Global collaboration key to food safety

FOOD and beverage companies owe their consumers safe products every time, and so food safety must always be top of their agenda. We see how production oversights can turn into scandals that become perennial examples of industry negligence. Food fraud is even tougher to beat, and not every company has the logistics to guarantee the authenticity of raw materials, ingredients, or packaging. Globalisation has made tracking of ingredients or products even harder to do. And can food safety certifications be "bought" instead of merited? In the real world, it’s likely that every consumer has come across and consumed a product that is counterfeit or contains something other than what should be, without knowing it.

Ensuring food safety is easier said than done, and requires cooperation among food and beverage industry members, governments and private sectors around the world.  The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) project is taking this message across since its creation in 2000. The worldwide project is “focused on fostering industry collaboration, driving change through strategic initiatives involving representatives from across the food industry, providing expert consultancy and encouraging industry excellence through its Benchmarking Requirements.”

The GFSI conference held in Japan on 5-7 March 2018, carried the theme “Safe food for consumers everywhere.” The group’s most recent meeting in Asia was attended by 1,200 delegates representing multinationals, SMEs, research laboratories and regulatory agencies, from 53 countries. The key message in every GFSI meet is the importance of collaboration.

In an interview with Mike Robach, VP, Corporate Food Safety, Quality and Regulatory Affairs, Cargill and Chair of the GFSI Board, we gained further insights into food safety in Asia.

Mike Robach, VP, Corporate Food Safety, Quality and Regulatory Affairs, Cargill and Chair of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) Board

In your assessment, how much has food safety improved in Asia?

The situation is continuing to improve throughout Asia, as we witnessed at this year’s Global Food Safety Conference in Tokyo (5-8 March 2018). We have held successful GFSI meetings in Kuala Lumpur and Tokyo, as well as running China and Japan Focus Days, where we were impressed by the initiatives discussed. We have also developed several successful partnerships with governments in the region. We’re working closely with Indonesia, Japan and China to promote awareness of food safety, supporting them in constructing effective food safety programs. Furthermore, we’ve ensured that our GFSI website, mygfsi.com, is available in Japanese and Chinese, demonstrating our commitment to the region. Our partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) will also bring the Global Markets Programme to Vietnam, providing financial incentives for food safety excellence to Vietnamese companies of all sizes. We firmly believe that public-private partnerships hold the key to ensuring progress is achieved: expect more announcements in this area over the next few years.

What hurdles remain a threat to the region’s food and beverage industry?

Capacity building remains a challenge, particularly in underdeveloped markets. In certain countries, there simply isn’t the infrastructure to implement a rigorous food safety programme. Furthermore, sometimes governments have other priorities, such as combatting poverty and tackling economic issues. Small and medium-sized companies can find it particularly difficult to ensure full compliance with food safety standards, so it’s important that we find ways of providing them with financial support and access to easily understandable food safety guidelines. Our partnership with the IFC and new Benchmarking Requirements are important steps in delivering the necessary support.

With industry regulations and standards, best practices, and even newer processing and packaging innovations available, the risk to safety is ever-present. Where lies the problem, especially in SE Asia?

The primary obstacle is a lack of awareness among less sophisticated suppliers, as well as small and medium-sized companies. The other factor is an absence of harmonized regulations, meaning that there can be confusion about the food safety guidelines that should be implemented, leading to procedural errors. Through our work in securing public-private partnerships, the GFSI is engaging with governments and promoting a unified international approach.

Has food fraud and counterfeiting activity increased or decreased in recent years?

Unfortunately, food fraud and counterfeiting remain an issue in the region, but there is now increased awareness among industry leaders since the melamine controversy. GFSI has also referenced food fraud in the latest version of its Benchmarking Requirements, announced at the Global Food Safety Conference, helping businesses of all sizes in Asia ensure their supply chain is protected from criminal activity.

Which fraud incidences remain the most rampant, and why do they slip past our watch?

Substitution remains an issue, as well as misleading labelling. Furthermore, some fraudsters use fillers to dilute the real product. These activities can be difficult to identify and stamp out in supply chains, which is why we’re working on improving tracking mechanisms. In future, technology could hold the key to preventing fraudulent activity, as tools like the Internet of Things and data analytics become widespread.

How does GFSI work within the industry to protect manufacturers from counterfeiters?

GFSI works to protect manufacturers from counterfeiters through its Benchmarking Requirements, available for businesses of all sizes. The latest version, announced at the Global Food Safety Conference, provides an easily accessible and understandable set of guidelines, informing companies about best practices in relation to all elements of food safety, including vulnerability assessments and implementing controls for counterfeit prevention.

With SE Asia becoming the biggest market for convenience foods and health foods, does the GFSI have future undertakings in that region?

We have agreements with UNIDO and the World Bank to support capacity building through the GFSI’s Global Market Programme, aimed at assisting developing businesses, often in challenging regions. We are also engaging with governments across Asia as part of our public-private partnership project. Three delegates from the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry are set to attend the GFSI Mexico Focus Day on May 3^rd. Furthermore, our recent meeting in Tokyo, which discussed an opening a GFSI Local Group for Australia and New Zealand, attracted a lot of interest, to the extent that we actually had to turn people away because the room was only big enough for forty participants.