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Food testing - Imported & exported foods and regulatory challenges
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Tuesday, 16 March, 2021, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Norina Fernandes
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Food testing and analysis is an essential part of the food safety ecosystem to assure that the food is safe to consume. Fssai defines ‘Unsafe food' as an article of food whose nature, substance or quality is affected as to render it injurious to health.
The most significant thing for food testing is the Laboratories which perform the tests should be accredited by NABL, FSSAI, BIS, CDSCO, ISM&H, APEDA, EIC/EIA, AGMARK etc.
Procedure for import and export activities involves ensuring licensing and compliance before the shipping of goods, arranging for transport and warehousing after the unloading of goods, certificate of food analysis with complying to all regulations and getting customs clearance as well as paying taxes before the release of goods.
Food Testing Requirements
? Prior Trading our product in a new market, most countries demand that products conform to national and international standards. As a result, products need to be designed and tested so that they can be sold in the target countries.
? Exporters and Importers face continuous rejections in the market due to health and food safety concerns such as violations including mislabeling, allergen products, use of non-approved pesticides, microbial contamination and manifestation of pests.
? Major Imported food items by India fresh Vegetables and Fruits, Fresh Mangoes and Cereals, Edible oils, and Petroleum products. Food items with salt, rice, edible oils, instant noodles, snacks, bakery products, and carbonated drinks and juices being rejected.
? Some agricultural products such as mangoes, okra, curry leaves, peanuts, table grapes, chillies, prawns, shrimps, and tamarind face rejections due to certain non-compliances.
? All the Goods shall comply and be within the safety limit and not violate any regulation.
Significance of Food Testing
Considering current conditions which contain high amounts of pesticides, heavy metals, adulterations, food frauds which costs consumers their life, food testing has become mandatory. Food testing includes product analysis based on Chemical analysis, Microbiological analysis, Chemical analysis and Organoleptic analysis .
People initially consumed food products from markets which are low grade sold at less price, but they had no knowledge that these can be harmful, let's take an example of vegetables for Export purpose which contain high amounts of pesticides and are rejected and are sold in the local market at low price.
The Food Standards sets out the requirements for the manufacture, processing and packing of: processed foods, both own brand and customer-branded, raw materials or ingredients for use by food service companies, catering companies and/or food manufacturers, primary products such as fruit and vegetables. Testing is also required for pet foods for domestic animals.
Barriers to Exports Related to Food Safety and Health Standards:
? Rigid Import regulation in the destination country
? Low MRLs without any scientific justification
? High levels of pesticides residues
? Low harmonized Standards across countries
? High risk diseases
? Allergen issue Best Example : Peanuts [allergen] processing takes place on the same equipment as well as cranberry which is [non -allergen] .
All FBOS should test their food product for safety, contamination or residue, and accurate nutrition composition.
? Food Tests include :
Testing for Food claims :
Health claims
Nutrition claims etc., all these are to be tested initially so that claim is verified by the Authority based on the reports. If a brand claims their product is sugar free, preservatives free one should undergo a test of the same product.
Pesticide Residue Analysis:
For agricultural products, pesticides sprayed during farming can be harmful /carcinogenic to human beings, if they are used beyond threshold limit. As global food trade and the importance of monitoring increase, the food industry and regulatory laboratories are also considering miniaturised high-throughput methods. Pesticide Residue Analysis is a significant component to ensure human safety as pesticides control insects and pests so as to increase crop production. Pesticide residue analysis tests are done to identify and quantify the residues from very complex food matrices.
Nutritional/Food Labelling:
Nutrition labeling where proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, fats -MUFA, PUFA, micronutrients /macronutrients are tested in food laboratory minerals so that consumers are aware of the quality, quantity, contents, and nature of the food. It also provides information on the source of the food.
GMO Food Test:
The cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops has increased significantly around the world over the last decade. This escalation in production has been combined with the synchronous and complex regulatory approval process, necessitating testing agricultural and products for GM content to regulate international trade. GMO (genetically modified organism) testing confirms the identity and nature of the product at every step along the supply chain and assures compliance with import or labelling regulations for genetically modified food and feed.
Gluten-Free Food Test:
Gluten is a complex protein found in wheat, barley, rye, and triticale. For celiac disease, a gluten-free diet is solely medically accepted care. If a person is wheat intolerant, he/she might suffer from the inflammatory skin condition due to wheat exposure, if the person is gluten intolerant. Gluten-free food tests are done to know about the amount of gluten present in food.
Organic Food Testing:
Organic food should be free from synthetic chemicals and regulated with strict guidelines. Organic food should not only be chemical-free but should be grown without artificial pesticides and fertilizers. The organic food testing helps in finding out about the presence of these pesticides and fertilisers.
Dairy Products Testing:
Dairy products testing includes analysis of milk, cheese, other dairy products, as well as products containing ingredients derived from milk, cheese, and other dairy products. These tests are done to determine ash, alkalinity, dispensability, fat, milk fat, lactose, milk solids, non – fatty substances, moisture, minerals, microbiological tests, protein by Kjeldahl method, combustion, solids (total) in milk, titratable acidity and vitamins.
Food Allergen testing:
Food allergens are naturally proteins in food or their derivatives causing abnormal immune response. Every product is first tested for potential allergen in the ingredient of the final product. Allergic components commonly found in food products include gluten, eggs, peanuts, nuts, soybeans and milk. Visible labels with warning about the potential allergic contents should be printed on packaging. Food related allergies are something that stays life long. So, it is important for food manufacturers to conduct regular tests for potential allergens that may contaminate their products.
Sensory Testing:
The identification of a food product by human senses (sight, smell, touch, hearing and taste) is used for evaluating consumer products. Special taste assessors are appointed to test the taste of the finished food product in industries. This can be seen through:
- Sight- for determining color of a food product
- Smell-for detecting presence of rancidity in food
- Taste-for testing flavor of a food product
- Touch-for checking the texture of any food commodity
- Hearing- e.g. Crunchiness of potato chips
Under the EIA Export Act for Agricultural and Processed Food Products, Government of India has founded a common authority that approves any food item before exporting outside India. Shipments of products such as basmati rice and groundnuts get contaminated with aflatoxins due to poor storage, poor transportation conditions, unhygienic conditions and limited pack houses.
- The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) performs all the duties to ensure that no unreliable food product is exported to any other country from India. It also checks for scheduled products including meat and poultry products, dairy products, bakery products, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, cereal products, nuts, floriculture products, medicinal plants etc.
- It has been advised by the APEDA that all the exporters registered under it should get a Health certificate issued for export of their food products.
- - Health certificate (issued by EIC/EIA) is a single sheet document, duly signed and dated.
- - Original health certificate is required during custom clearance proceedings at the destination place.
- - Any consignment with a photocopy or fax copy of the original certificate will not clear custom formalities without presenting the original copy of the certificate.
- In India, the Export Inspection Council (EIC) is the competent authority recognised by the European Commission to verify and certify Fishery and Aquaculture products. For shipping of food products a shipping bill/bill of exports has to be issued by the Custom Authority.
Some of the challenges relevant in Food Industry include
1. Regulatory Requirements going Stringent
Regulatory part is the heart of the Food industry to ensure food being delivered is safe, legal. Maintaining food regulatory practices allow importers and exporters manage risk associated with everyday procedures. Regulations to ensure Finished Goods used only approved additives for example :Improvers, emulsifying agents-stabilising agents single or in combination, acidity regulators . Addition of all these should be as Approved GMP List .
Aspects involved in food regulatory landscape include:
- Good manufacturing practices and plant hygiene prerequisite programs
- Hazard Analysis critical control points
- FSMA
- Food labeling
- Food Defense
2.Supply chain - supply of resources
With globalisation, the supply chain must be carefully monitored to ensure imports meet food safety regulations and are free from tampering. To get resources from approved vendors which have specifications similar to the existing product .There are also issues due to seasonal variation in crop leading to changes in product, competition amongst units to buy raw material, non-availability of raw material, poor quality of raw material .
3.Expensive raw ingredients :Rising prices of flour (maida), the major ingredient, and other raw materials oils, fats, eggs etc.
4.The price-sensitivity of the market
5.Lack of Brand Goodwill : Another marketing problem which the units have reported to be facing is the lack of brand goodwill. It implies that their product brand has not received much public acceptance. It reveals that 52 per cent of food processing industries as a whole are facing this problem.
6. Inadequate Publicity through Mass Media Mass media exposure is an essential ingredient for the smooth growth of an industry. It helps entrepreneurs to plan their activities in accordance with market trends, introduce goods to suit consumers' tastes and get consumers informed of their product through advertising.
To overcome the challenge of rising production costs, many national and international companies have come forward with solutions to reduce the production costs by offering on-site trial demonstrations, which would reduce the percentage of gluten, fat, eggs and oil used in the recipe.
Above all these it should be Quality over Quantity always. Quality of product and time by delivery of the product to customers is the key factor to run continuously in any food industry.
(The author is food safety and quality professional. She can be reached at norinafernz1004@gmail.com)
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