In this context, it may be relevant to zero in on the food industry with the current focus on increasing health and well-being considerations, combined with complex supply chains. Food safety today is one of the most important trust issues. Enhanced consumer awareness is also leading to evolving regulations in areas such as product labelling and disclosures, quality management, traceability and recalls.
Taking the consumer into confidence
Recent incidents such as use of hazardous chemicals in vegetables, adulteration of milk, presence of foreign articles in packaged food and tampering of packaging during food delivery have shaken consumer confidence. In today’s connected era, such incidents adversely impact the brand image of the company.
We work with players across the food value chain (suppliers, manufacturers, transporters, delivery channels) to drive the highest level of focus on the safety agenda. We assist our clients in setting up, strengthening and enforcing their food safety programmes through our relevant work around food vulnerability assessment, audits, quality reviews and implementation of traceability programmes.
We help assure food manufacturers of their food quality through our internal audit work in the areas of production and quality. These encompass aspects such as adherence to recipes and bill of materials, use of the right-spec ingredients and food grade material in primary packaging, monitoring of expiry dates of materials and maintenance of quality standards during the production process.
In today’s virtual scenario consumers demand convenience and that has led to the emergence of new segments, i.e. aggregators. We assist them to maintain the highest standards of hygiene and quality in restaurants and remain compliant on a sustained basis by way of food safety reviews in restaurants. During the pandemic, we helped our clients ideate tamper-free food packaging to be used during delivery. We have also helped a leading FMCG company with its track and trace programme in India to improve end-to-end supply chain visibility.
Such engagements build into narratives and deliver impactful communication of actions taken by companies. This goes a long way in boosting confidence - not only for management but also for society at large - that the products being delivered to consumers meet the prescribed standards and are ESG-compliant. This then helps build trust in the ecosystem, paving the way to a better tomorrow.
Related content
Follow PwC India
