Improving Import Food Safety: (Institute of Food Technologists Series)

Food safety has been a global concern for many years. While global sourcing of foods and ingredients provides great opportunity for variety and diversity of cultural products, there are significant risks. Programs that regulate food safety and quality in countries around the world vary in their scope and effectiveness, with many being underfunded. Rapidly developing countries may lack the expertise, laboratory resources for testing, and established inspection programs to adequately promote the safety of foods. Rather, these countries may be more focused on providing enough food for their citizens. Lack of documentation or traceability in the exporting country can further exacerbate the situation. Of course, safety problems in food imported from more developed countries also occur, and the source of food borne disease outbreaks are found regularly within the United States. Improving Import Food Safety gathers together vital information on the food safety programs of national governments, the food industry, and the testing industry. Chapters have been contributed by authors from the United States, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Readers will learn about a variety of regulatory approaches to food safety at the federal and state levels in the United States, as well as in selected countries and within the food industry itself. They will also gain insights into the nature and source of safety problems, in addition to approaches to food safety around the world. The book is divided into three sections: Highlighting Key Issues: authors illustrate the millions of permutations for the origin of ingredients, discussing the difficulty if policing imports, providing a unique perspective on the economic situation in China and insight into development of support for small farm producers in Mexico. Legal and Regulatory Issues/Structures in the USA and Abroad: describes the legal and regulatory system in the European Union, the United States, and China, plus a chapter addressing global approaches to fraud. Potential Strategies to Improve Import Safety: presents strategies to deal with what are ultimately global issues, but on multiple levels. Perspectives are provided by authors from Industry, and industry trade association, academia, and a recently semi-retired, global ambassador or food safety. Readers will find this book noteworthy because of the diverse topics and perspectives offered on the challenges of keeping food safe in a global economy. Authors come from a variety of backgrounds, and each has provided a unique perspective on this critical topic. The volume is aimed at importers and exporters of food and ingredients; food microbiologists, food safety and QC/QA personnel; regulatory and legal personnel in food manufacturing companies; food policy makers and regulatory officials and facility and graduate students in food science.

Table of Contents:
Contributors xiii Preface xvii Acknowledgment xix Part I Highlighting Key Issues 1 Chapter 1 Emerging Global Food System Risks and Potential Solutions 3 Shaun Kennedy Overview 3 Supply Chain Complexity 4 Increasing Role of Imports 6 Unusual Sources for Imports 7 Other Emerging Food Safety Risks 10 Economically Motivated Adulteration 11 Other Emerging Intentional Threats 13 Potential Solutions 15 Conclusions 19 References 19 Chapter 2 A Cooperative Federal–State Approach for Monitoring Imported Foods: Reviewing the New York State Model 21 Joe Corby Introduction 21 State and Local Government Strengths 23 The New York Model for a Cooperative Federal–State Approach for Monitoring the Safety of Imported Food 25 Examples of Violative Imported Food Products Found in the Pilot Cooperative Project 35 Discussion 41 Conclusions 42 References 42 Chapter 3 The Impact of the Chinese Development Model on Food Safety 45 Wenran Jiang Introduction 45 China’s Explosive Economic Growth and its Impact 46 China as a Growing Food Superpower 51 China’s Food Safety Regimes 53 China’s Food Safety Challenges 57 Conclusions 61 Notes 62 References 63 Chapter 4 The Role of Public–Private Partnerships on the Access of Smallholder Producers of Mexican Cantaloupe to Fresh Produce Export Markets 65 Belem Avendano, Clare Narrod, and Marites Tiongco Foodborne Outbreaks and the Increasing Demand for Food Safety in Fruit and Vegetables 66 Production Trends of the Cantaloupe Industry in Mexico 71 Responses to Food Safety Problems Associated with Cantaloupe Outbreaks 74 Major Barriers to Market Access for Small Mexican Producers in the Cantaloupe Supply Chain 76 The Role of Private–Public Partnerships in Facilitating Smallholders to Overcome Barriers to Export Market Entry 78 Summary and Conclusions 81 Notes 82 References 83 Part II Legal and Regulatory Issues/Structures in the United States and Abroad 87 Chapter 5 Improving US Regulation of Imported Foods 89 Neal Fortin Introduction 89 The Major Federal Agencies 91 The FDA Import Process 92 Prior Notice of Import 93 USDA’s Import System 98 Other Import Controls 100 Country-of-origin Labeling 103 Challenges Facing Import Regulation 104 International Standards – Codex 106 Conclusions 106 References 108 Chapter 6 EU Food Safety Regulation and Trust-enhancing Principles 111 Ellen Vos Introduction 111 Food Regulation: Between Market and Safety 112 The EU’s Failings in Ensuring Food Safety 114 The EU’s New Regime on Food Safety Regulation 115 Restoring Trust in EU Decision-making on Foods 118 Concluding Remarks 125 Acknowledgment 126 Notes 126 References 129 Chapter 7 Experience of Food Safety Authorities in Europe and the Rapid Alert System 133 Roger Wood Introduction 133 The EU Approach to Legislation in the Food Sector 134 Food Crises 135 Risk Assessment and Risk Management and the EFSA 136 The Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed 141 Notes 148 Chapter 8 The Development of and Challenges Facing Food Safety Law in the People’s Republic of China 151 Yuanyuan Shen Introduction 151 From “Food Hygiene” to “Food Safety”: A Brief History of the Development of China’s Food Safeguard System (1978–2009) 153 China’s Food Safeguard System Today 165 The Challenges China Faces in Food Safeguard Improvement 181 Conclusions 186 Acknowledgments 187 Notes 187 References 192 Chapter 9 Defining Food Fraud and the Chemistry of the Crime 195 John Spink Introduction 195 Food Fraud 196 Diversion, Parallel Trade, and Gray Market 203 Criminology and the Chemistry of the Crime 204 Improving Import Food Safety 208 Conclusions 213 References 214 Part III Potential Strategies to Improve Import Safety 217 Chapter 10 Tracking and Managing the Next Crisis 219 Henry Chin, Nancy Rachman, and Maia Jack Introduction 219 Tracking the Next Crisis 220 Issue Management Tools 227 Conclusion 233 Notes 234 Chapter 11 Food Product Tracing 235 Jennifer McEntire Introduction 235 Current US Recordkeeping Requirements 236 Global Recordkeeping Guidance and Practices 237 Commercial Product Tracing Standards 238 Food Industry Factors Affecting Traceability 241 Recommendations for Product Tracing 244 Commingling – A Special Case for Product Tracing 246 Traceability Versus Recall Ability 247 Product Tracing as a Food Safety Tool for Imports 247 References 248 Chapter 12 Improving the Safety of Imported Foods with Intelligent Systems: The Case of United States–Mexico Fresh Produce Supply Chain 251 William Nganje, Na Hu, Timothy Richards and Albert Kagan Introduction 252 Assessment of Threat and Vulnerability 259 Data and Procedure 261 Optimal Control Procedure 263 Results and Discussion 265 Notes 269 Appendix 270 References 272 Chapter 13 Testing with Confidence in the Pursuit of Global Food Safety 275 Ronald L. Johnson and Robert E. Koeritzer Introduction 275 AOAC® International: Official Methods of Analysis sm 279 Evolution of Method Development and Validation 280 AOAC Research Institute 280 Initial Step in AOAC Harmonization of Rapid Microbiological Test Kits 284 The AOAC Guidelines Under Revision 289 References 291 Chapter 14 Global Food Protection: A New Organization is Needed 293 William H. Sperber Introduction 293 Background 294 Proposal 298 Conclusion 301 Note 302 References 302 Chapter 15 Summary and Recommendations for the Safety of Imported Foods 303 Lorna Zach, M. Ellin Doyle, Vicki Bierand Chuck Czuprynski Introduction 305 Summary of Current Concerns 306 Recommendations to Improve the Safety of Imported Foods 316 Concluding Recommendations 321 Conclusion 328 Acknowledgments 328 Notes 329 References 329 Index 335

About the Author :
The Editors Wayne Ellefson, Covance Laboratories, Inc., Madison, Wisconsin, USA. Lorna Zach, Center for Human Performance and Risk Analysis, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA and System Solutions for the Food Industry, Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin, USA. Darryl Sullivan, Covance Laboratories, Inc., Madison, Wisconsin, USA.