An Adage on the Appreciation of Prevention as Applied to Food Safety

The goal of food safety professionals is to prevent food safety issues for any facility or product in their purview. Unfortunately, these efforts often go unnoticed, and over time, are can be taken for granted. This passage by Thomas Cleary in the introduction to his translation of Sun Tzu's Art of War (The Art of War: Complete Text and Commentaries, 2003) fits this well.

According to an old story, a lord of ancient China once asked his physician, a member of a family of healers, which of them was the most skilled in the art.

The physician, whose reputation was such that his name become synonymous with medical science in in China, replied, “My eldest brother sees the spirit of sickness and removes it before it takes shape, so his name does not get out of the house.”

“My elder brother cures sickness when it is still extremely minute, so is name does not get out of the neighborhood. “

“As for me, I puncture veins, prescribe potions, and massage skin, so from time to time, my names gets out and is heard among the lords.”