cally challenging and economically un-
feasible to stay one step ahead, trying to
always test for what the next adulterant
will be. That potential list is really end-
less. Once industry catches up, by testing
for melamine, for instance, the criminals
have likely moved on, knowing manu-
facturers are looking for that particular
adulterant. Moreover, a manufacturer
will have to keep adding new tests to de-
tect each individual potential adulter-
ant—costing resources, delays in getting
product to market, etc. This is where
testing to standards that define the iden-
tity, quality and purity of a product—its
overall authenticity—can play an impor-
tant role and add value for all stakehold-
ers in the food supply chain.
3. Are the current food safety systems
that are widely employed by industry
adequate to address the challenges im-
plicit in economically motivated
adulteration?
Industry employs a number of approaches to safeguard the food supply.
These include ISO 22000, the Global
Food Safety Initiative, the British Retail
Consortium and other systems that,
when properly implemented, executed
and certified, will help a manufacturer
deliver safe food to customers. Additionally, many major retailers have other
quality and security systems in place.
Food manufacturers should and frequently do establish their own relationships and processes with suppliers, which
may include visiting and inspecting supplier sites to ensure compatibility with
the manufacturer’s food safety system.
This process is frequently referred to as
vendor qualification. However, all food
safety and food quality systems rely on
the ability to predict and manage reasonably foreseeable risks and hazards. Prediction is very difficult when you don’t
know what your substance is—and in the
case of adulteration, only the adulterator
has that knowledge.
4. Specifically, how do quality standards such as those set forth in the
Food Chemicals Codex help detect—or
deter—economically motivated
adulteration?
The knowledge of the authenticity—
the identity, quality and purity—of all
food ingredients used is the most basic
element that all food quality and safety
systems rest upon. And it is one that is
not affirmed as often as it should be.
Verifying that incoming ingredients are
safe requires, among other aspects, that
they are authentic, that is, that the ingredient delivered is actually what it claims
to be. These are the starting materials,
and if they are adulterated, it is not possible to predict the quality and safety of
the final product.
Independently developed quality
standards from a third party not only
provide a basis for agreements between
supplier and manufacturer about the expected quality and purity of an ingredient, but also allow one to test for
adherence to these agreed-upon specifications. The Food Chemicals Codex
( www.usp.org/fcc/), or FCC, provides
such written specifications for identity,
