The January issue of the World Apple Report published by US-based Belrose Inc, warns that the fresh produce industry must be ready for rising levels of information sought by consumers about the food they buy. “Consumers will want to know all about how their food is grown, packed, processed and shipped and about all the natural and human resources employed in that supply chain,” the report forecasts. “Withholding any information about any step in the process will no long be effective.”
Strides in technology making information available on mobile phones and other portable devices will help drive this. But the big threat for the industry is that a lot of this information will be from third parties and not necessarily accurate.
“Food producers still have a little time to get their house in order,” finds the report. “Their first strategy has to be ensuring that the reality and the image of the industry’s activities are positive.”
Next, the industry needs to keep up with the plans of third-party information sources, such as NGOs and be in a position to correct erroneous information before it is impressed on the consumer conscience.
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