Download The Most Common Contamination Risks to the

The Most Common
Contamination Risks to the
Food-Supply Chain
Servicing Your Food Industry Needs
An SQF 2000 Level II Certified Company
BHS Specialty Chemical Products
Studies show that Americans are buying more fresh
United States we have 167,000 production facilities versus
foods and preparing meals at home these days, largely
254,000 foreign facilities that actually export to the U.S.
due to a down economy.1 Recent years have also seen a
So we are importing a lot of food.”
rise in “locavore” eating, displaying consumer interest
in sourcing foods locally. This may be a good thing from
the perspective of food supply-chain risk, as factors
including
simplified
ingredient
lists
and
simplified
producer-to-consumer distribution routes serve to reduce
the complexity of the supply chain overall, thereby
“In 2002, there were 5.6 million shipments to the United
States of imported food,” Kronenberg continues, “and
in 2009 there were 10.7 million. In 2011, as far as the
254,000 overseas facilities, the FDA was only able to
inspect 1,000 of these facilities.”
increasing traceability and decreasing the points of risk
Ultimately, the mounting evidence of current and
for contamination.
potential risks has led to a new focus on supply chain
But we Americans still eat more than our fair share of
convenience foods and restaurant offerings. And as the
economy improves, our busy, on-the-go lifestyles will
likely drive us to consume these foods more frequently.
Unfortunately,
convenience
and
restaurant
foods
present a far more complex supply chain, with longer
ingredient lists featuring items that are increasingly
sourced from far-flung markets. Mapping the supply
chain and tracing individual ingredients through the
labyrinth of suppliers, processors, transporters and
distributors, following them ultimately to their original
producers, can be mind-boggling.
With global sourcing comes increased risk
An excellent example of the danger here is the 2009
risk management. So what are the most common
contamination risks our food supply chain faces today?
Firstly, it may be helpful to divide contamination into
three major categories, the chemical, the physical, and
the biological:
Chemical Contaminants
The FDA considers food to be chemically contaminated
when it contains chemicals that may make it harmful to
the health of the consumer. There are many chemicals that
could potentially cause contamination of the food supply
chain. The FDA conducts monitoring programs for seven
chemicals and chemical classes commonly found in food
supplies: Acrylamide, Dioxins and PCBs, Ethyl Carbamate,
Furan, Melamine, Perchlorate and Radionuclides.
incident involving salmonella in peanut butter from
Many of these contaminations result from accidental food
Peanut Corporation of America in Blakely, Georgia. One of
contact. But there are shocking examples from foreign
the nation’s worst known outbreaks of food-borne disease
sources that indicate intentional adulteration, says
in recent years, it resulted in nine deaths and 714 cases
Kronenberg. “We have people that don’t care or don’t
of infection in 46 U.S. states.2 The company’s tainted
follow the same ethical system that we do in this country.
peanut butter was used by dozens of other manufacturers
We have very few incidents of intentional addition of
in hundreds of other products, necessitating the recall of
harmful contaminants to the food supply in the U.S.,
2100 products in 17 categories.3
and adulteration for economic benefit, such as adding
Incidents like this one emphasize the fact that, as modern
food chains become progressively more complex and
multi-tiered (a trend that will only increase as our global
economy continues to develop) potential points of risk
may increase exponentially. “From a point of view of the
risk in the United States, imported food is an ongoing
melamine to milk to make it show a higher protein level is
rare. In some other countries, they don’t share the same
values regarding the immorality of these types of acts.
In these instances, food fraud and adulteration would
be considered acceptable because of the opportunity to
financially benefit.”
issue,” says Jeff Kronenberg, Food Processing Specialist
Another
at University of Idaho’s School of Food Science. “In the
pesticide residues. The FDA monitors produce to ensure
potential
chemical
contaminant
exists
in
that residue levels remain within healthful guidelines, and
More than 90 percent of the cases of food poisoning each
maintains a list of 1,045 pesticide chemicals and acceptable
year are caused by Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella,
tolerances for each.4 Other chemicals of concern include
Clostridium
trace elements such as arsenic, lead and mercury, as well
monocytogenes,
as natural toxins including mycotoxins, toxic chemical
cereus, and Entero-pathogenic Escherichia coli. These
products created by naturally-occurring fungi that have
types of bacteria may cause violent bouts of illness for
colonized crops, both in the field and post-harvest.5
most of the population, these contaminants are not life-
Physical Contaminants
perfringens,
Vibrio
Campylobacter,
Listeria
parahaemolyticus,
Bacillus
threatening. The illness typically resolves itself within a
few days. For a small percentage of consumers, however,
These kinds of contaminants include foreign materials,
these incidents are far more serious. Infants, elderly
such as dirt, hair and excreta, as well as insect parts, eggs
people, women who are pregnant, and anyone with a
or larvae that may become mixed in with food products.
compromised immune system are especially susceptible
In many cases, these are not poisonous or harmful to
to food-borne illness. In 2011, the CDC reported that
those who consume them. Many are regulated more for
48 million illnesses, 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000
reasons of aesthetics rather than public health. However,
deaths occur every year in the U.S. as a direct result of
contamination that is distasteful (though not unhealthful)
foodborne organisms.
can be detrimental to food manufacturers when such
Inside Scoop with BHS
BHS Specialty is a full-service chemical company with a focus on food-grade products for manufacturing. The company’s oneof-a-kind emphasis on quality and safety for the food industry has fueled its continued expansion in this area.
A singular commitment to quality has lead BHS to take unprecedented steps to reduce risks within the supply chain. Our
current operation represents a self-contained system of production, storage, and distribution, which features proprietary
packaging and transportation systems.
In addition to a complete offering of food-safe plant sanitation products and food ingredients, BHS also conducts cutting-edge
scientific research to advance industry standards for food safety. It is among a small minority of manufacturers, estimated at
less than 5%, who are SQF Level 2000 Certified for food-grade ingredient manufacturing, sanitation and distribution.
substances are found by consumers. The FDA maintains an
Parasites, defined as organisms that derive nourishment
extensive catalog of commodities and foods, listing the
and protection from other living organisms known
common foreign materials that are considered to be “natural
as hosts, also fall into the category of biological
or unavoidable defects” for each commodity or food item,
contaminants. In the United States, the most common
with acceptable levels of contamination for each.6
foodborne parasites are protozoa, roundworms, and
Biological Contaminants
This type of contamination may be the single largest threat
tapeworms.7
The Greatest Risk of All
to our healthy, unadulterated food supply chains. Biological
Though bacterial infection appears to be the most
contaminants include all types of microorganisms. Of these,
common contamination risk, it’s clear that our global
bacteria represent the greatest threat to food safety.
food supply chain is subject to myriad risks at multiple
Bacteria are single-celled, living organisms that can grow
points. Compound these issues with worldwide threats
quickly at favorable temperatures. Some bacteria are
including natural disasters, climate changes, epidemics
useful, but others are infectious pathogens that present a
and agroterrorism, and it becomes obvious that our
serious threat to public health.
food supply chains are in an increasingly vulnerable
position. Contamination risks exist at every point in the supply chain from production
to transportation, to processing, to storage, manufacturing, and distribution. Because
of the staggering complexity of our modern food supply, it is virtually impossible to
police each and every risk point.
This is why the FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act, and the programs it has spawned,
are timely and crucial steps in the right direction. “The larger companies have
already implemented these food safety programs. They’ve been doing it for years,”
Kronenberg notes. “A lot of them are doing it voluntarily through Global Food Safety
Initiative. But I can name lots of companies…that are not required by their customers
to get certified through the Global Food Safety Initiative or through other third party
audit standards. And if they don’t manufacture seafood or juice, they’re [also] exempt
from HACCP. And so FSMA is going to basically tell them, ‘Sorry, folks, but you have to
implement this intensive form of food safety management and preventive controls.’”
By taking measures such as increasing the individual answerability of each entity along
the supply chain, and enforcing comprehensive, prevention-based controls across the
global supply chains, we will have more tools to protect the food supply and public
health of the future. The greatest risk of all, is sticking with the status quo.
About BHS Specialty Chemicals
BHS offers a complete spectrum of products and services to satisfy the chemical requirements of food
manufacturers and other industries. An SQF 2000 Level II Certified Company, BHS provides chemicals
approved and controlled for use in food manufacturing plants. Since 1998 the company has grown
to become a prominent member of the chemical supplier industry. To learn more, visit http://www.
BHSspecialtychemicals.com
Sources
1. Nielsen Homescan TSV, 52 weeks ending Q111
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2009
<http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/typhimurium/
update.html>
3. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2009 <http://
www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/MajorProductRecalls/
Peanut/ FDA’sInvestigation/default.htm>
4. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2005 FDA
Glossary of Pesticide Chemicals
5. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2012
<http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/
FoodContaminantsAdulteration/default.htm>
An SQF 2000 Level II Certified Company
6. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 1998 FDA Defect
Levels Handbook
BHS Specialty Chemical Products
1717 E. Fargo Ave · Nampa, ID 83687
(208) 466-8437· BHSspecialtychemicals.com
7. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2012
<http://www.foodsafety.gov/poisoning/causes/
parasites/index.html>