agencies need to develop policies that will ensure that all foods that enter the market are safe for consumption. They should enact laws that would govern the supply of safe foods to the market. Besides, they should consider defining fines and penalties for noncompliance with the laws. In so doing, this will prevent food manufacturing companies from distributing poor quality foods to the market.
Finally, Companies producing foods that contain meat need to focus on acquiring beef locally. They should take the initiative of slaughtering and make quality and safe foods to their customers. In so doing, they will have a clear understanding of the type of meat they provide to their customers rather than getting supplies from meat processing companies.
References
Christopher, B., Vincent, D., & Anders, S. (2006, November 14). Horse Trading: Food sourcing in the twenty-first century. Harvard Business. Havard.
