Last March, the recall issued by Cadbury of its chocolate Easter mini eggs in Canada and elsewhere in the world due to erroneous labelling (the label did not indicate that the product may contain ‘traces of nuts’) was eye-opening in that it allowed us to realize that the food industry is now highly regulated. Our food supplies have probably never been so healthy in terms of safety. This incident may be very costly for Cadbury Adams, division of the food industry giant Cadbury Schweppes (earnings of 16 billion dollars in 2007), and it also serves to remind us how prevalent food allergies have become in the Western world.

In fact, along with their battle to eliminate fast foods schools have made some significant progress, particularly in modifying school menus, increasing children’s awareness and improving their surveillance of snack foods. Let’s not forget that nearly 4% of Québec’s population suffers from serious food allergies and that this figure increases to roughly 8% for young children. Sadly, this percentage is constantly rising. Several food manufacturers have adapted and developed allergy-free product lines to reach this new and growing captive market. The fact is that when a child with allergies is born into a family the result is usually a complete ban of the allergy-causing product from the household, which substantially increases the market for allergy-free products.

Let’s not forget air carriers, such as Air Canada, which has, on the one hand, introduced allergy-free snacks during their flights while on the other hand, has done away with meals service on several of its flights. Case in point, during my most recent Québec-Toronto-Vancouver-Portland (Oregon) trip, I was able to buy a tasteless sandwich, a chocolate bar and an oatmeal cookie for $10. At this price and with this kind of choice, not surprising that most passengers bring their own food, regardless of the inconveniences involved, and that’s not even considering the tons of allergens being introduced into this closed environment. In short, Air Canada’s efforts regarding allergens are annihilated by its meal policy. Being the father of a child that is intensely allergic to peanuts, this situation is highly disturbing and worries me. The probabilities that my child could die in a plane aren’t related to Bin Laden but to the food some other passenger may bring on board (the scent of peanuts could kill her). All this because Air Canada changed its meal policy and didn’t plan for this particular set of circumstances. Increasing passenger awareness would certainly be possible. If I can’t bring a tube of toothpaste into the plane Air Canada could ask travellers to refrain from boarding with peanuts or nuts. But for now, this quasi-monopoly of the air is doing nothing at all. It’s an obvious lack of coordination between the different business units within a single company.

This example illustrates how some efforts, if not properly coordinated, become lost and useless and provide opportunities for the competition. In fact, there will come a time when an air carrier will play this card and weaken Air Canada’s business model (this is already the case for transatlantic flights where Air Canada has no monopoly).

In agrifood, there are also blatant examples of this kind of lack of coordination Let’s not forget that at one time pork producers tried hard not to mark pig carcasses all the while transporters were using punitive measures, mainly kicking, to load them onto their trucks. The bottom line is that when the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing, all our efforts may be for naught. Vertical coordination, which some call the ‘value chain’, in the agrifood industry is necessary and may be a source of significant competitiveness. Yet recent reports, such as those produced by Pronovost and Coulombe deserve credit for questioning our efficiency in this respect. If nothing is done, as in the case of Air Canada, loss of life will eventually occur, and as for agriculture, some sectors of this industry will ultimately suffer.

Maurice Doyon is an Associate Professor and Graduate Program Chair, Department of Agricultural Economics and Consumer Science, Université Laval. He is also a member of the Centre de Recherche en Économie agroalimentaire (CRÉA) with that same department, auxiliary professor with the University of Maine, associate researcher with the Centre interuniversitaire de recherche en analyse des organisations in Montréal and associate researcher with the Neutraceuticals and Functional Foods Institute (NIAF). Furthermore, he holds a doctorate degree in Applied Economics from Cornell University, as well as a Master’s degree from this same institution. Mr. Doyon has received over fifteen grants and merits throughout his distinguished academic career.