Talk:Sysco/Archives/2013

Scandal with unrefrigerated drop sites.

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/State-Inspectors--214864221.html July 11, 2013.

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Sysco Food Corp. Employees say “Food Sheds” Commonly Used Throughout U.S. and Canada, NBC Bay Area, Vicky Nguyen, Kevin Nious and Jeremy Carroll, Tuesday, Sep 10, 2013.

' . . . NBC Bay Area investigation in July that uncovered 14 outdoor, unrefrigerated sheds across Northern California . . . '

' . . . When Sysco Corp. was asked to respond to the discovery of these sheds throughout the United States and Canada, the company vowed to “cease operations” at all sheds, which it called “drop sites.” But the company action isn’t enough to thwart new inquiries by Canadian health officials who have begun looking at Sysco’s compliance with Canada’s food laws. Meanwhile an investigation by the California Department of Public Health is ongoing. The CDPH says it found 7 additional sheds for a total of 21 sheds in California used to store food that were never registered with the state, and never inspected. . . '

' . . . he says [anonymous employee] the sheds in Spokane [Washington] had refrigeration units, but those units were not big enough to store all of the food in the shed.

'“Most of the time, there were extra cases of frozen food on the floor outside the fridges,” he said.

'Employees from coast to coast say that all of these sheds were hidden from health officials and never inspected.

'TransCert food safety specialist Dr. John Ryan trains and certifies food distributors on proper food handling. . . . Ryan told NBC Bay Area. “As soon as food gets over the 41 degree level, bacteria will double every few minutes,” . . '

' . . . NBC Bay Area surveillance cameras captured food sitting in these sheds for up to 5 hours, in temperatures as hot as 81 degrees, before it was delivered to restaurants and hotels.

'Back in July, Sysco told NBC Bay Area that the 14 sheds were an “anomaly” and that the practice would be stopped in Northern California immediately. But after the Investigative Unit received numerous tips from both current and for employees throughout the U.S. and Canada, Sysco is now admitting this was a problem throughout the billion-dollar corporation. . . '

' . . . Meanwhile Canadian health officials with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture tell NBC Bay Area that they are looking into the company’s distribution practices in their country. . . . the Toronto Sun . . . '

This looks pretty important to say the least. Let's try and find at least two references and preferably more. FriendlyRiverOtter (talk) 03:29, 11 September 2013 (UTC)

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CFIA probing improper storage of meat, dairy by Canada-wide distributor, Toronto Sun, Shawn Jeffords, Sept. 8, 2013.

' . . . Both the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Ontario Ministry of Agriculture are investigating after Sysco Corporation, which operates 193 distribution facilities across North America, said late Friday that food products at a number of their drop sites were not under “appropriate climate controls.” . . '

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UPDATED: Unrefrigerated storage prompts Sysco investigation, The Packer, Mike Hornick, July 15, 2013.

' . . . The broadcaster’s surveillance cameras showed drivers making overnight drop-offs of chicken, pork, beef, bacon, milk and vegetables to metal sheds in San Jose, San Francisco and Concord.

'The report prompted visits by California Department of Public Health inspectors in the second week of July. They went to 14 sheds not designed to store food, a department spokesman said. . . '

' . . . “We are taking the precautionary measure with those affected customers to withdraw all products from the supply chain that had moved through the non-compliant Bay Area drop-sites,” according to the statement. “These customers are being asked to examine their inventory and dispose of the identified products; in these instances, their accounts will be credited accordingly. . . '

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Province, feds investigate Sysco food distribution, Toronto Sun, Shawn Jeffords, Sept. 14, 2013.

" . . . The sites, which Sysco abruptly stopped using across North America earlier this month, were used to store food products destined for tables in restaurants, school cafeterias and nursing homes. . . "

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>>> The following is basically an in-house publication, with the top three people listed being with David K Schneider & Company, as well as pulling in some other writers. And this is all fine. Mr. David Schneider wrote a good editorial and brought up some good points. Just if we use it, we should identify it as "basically an in-house publication . . " Sysco Sales Drop Sites Exposed, We Are The Practioners [a largely in-house publication edited by the principals of David K Schneider & Company], David K. Schneider, Aug. 12, 2013.

' . . . Why would Sysco, the biggest name in wholesale food service at $39 BILLION in revenue, risk its reputation with an obvious violation of good practice? . . . '

' . . . I think it was a combination of cost control and misguided customer service. Yes, in an effort to do a better job serving the customer, the local operations cut cost corners.

'Late orders create a number of service problems for most food service distributors. The customer calls the order in after the warehouse has picked and loaded their route. Sometimes customers order food delivery for days on which deliveries are not scheduled. Things like this happen all the time in the restaurant industry because restaurants try to hold as little inventory as possible, as demand is often unpredictable. . . '

' . . . Sysco’s challenge: how do we get the special-order product to the sales people so they can make the final delivery to the customer? That is where the public storage lockers come in. The route driver drops off the product in the public warehouse shed in the very early hours of the morning, and the FDS picks the product up later in the morning. How long could the food sit in such a situation? Hours. . . '

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Sysco Strengthens Its Commitment to Food Safety; Drop Sites Eliminated Across the U.S. and Canada, Sysco press release reprinted in Wall Street Journal, Sept. 6, 2013.

' . . . Bill DeLaney, president and chief executive officer of Sysco, said:

'"Food safety is Sysco's first priority. Historically, our far-reaching food safety and quality assurance policies called for, among other things, drop sites to be registered and for our associates to ensure that only appropriate products were delivered and temporarily stored under appropriate climate controls. Drop sites were locations that permitted Sysco to meet the service needs of our customers by allowing delivery associates to drop off product at locations for temporary storage. Salespeople would then pick up the product and transport it to our customers.

'"In mid-July, we learned of instances of non-compliance with our drop site practices at our San Francisco operating company. We investigated and ceased drop site usage at that company. Subsequently, we conducted a full review of our drop site practices across the Sysco enterprise. As a result of that review, we identified additional Sysco operating companies that were not fully complying with our internal food-safety policies and practices, specifically with respect to the use of drop sites.

'"In an abundance of caution, we have discontinued operation of all drop sites across Sysco." . . . '

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http://www.thepacker.com/fruit-vegetable-news/Sysco-violation-spotlights-cold-chain-vigilance-216071931.html Mike Hornick, July 18, 2013.

'Sysco Corp. has ended use of unrefrigerated storage units in northern California after video by NBC Bay Area showed employees leaving fresh produce and other perishable foods there for hours prior to delivery. . . '

' . . . The exposure of the practice called new attention to the broader issue of breaks in the cold chain’s final links — whether product is left unrefrigerated at an intermediate site just before final delivery, as in Sysco’s case, or at a restaurant before business hours. . . '

' . . . Ernst Van Eeghen, director of marketing and product development for Salinas, Calif.-based Church Bros. LLC, said his company’s cold chain education efforts with customers happen daily.

'“This particular incident that the media got wind of is a good reminder for the trade that you’ve got to keep it cold,” Van Eeghen said. “There certainly are people who are not watching this as carefully as they should.” . . . '