In July 2014 GFSI released a paper on mitigation of food frauds.
Inscatech applauds the Global Food Safety Initiative (“GFSI”) in their decision to include new requirements specific to food fraud mitigation in the next full revision of the GFSI Guidance Document (7th Edition) to be released in 2016. Details can be found in GFSI’s position paper, “GFSI Position on Mitigating the Public Health Risk of Food Fraud”, released on July 14, 2014.
Inscatech was a key member of the GFSI Board Sponsored Food Fraud Think Tank which was convened to further advance the Food Fraud mitigation topic, and was instrumental having its recommendations adopted by the GFSI Board of Directors. Its fellow Food Fraud Think Tank members included Eurofins, who brought perspectives on analytical testing and certification, and Michigan State University’s Food Fraud Initiative, an interdisciplinary, education and outreach organization. The manufacturers and retailers perspectives on the Think Tank were represented by Danone, Walmart and Royal Ahold respectively. Inscatech congratulates its colleagues on the Food Fraud Think Tank for collaboratively achieving this groundbreaking advancement in Food Fraud prevention.
The new GFSI requirements specify that companies perform Food Fraud vulnerability assessments and implement a Food Fraud vulnerability control plan to mitigate identified vulnerabilities (“The Think Tank recommends that two fundamental steps are taken by the food industry to aid in the mitigation of Food Fraud: firstly, to carry out a “food fraud vulnerability assessment” in which information is collected at the appropriate points along the supply chain (including raw materials, ingredients, [finished] products, packaging) and evaluated to identify and prioritize significant vulnerabilities for food fraud”, “Secondly, ‘appropriate control measures shall be put in place to reduce the risks’ from these vulnerabilities. These control measures can include monitoring strategy, a testing strategy, origin verification, specification management, supplier audits, and anti-counterfeit technologies. A clearly documented control plan outlines when, where and how to mitigate fraudulent activities.”)
GFSI formally defined a broad definition of Food Fraud to include adulteration, but also all fraud – explicitly including misbranding and stolen good (“Food Fraud, including the subcategory of economically motivated adulteration, is of growing concern. It is deception of consumers using food products, ingredients and packaging for economic gain and includes substitution, unapproved enhancements, misbranding, counterfeiting, stolen goods or others”) and it could be linked to public health issues (“The GFSI Board recognizes that the driver of a food fraud incident might be economic gain, but if a public health threat arises from the effects of an adulterated product, this will lead to a food safety incident.”)
Inscatech is the first and only company currently providing Food Fraud vulnerability assessments and control plans. Inscatech is a Food Fraud detection and prevention company. The only company of its kind, Inscatech has established a solid reputation in the food industry as both a pioneer and the sole provider of food fraud intelligence investigations, forensically based vulnerability assessments, supplier qualification examinations, validated supply chain mapping, and food fraud vulnerability control programs. Through its work with many of the largest food producers and retail grocery conglomerates globally, Inscatech is leading the food industry towards a harmonized and systematic approach to protecting the safety and authenticity of the global food supply.
For more information, please visit: www.inscatech.com or contact me directly.
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