Analytical Challenges and Way Forward for Strengthening ...face-cii.in/.../presentations/CII-Ranjan.pdf · Analytical Challenges and Way Forward for Strengthening Food Safety Value

Analytical Challenges and Way Forward

for Strengthening Food Safety Value Chain

Ranjan Mitra, PhD

President- Elect, India Section of AOAC INTERNATIONAL

The Food Supply Chain remains the most complex industrial supply

chain.

Image: CKMNT; adapted from Centres for

Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USA

• Numerous possible routes

for introduction and trans-

mission of foodborne

hazard.

• The quality of food is

impaired by various

agrochemicals, veterinary

drug residues, adulterants,

microbial contaminants, and

environmental factors.

• Coordination of intervention

and control strategies.

Complexity of the International Agro-Food Trade Network and Its

Impact on Food Safety - Ercsey-Ravasz M, et. al. (2012). PLoS ONE 7(5):

e37810.

Backbone of the International Agro-Food

Trade Network

• Food trade is growing faster than the

food production.

• Food ingredients flow at an increasing

rate from countries to countries.

Food Fraud

Substitution

Concealment

Mislabeling

Grey Market Production/

Theft/ Diversion

Unapproved Enhancements

Dilution

Counterfeiting

Sunflower oil partially

substituted with mineral oil.

Harmful food

coloring

applied to fresh

fruit to cover

defects.

Expiry,

provenance

(unsafe origin).

Sale of excess

unreported product.

Melamine added to

enhance protein

value.

Copies of popular

foods - not

produced with

acceptable safety

assurances.

Olive oil

diluted with

potentially

toxic tea

tree oil.

Veterinary Drugs

Sudan Dyes

Allergens

MycotoxinsMelamine

PAHs

Perfluorinated

compounds

Food Contact

Materials

Pesticides

Credits to Dr. Paul Young, Waters

The Analytical

Strategy

More

Testing??

Measuring

Absolute, Chasing

Zero??

SPECIFIC

Applies the results of the vulnerability assessments

Adapts testing to type of fraud

MEASURABLE

Provides clear indicators of Food Fraud

Takes into account associated level of risk

ASSIGNABLE

Makes clears who is responsible and where testing should be carried out

REALISTIC

Takes into account available resources and testing procedures

TRACEABLE

Uses results to spot trends and avoid future incidents

Credits to Michele Lees, Eurofins

A Risk-based Strategy for Controlling Chemical Contaminants as

Relevant Hazards in Food Ingredients - Paul R. Hanlon, et. al. Food

Protection Trends, March 2015, Vol 35, No. 2, p.89–100

• Determination of overall risk using the product of probability and severity.

• The overall risk to a food ingredient from a chemical contaminant is the product

of the probability of that contaminant being present and the severity of toxicity

that contaminant would produce if it were to be present at a particular

concentration.

Probability of Contaminant in Commodity Category

Sev

erit

y o

f

Toxic

ity

Probable (4) Reasonably Probable (3) Potential (2) Remote (1)

Severe (4) High Medium Medium Low

High (3) Medium Medium Medium Low

Medium (2) Medium Medium Low Low

Low (1) Low Low Low Low

ADULTERANT ANALYTICAL SOLUTION

Sudan dyes in spices Chromatography

Melamine in milk powder Chromatography

Horsemeat in beef PCR

Gelatine in chicken breast Proteomics

Misdescription of fish species PCR, DNA bar coding

Conventional food/organic food HPLC, stable isotopes, etc

Seed oils in olive oil Chromatography

Cow's milk added to sheep's milk Electrophoresis

Adulteration of fruit juices Chromatography, stable isotopes, SNIF-NMR

Adulteration of wine NMR, stable isotopes

FEW EXAMPLES….

• Global harmonization of standards and methods

• Use of dispute resolution methods

• Use of universally recognized lab quality systems/proficiency

• Development of Fitness-for-purpose analytical methods for

emerging food safety issues

• A preventive approach based on risk rather than reactive approach

(end-product inspection and testing)

ANALYTICAL CHALLENGES: NEED FOR….

India Section of AOAC INTERNATIONAL keen to play a

significant role in resolving these analytical challenges.

AOAC INTERNATIONAL is a globally recognized,

independent, third party, not-for-profit association and

voluntary consensus based standards developing

organization founded in 1884.

To attain the vision of “worldwide confidence in analytical results,”

AOAC serves it’s stakeholders by providing the tools and processes

necessary to collaborate and through voluntary consensus building,

develop fit‐for‐purpose methods and services for ensuring quality

measurements.

Since its inception in 2011 India Section of AOAC

INTERNATIONAL has been a conduit between

AOAC INTERNATIONAL and the Indian

Analytical Community.

MAJOR ACHEIVEMENTS

• Organized workshops on pesticide residue analysis, food safety

and quality testing, heavy metal analysis in complex food

matrices, etc involving national & international experts.

• Organized Advanced Food Safety Analytics Master Class

Program in partnership with CII-FACE and VIMTA Labs

• Organized free Webinars on various analytical topics

• Significant progress in Vitamin B12 Collaborative Study as part

of applying the global methods (e.g. AOAC methods) for priority

nutrients to Indian foods/food product matrices of Infant Formula

and Adult Nutritionals

• Publications: A special section comprising 10 research papers

based on 2015 conference is in the process of publication in J

AOAC Int.

FUTURE ROADMAPNeed Based Analytical Method Development

• Development of need based analytical methods for the compliance

of regulatory bodies like FSSAI, BIS, EIC, APEDA, etc.

• Stakeholders can propose the study title and AOAC India can

initiate SLV/Collaborative studies to finally produce AOAC official

methods.

Need Based Expert Review Panels

• AOAC India can play a significant role in resolving method non-

compliance issues

• Expert review panels can be set up to review the potential

candidate methods & chose the ideal one fit-for-purpose

• Steps can be initiated to improve the SOPs by conducting

appropriate experiments in reference labs in consultation with

national/ international experts

NAC

• National

Problems

• Compliance

Requirements

• Help in setting

up the goals.

• Review Progress

IAC

• Global Compliance

& Sharing Best

Practices

• Help in promoting

the endeavors to

the AOAC Int.

• Review & facilitate

progress

Current Working Groups:

I: Analysis of food-borne contaminants (heavy metals, process contaminants, etc.)

II: Analysis of non-food-borne contaminants (pesticides, veterinary drugs, etc.)

III: Tolerances for the Nutrition Declaration on Foods and Food Supplements

IV: Microbiological methods

Working

group

Volunteers are the lifeblood of AOAC INTERNATIONAL and its Sections.

The chemists are a strange class of

mortals, impelled by an almost insane

impulse to seek their pleasures amid

smoke and vapor, soot and flame,

poisons and poverty; yet among all

these evils I seem to live so sweetly

that may I die if I were to change

places with the Persian king.

Johann Joachim Becher, 1635 to 1682

Food Safety

Quality Assurance

Regulatory Affairs

Analytical

Medical Safety

GMP Manufacturing

Managing Issues with a Cross-

Functional Team

Thank You