The perceived consumer interest in locally sourced products flies in the face of more dominant trends like increased consumer demand for more convenient products and for more ethnic flavors and cuisines.

Food safety is not a natural, pure or simple process, and products will be less safe if effective approaches are shunned for reasons that have more to do with perception than science.

Many governmental and public health efforts to date have focused on singular causes and ignored the broad range of issues that contribute to the problem.

Where the food and beverage industry provides exemplary leadership is in the area of reduced usage and conservation.

At the core of the debate is the issue of how best to educate consumers and whether designation of some foods and beverages as 'positive' and others as 'negative' is the best education strategy.

Food safety consumer education has been sorely lacking, and this high profile undertaking is needed to ensure the billions of dollars food and beverage manufacturers have spent on food safety interventions and good manufacturing practices do not become undone by consumer ignorance.

While any food safety issue is a matter of concern for industry executives, it is the lesser known, emerging threates that are the most problematic.

Taste trumps value as long as consumers perceive a difference.

The shared value concept rests on the premise that both economic and social progress must be addressed using value principles.