Supermarkets should use their discount card programs that track customers' shopping habits to prevent illness by alerting people who have bought tainted foods, a leading consumer group urged Tuesday.
Such a notification system might have helped avert much confusion over the current peanut recall. Some 900 separate food items _ many with a long shelf life _ have been recalled because of a salmonella outbreak blamed on tainted peanut products from a single producer in Georgia. Combing through the list can be daunting.
"Many retail chains have within their power the ability to protect consumers," said Sarah Klein, a lawyer with the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "They are routinely collecting customer information and using it for marketing purposes. We'd like to see it used for public health."
The group is urging major national supermarket chains to adopt notification programs for food safety recalls. Some merchants already have. Among them is Costco, whose warehouse stores are open only to members. Others include Wegmans Food Markets and Price Chopper, regional chains in the Northeast.
Craig Wilson, assistant vice president for food safety at Costco, said the information to reach consumers is already in the company's computers.
"When an item goes through a recall, we can pull that item number and generate a telephone or address list very quickly," said Wilson. "It allows us the ability to almost laser-point to an item and when it was purchased."
Costco has used prerecorded phone calls and letters to reach more than 1.5 million customers who bought recalled products, said Wilson. The recall list ranges from cookies and ice cream to Asian-style sauces and even dog treats.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/03/AR2009020301788.html?nav=hcmoduletmv
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