Food Processing - June 2008 - (Page 46)

INGREDIENTS PHOTO: BLACK STAR/MICHAEL FALCO FOR FDA FDA chemists view data from food samples taken from a “digester,” a device used to identify and detect the presence of heavy metals, like mercury, in food products such as milk, dietary supplements, juices, herbs, tea, and ﬁsh. “Until recently, much of the attention paid to ingredient safety has centered on potential allergens, and the increased variety of foods on the market continues to make this a major concern. But events like the contamination of pet food with melamine, spinach with E. coli, mad cow disease and other incidents in the headlines have increased consumer awareness of many potential food contaminants. “Contaminated ingredients carry a negative eﬀect that ripples across the industry. Even if your products are not aﬀected, consumers may transfer the mistrust of one product or group of products to all related items,” she says. “In a sense, the contaminant scare has reminded us that we are all part of the same food chain.” At the Reuters Food Summit in Chicago earlier this year, Stephen Sundlof, director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at the FDA, warned that the nation’s food safety system “could be just one incident away from some catastrophic event If there was an additional crisis, it might be at the breaking point.” Strengthening the chain track them throughout the entire process,” says Kent Spalding, vice president of marketing for Barbara’s/Weetabix North America (www. worldpantry.com), Petaluma, Calif. “We inspect facilities where we purchase our ingredients and require the proper certiﬁcation from the appropriate organizations – Certiﬁed Organic, ABI certiﬁed, etc. It is not the cheapest ingredients we are after, but instead the quality that best meets the objectives of our ﬁnished goods for taste, texture, appearance.” Robert Hurlbut honed his safety background when he was CEO of Niman Ranch. ere he built the nation’s leading brand of premium, natural meat and created an innovative supply chain that allowed sustainable family farmers access to this fast-growing market. Source veriﬁcation from farm to consumer was critical to maintaining consumer trust. Now he’s president/CEO of Attune Foods (www.attunefoods. com), San Francisco, a venture capital-backed functional food company that makes innovative Probiotic Wellness Bars, which deliver more than ﬁve times the live active cultures of yogurt. Hurlbut still is dedicated to source veriﬁcation. But it is now more complex, requiring close relationships both upstream to ingredient providers and downstream to delivery of product. FDA’S MISSION ‘AT RISK’ On Dec. 3, 2007, the FDA’s Science Board, an advisory committee, adopted the ﬁndings and recommendations of its subcommittee, which were issued in a report called, “A Mission at Risk.” This ominous report in summary said: There has never been a greater need for an eﬀective FDA to ensure the safety of our foods, drugs, vaccines, medical devices, and a host of other products. The FDA, which traditionally has been one of the government’s most trusted agencies, with scientists and regulators recognized worldwide for their skill and dedication, is being allowed to wither away, its tradition of excellence eroded by lack of support from Congress and the White House. The demands on the FDA have soared in recent years as 50 percent of our drugs and 15 percent of our food supply are imported. Yet, the FDA has lost 20 percent of its scientists and hundreds of inspectors in the past three years. Scientiﬁc advances in medicine and technology are exceeding the FDA’s regulatory capacity, a situation that threatens our technological competitiveness and economic future. The FDA’s information technology systems are outdated and inadequate, posing a threat to its public health mission. The FDA’s capability cannot be restored to its former stature of consumer protection without determined eﬀort from Washington. Without action, the cost to our society will be far greater than the costs of rebuilding the FDA. FOODPROCESSING.COM ere are critical checkpoints up and down the food chain designed to guarantee the safety of ingredients that begin with deﬁning when a raw material is indeed an ingredient and continue through third party audits, some of them governmental. But with the ever-growing list of ingredient suppliers from literally all over the globe, keeping track of the food chain is now an order of magnitude more complex. e FDA’s diminished capacity to protect the food supply doesn’t mean consumers will settle for unsafe foods. ey are making their concerns known. Retailers are getting the message and passing it along. In October 2007, Trader Joe’s grocery markets announced it would phase out all end-products from China. ough executives at Trader Joe’s were conﬁdent that all products met their high standards, consumers voiced their concern, and Trader Joe’s listened. And acted. At Barbara’s Bakery, investment in consumer trust has been part of company philosophy from its humble beginning as a small organic bakery in 1971, and it has paid oﬀ in customer loyalty. “We follow a very rigorous protocol when handling ingredients. Incoming samples are tested and bar code labeled so we can electronically 46 • FOOD PROCESSING JUNE 2008 http://www.attunefoods.com http://www.attunefoods.com http://FOODPROCESSING.COM

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Food Processing - June 2008 Editor's Plate NewsBites Show Report The Trends Rollout Food Biz Kids Consumer Taste Test A Bevy of New CEOs Ingredients Packaging Plant Operations MRO Q&A New Supplier Products Toops Scoops Contents

Food Processing - June 2008

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