Food industry must consider intentional contamination – NSF

By Joseph James Whitworth

- Last updated on GMT

Food fraud - accident or intentional?
Food fraud - accident or intentional?

Related tags Food safety Supply chain Management

The food industry needs to adapt to take into consideration intentional contamination in the supply chain, according to NSF.

NSF International is an independent organization that writes standards, and tests and certifies products for the water, food, health sciences and consumer goods industries.

Serban Teodoresco, global managing director, NSF’s consulting and technical group within the food division, said it was important to have a proactive program in place.

“Food supply chain controls were brought in from the perspective that something might happen by accident,” ​he told FoodQualityNews.com.

“Intentional events such as food fraud and substitution are becoming more and more appealing.

“The food industry faces pressure on margins including in raw materials to maintain profits, government and industry standards are higher and there is higher pressure to provide the right food in terms of nutrition and functional food while getting that return on investment.”

Supply chain stretch

Serban Teodoresco NSF
Serban Teodoresco started at the end of August

Teodoresco said other factors include growing competition and the increased risk of transporting products or materials for longer distances.

“Raw materials are being sourced from further away so the supply chain is stretching which is increasing risk to business and growing complexity,” ​he said.

“Customers are asking us to support and help with operational excellence in implementing objectives in food safety.

“With training programs they want us to provide our point of view on issues in the food safety industry, as a second look at things they identify as important.”

Based in Montreal, Canada, Teodoresco has provided food safety and risk management to companies around the globe.

He has worked as president of Preventa Inc., a risk management consulting firm. He was also vice president operations at DiverseyLever (Unilever Group) where he led the development of a risk management group called SafeKey, a branded suite of food safety tools.

Teodoresco, who started in the role at the end of August, said NSF is one of the few companies which covers from farm to fork and encourages a proactive versus a reactive approach.

“It is important to recognise 70 years ago NSF was created as a public health and safety foundation so it is our core competence,” ​he said.

“Three years ago we were 90% based in the US and 10% elsewhere, now we are about 50/50.

“We work in partnerships, for example with the Food Standards Agency in the UK for a food fraud model, we knew it was an area of concern and when it happened we had a model available.

“Our work in progress includes expanding our footprint in some parts of world, where we cannot offer all services so we form partnerships and look for acquisitions.”

VP of EMEA appointed

david richardson NSF
David Richardson VP of EMEA in Global Food Division

NSF International also promoted David Richardson to vice president of Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) in the Global Food Division.

Based in Oxford, UK, Richardson oversees NSF International’s food safety business in Europe in the region.

He has served as global managing director of NSF International Agriculture where he expanded the global agriculture business through organic growth and acquisition.

As vice president for EMEA, Richardson’s experience will support companies’ increasing needs for food safety and quality with NSF’s technical and certification services.

These include global agriculture, retail and certification services and non-GMO (genetically modified organisms) food verification.

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