An effective business continuity plan anticipates the unexpected, provides a roadmap to manage a crisis and is driven by a strong, cross-functional team, said Peggy Armstrong IDFA vice president of communications, last week at a meeting of the New York State Association for Food Protection (NYSAFP).

Armstrong presented a session on business continuity planning and crisis management at the association’s 94th Annual Conference held in Syracuse, New York. Approximately 140 NYSAFP members attended the three-day conference, including food safety professionals from New York food production facilities, federal and state food safety regulators, academics and industry suppliers, including several IDFA members. 

“This is a group of people who are doing everything possible to keep our food supply safe. It was a privilege to talk with them about how crisis management and good communications can help to protect the public’s trust when something goes wrong,” said Armstrong.

IDFA’s crisis communications session was one of the event’s 18 general and technical presentations. Other talks discussed how to learn from recent foodborne illness outbreaks, protect agriculture from intentional adulteration and overcome challenges of educating consumers about food safety risks.

“During the conference, I talked with a number of food safety professionals from IDFA member companies about their roles in a crisis and what management tools would be helpful to them,” said Armstrong. “We will use this feedback to help us hone our crisis communications services for our members.”

Throughout the year, IDFA provides issues management and crisis communications support to members, including public relations counsel advisories, messaging and monitoring. IDFA can also provide customized business continuity planning for member companies.

For more information, members may contact Armstrong at parmstrong@idfa.org.