AFFI members have embraced the idea that food safety is a pre-competitive area, and that member companies should share food safety best practices, knowledge and experience on a common platform.
In recent years, awareness and concerns about foodborne Listeriosis have expanded beyond generally agreed upon high-risk foods to include a heightened interest around frozen foods, resulting in several regulatory actions and frozen product recalls. In response, in late 2015, the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI), McLean, Va., and its members committed to a concerted strategic effort to confront the food safety risks posed by Lm and ensuing threats to the viability of the frozen food industry. The strategy focuses on science, policy, education and outreach.
In December 2016, AFFI’s board of directors reaffirmed the institute’s Lm strategy that safe frozen food involved industry as well as consumer and customer education. That’s why they developed a 3- to 5-year strategic plan to guide the future use of AFFI resources against food safety, advocacy and other initiatives. While the plan has four major goals, the most important is a doubling down on the Lm strategy, expanding its significance to encompass AFFI’s long-term commitment to food safety.