Background Image
Table of Contents Table of Contents
Previous Page  7 / 42 Next Page
Information
Show Menu
Previous Page 7 / 42 Next Page
Page Background

7

September 27–30, 2015

|

 Westin Bonaventure Hotel

|

 Los Angeles, California

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

Analytical Methods to Verify Food Safety and Integrity:

Needs and Challenges

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2015

Richard H. Stadler,

Ph.D.,

NQAC Group Expert

, Nestec SA, Nestlé Vevey, Switzerland

Today, in general, the food that we

consume is considered safer than ever,

and a clearly non-negotiable requirement

that all food business operators must

adhere to, independent of their size or

scale of manufacture, is the production

and marketing of safe food. However, we

still face major challenges in food safety,

and are frequently confronted with food

safety scares and crises, increasingly

impacting food chains at a global scale.

Food safety and integrity is not only

“designed in” during the manufacture

of food. All individual steps across the

value chain in the farm-to-fork continuum

need attention, specifically upstream at

the agricultural level to the farm. Here,

we face a multitude of challenges,

starting with the need of rapid and fit-

for-purpose detection methods that will

allow control and verification of safety

procedures. From a microbiological

perspective, next-generation DNA

sequencing tools to identify pathogens

by complete genome sequencing is now

being applied as part of the food safety

microbiologist toolkit. Rapid detection

methods, based on ELISA and Polymerase

Chain Reaction (PCR) technology are

now widely available, alleviating the

prolonged culturing of microorganisms

and providing a response in real-time.

Similar technological advances are also

visible in the chemical testing arena; in

the case of chemical contaminants and

adulterants the substances are not always

known upfront. The analytical techniques

and approaches used must encompass

both targeted (e.g. PCR) and non-targeted

methods (e.g. FT-IR, NMR), keeping pace

with continuously evolving fraudulent

practices.

Having developed an appropriately

sensitive and performant analytical

method is a first step; the next (and by far

more challenging) is to get agreement

on the use of a common method, i.e.

standardization and alignment across all

stakeholders. Multiple examples can be

highlighted that illustrate current gaps

and weaknesses, where issues of non-

compliance and/or food destruction may

have been avoided.

In this context, the key priorities from a

methods requirement point of view can be

summarized as follows:

Understand the vulnerabilities of raw

materials to economic adulteration and

food safety risks, e.g. establish a risk

based strategy for control

Standardization and harmonization

of untargeted methods to detect

contaminants and adulterants

Ensuring fit for purpose and globally

aligned methods to support regulatory

compliance (example SPIFAN program

and initiatives)

Rapid and cost effective methods for

food safety and fraud detection

Common platforms (recognized at global

level) and tools for sharing information

Addressing these priorities at a global

level will contribute to a safer food

supply and lead to a lower risk of non-

compliance. Where currently work is

being done, this needs to be accelerated,

through for example partnerships in

funding value added scientific programs,

aimed towards strengthening food safety,

compliance and integrity across the whole

value chain.

ABOUT DR. STADLER

Richard H. Stadler, Ph.D. attained a Ph.D. in

1989 from the University of Munich in Germany

(pharmaceutical faculty). After a 2 year post doc

at the same University, he joined the Chemical

Toxicology Group at the Nestlé Research Centre

(NRC) in Lausanne in 1992. In 1996, he transfered

to the Nestlé Quality Assurance Centre (NQAC)

in Singapore as Senior Quality Technologist.

Stadler returned to the NRC in 1998 to Head the

Biomarkers and Contaminants Group. In 2004,

he was appointed Head of Quality Manage-

ment of the Product Technology Centre in Orbe,

Switzerland. Stadler has published more than

100 peer reviewed papers and book chapters,

and on the editorial board of several scientific

journals. Stadler is currently in Corporate Quality

Management supporting Operations in Chemical

Food Safety.