A survey sponsored by food safety solutions provider JohnsonDiversey Inc. has found that biological risks, supply chain and contaminants—whether physical or chemical—will rank among the largest issues in food safety in 2020. The results were announced at a workshop at the 2010 Global Food Safety Conference in Washington, D.C., Feb. 5.

The study, which surveyed senior-level and executive employees in the foodservice, manufacturing, retail, and other related segments, found that 32% of respondents believe food safety problems are most likely to occur at food processing/manufacturing facilities and another 32% believe the problems will most likely occur on farms. Another 14% of respondents believe such problems will arise in food service operations while 13% believe problems will crop up in private homes.

At one panelist’s urging, all organizations in the food supply chain ought to build an awareness or culture of increased food safety.

“We need to build partnerships—not just relationships, but true partnerships with our supplier to truly understand where those ingredients, where those finished products are originating and to make sure that they’re appropriate in terms of food safety situation,” says Robert Gravani, Cornell University professor of food science.

Sustainability, much like food safety, remains a key issue at the heart and success of flexible packaging. Ed Lonergan, president and chief executive officer of JohnsonDiversey, believes these two issues will be more integrated come 2020.

“When people say, ‘Can food safety and sustainability go together?,’ they have to,” says Lonergan. “They have to because the resources we use are scarce and we're going to find ways to use less of them in our process.” In the JohnsonDiversey survey, 53% of those surveyed believed that food safety will become integral to sustainability in the next decade.