Are Current Manufacturing Safety Regulations Enough?

This is a tough question, but it's one that has probably crossed the minds of consumers recently.  Lately, there have been a number of  recalls, some with serious illnesses and others even involving consumer deaths that are making people think twice about the safety regulations we have in place.

One of the major concerns seems to be the knowledge of problems in facilities prior to recent recalls.  For example, the compounding pharmacy responsible for the meningitis outbreak had a "documented history of mold and bacteria problems."  According to this Washington Post article, "Federal health inspectors say staffers at the pharmacy linked to the meningitis outbreak over the past year documented dozens of cases of mold and bacteria growing in rooms that were supposed to be sterile."  This is sad situation that, it appears, should have been corrected and prevented.

There are a number of precautions organization should (and do) take to prevent these types of situations from getting out of control.  Having a trusted documentation system within your ERP software, process manufacturing ERP software recall procedures and built-in lot tracking and actually following the appropriate sanitary guidelines are just a few.

Recalls are an inevitable part of manufacturing due to a number of variables, but recalls of this nature damage the industry as a whole as consumers lose trust in organizations.  I'd love to hear what ideas manufacturers, regulatory agencies and consumers alike have to improve and prevent situations such as this from happening again.