Category Archives: Health and Wellness

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Bird-Flu-Proof and Delicious

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The Black Death. Smallpox. Cholera.

The names alone are enough to send shivers down spines. There’s just something frightening and sinister about diseases that can spread like wildfire and quietly kill millions. It comes as no surprise, then, that whenever the possibility of a pandemic is even whispered these days, countries are thrown into states of frenzy. Who could forget the SARS scare of 2003 or even the recent concerns about swine flu? The news isn’t all bad though. Scientists in the UK have unveiled new genetically modified (GM) chickens that can’t spread bird flu to their other feathered friends.

H5N1 influenza, more commonly known as bird flu and the subject of a July 2006 Risk Management cover story, has a history of wreaking havoc among people and poultry alike. In the past decade, outbreaks of H5N1 in Southeast Asia have claimed hundreds of human lives. Millions of chicken flocks have also been destroyed as health organizations attempt to stem the spread of the disease. Bird flu, therefore, presents challenges from both economic and health standpoints.

The genetically engineered chickens can ensure greater food security, as well as protect poultry farmers from economic losses, in areas where bird flu is prevalent. Furthermore, eliminating the transmission of H5N1 between birds also reduces the risk of the disease being passed on from chicken to human, thus lowering the risk of flu epidemics. The secret lies in a special decoy molecule in the GM chickens that prevents the virus from replicating and spreading.

Don’t expect GM chicken to be on Sunday night’s dinner menu though. There are a number of political and economic obstacles that must be surpassed before these chickens can be bred on commercial farms, not to mention that the public is still wary about food that has been scientifically tampered with. The British scientists predict that it will cost about $79,000 just to produce a few chickens that can be bred. Although feasible for affluent nations, the price tag is too high for the developing countries that need the most protection from bird flu. The ultimate goal, however, is to engineer a chicken that will be resistant to the H5N1 disease completely.

While prospects look good, don’t count your chickens just yet.

Obesity Costs Canada and the United States $300 Billion Per Year

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All it takes is a walk through any town in America to realize that obesity is a national epidemic. And obviously there are some major medical and productivity costs associated with a nation whose health is so compromised.

According to a new study from the Society of Actuaries, the total is a staggering $300 billion. For some perspective on just how huge that figure is, it exceeds the combined amount the federal government spent in 2010 on the Department of Transportation ($72.5 billion) Department of State ($51.7 billion), Department of Education – ($46.7 billion), Department of Homeland Security ($42.7 billion), Department of Energy ($26.3 billion), Department of Agriculture ($26.0 billion) and Department of Justice ($23.9 billion).

Not surprisingly, 90% of that $300 billion is attributed to the United States with Canada’s problem being less pronounced.

“We found substantial evidence that overweight and obesity are becoming world-wide epidemics, and are having negative impacts on health and mortality,” said actuary Don Behan, FSA, FCA, MAAA and independent consulting actuary. “As actuaries, we are working with the insurance industry to help incentivize consumers through their health plan design to focus on health and wellness, which will hopefully help curb the weight and health problems we face today.”

Reversing this trend is going to be incredibly difficult.

Corporate health and wellness incentives may be one thing that individual organizations can do to gain a competitive edge in terms of medical cost payouts and productivity improvements.

Don Behan sums it up well.

“We can’t stand back and ignore the fact that overweight and obesity are drivers of cost increases and detrimental economic effects. It’s time for actuaries, the employer community and the insurance industry to take action and help consumers make smart, healthy decisions.”

Since it’s January 10, most people are probably about to start failing to fulfill their New Year’s resolutions to exercise more often and eat better. For the business community, however, getting healthier needs to be a new millennium resolution.

And it’s one we need to keep.

Q&A: Food Safety Modernization Act

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The Food Safety and Modernization Act (S.510) of 2010 is the first major overhaul of the FDA’s food safety provisions since 1938. And after a year that saw recalls of numerous processed foods, meats and eggs (check out the nine major snafus of the decade according to the Huffington Post), an overhaul food safety regulations is exactly what Americans need. To better understand the new act, I contacted Bernie Steves, managing director of Aon Risk Solutions’ crisis management practice, and Rick Shanks, national managing director of Aon Risk Solutions’ food system, agribusiness and beverage practice.

Will there be an expected increase in the number of recalls as a result of the legislation? If so, why?

BS & RS: Aon expects the number of recalls to increase if the proposed legislation becomes law. The FDA will be able to insist on a recall based on “reason to believe” rather than providing credible evidence of the contamination. We are already seeing an influx in recalls. To date, recalls have been on a voluntary basis and increasing for several years.

What are some examples of new regulatory requirements for manufacturers, importers and distributors as outlined in the Food Safety and Modernization Act?

BS & RS: A full hazard analysis will be required, identifying and evaluating known or reasonably foreseeable hazards that may be in association with the facility. These include an extensive list of hazards specifically given as examples in S.510. The hazard analysis must include food defense, which identifies and evaluates hazards that may be intentionally introduced by acts of terrorism. A full plan will need to be developed.

What implications will these new regulations have on recall insurance?

BS & RS: Food companies will need to reevaluate coverage, limits, terms and conditions. Studies show that the average recall costs $10 million, not including damage to brand.  Several insurance markets have been able to include government recall as an endorsement to product contamination policies. Certainly those endorsements will be more applicable in the U.S. with the passage of this legislation. It is important to note that while this authority to order recalls is new in the U.S., many countries’ local food safety authorities have had this power. For instance, the EU has had similar legislation since 1999.

What effect will these regulations have on risk managers in the food production and distribution industry?

BS & RS: Underwriters will require more detailed information on processes, controls, loss prevention, crisis management and product development. Aon advises risk managers to be involved with quality assurance, food safety, food defense and supply system risk management in both manufacturing and distribution for wholesale and retail.

Though this bill has enjoyed strong bipartisan support, it is not yet finalized. When can we expect the Food Safety and Modernization Act to be put into action?

BS & RS: Experts advise that the normal process between the House and Senate may delay the passing of the legislation. Some reports say that the House may streamline the process.

Child Labor: A Reputation Armageddon

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For the most part, a company never anticipates its suppliers will be using child labor to provide a product, but for many large corporations with production facilities or suppliers in poorer countries, that is exactly what is, and has been, happening. And the reputation damage inflicted by accusations that a company uses child labor to make a profit, even if unaware, is devastating.

You may remember back in 2007 when Gap came under fire for, apparently unknowingly, using child labor in the production of a line of children’s clothing in India. An investigative reporter videotaped the scene at the factory.

It shows children who appeared to be between the ages of 10 and 13, stitching embroidered shirts in a crowded, dimly lit work-room. The video clearly shows a Gap label on the back of each garment. The reporter, Dan McDougall, said the children were working without pay as virtual slaves in filthy conditions, with a single, backed-up latrine and bowls of rice covered with flies. They slept on the roof, he said.

Though Gap immediately ordered a full evaluation and had a clean record of ethical out-sourcing up until that point, the reputation damage was severe and lingers to this day.

But Gap is not the only company accused of using child labor. In 1998 Nike agreed to root out underage workers and require overseas suppliers to meet strict Unites States health and safety standards after it received heavy pressure from critics.

Nike said it would raise the minimum age for hiring new workers at shoe factories to 18 and the minimum for new workers at other plants to 16, in countries where it is common for 14-year-olds to hold such jobs. It will not require the dismissal of underage workers already in place.

Though the shoe and apparel giant took some steps to ease the concerns of critics, the company suffered boycotts by consumers who refused to support such “sweatshops.” Examples include this boycott petition and this website encouraging the end of support for anything Nike.

More recently, Apple “said it found more than a dozen serious violations of labor laws at its suppliers.” One investigation found that three overseas facilities had hired 11 workers who were 15 years old (the minimum employment age is 16 in those countries). Apple’s reputation damage continued to worsen this year with news of an alarming rate of suicides at its biggest supplier, China’s Foxconn (check out an in-depth article on the topic).

China, India, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Pakistan are among the countries with the most widespread abuses of child workers, according to a report released today by Maplecroft. Below is a map illustrating the ares most prone to use of child labor.

Screen shot 2010-12-01 at 11.24.01 AMAs the report states, there are more than 200 million children working throughout the world, many full-time. Of these, 126 million are exposed to hazardous forms of child labor. As we have seen, many big-name companies have been accused of using child labor, and though they’ve taken many steps to correct their ethical violations, the reputation damage still lingers — and may do so forever.