Teamsters Call on U.S. Foodservice To Get Serious About Food Safety

Today, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters call on U.S. Foodservice CEO Bob Aiken to step down from the board of the International Foodservice Distributors Association (IFDA), citing the trade association’s questionable positions on food safety. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 76 million Americans are sickened, 325,000 are hospitalized and 5,000 die each year from food borne illnesses.

U.S. Foodservice, based in Rosemont, Ill., is owned by private equity firms Kohlberg, Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) and Clayton Dubilier & Rice Inc. (CD&R), and is one of the largest food distributors in the United States. U.S. Foodservice supplies food to millions around the country. The company and its employees play an integral role in the food safety chain, purchasing food from hundreds of producers, and ensuring its transport to restaurants, hospitals, universities and military bases. The company recently expressed its support of President Obama’s efforts to protect the food supply.

“We applaud U.S. Foodservice’s public remarks in support of President Obama,” said John Williams, Teamsters Warehouse Division Director. “But if U.S. Foodservice is serious about food safety, the company must stop supporting trade associations that lobby against food safety reform.”

Robert Aiken, CEO of U.S. Foodservice, is a director of the International Foodservice Distributors Association, which has publicly opposed the Safe Food Act. The trade association has objected to measures like mandatory recall authority and an expansion of U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspections. It has even described expanded regulatory authority as "the greatest danger." Robert Aiken has donated thousands of dollars to the IFDA Political Action Committee.

“As the representative union of thousands of U.S. Foodservice employees, we know our members have a real stake in making sure their company follows
through when it comes to supporting food safety legislation” Williams said. “For that reason, we call on Bob Aiken to sever all ties to the IFDA and its harmful approach of weakening America’s already inadequate food safety laws. Strong food safety laws help build customer confidence in eating out. This directly affects our members’ jobs.”

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters was founded in 1903 and represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.