FoodChain ID, a market-leading provider of technology-enabled food safety, quality, and sustainability solutions, has launched a Bioengineered (BE) Compliance Service to assist food manufacturers in meeting the USDA’s National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard’s upcoming deadline.
The past decade has seen increasing consumer concern regarding the foods they eat. Following in the footsteps of states like Vermont, the Federal Government has now taken a more assertive approach to meeting public outcry for greater transparency.
In 2016, Congress amended the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 with the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Law. It directed the USDA to establish a standard requiring food manufacturers, importers, and individual retailers to ensure bioengineered foods are appropriately disclosed.
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Dubbed the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard [NBFDS] it has a mandatory compliance date of Jan. 1, 2022, which is less than a year away. The 13 currently listed foods at high risk to be bioengineered can be translated into thousands of ingredients and products sourced from numerous global suppliers. Hence, detectability becomes a critical element of determining compliance.
Heather Secrist, senior vice president and managing director of the Americas at FoodChain ID, said, “The standard is complex and an adequate interpretation of it is a challenging task. As such, companies have the daunting task of understanding which ingredients are a BE risk, reviewing them against the standard, and determining which elements apply to their formulation. Companies must then determine whether their products are required to make a BE disclosure and how best to do so.”
FoodChain ID has found that many companies do not have the internal technical expertise, resources, or time required to do this – particularly in light of the supply chain disruptions caused by the global pandemic. Companies have the opportunity to outsource this effort to an expert, who can help with assessment, documentation, and determining if disclosure Is necessary, or the appropriate compliance pathway to avoid disclosure.
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FoodChain ID’s BE compliance service identifies products containing BE ingredients, offers pathways to achieve compliance, and provides recordkeeping and supply chain management using Foodchain ID’s SupplyTrak® compliance database.
SupplyTrak is a cloud-based multi-assessment compliance database that maps customer’s supply chains, shares data between programs (Non-GMO Project Verification/USDA Organic/BE Compliance). It enables clients to manage, track and comply with them all efficiently. It also effectively reduces the time and complexity of the BE evaluation and yearly program renewals.
If disclosure is required, FoodChain ID will recommend appropriate disclosure per the requirements of the NBFDS. If a client prefers, FoodChain’s advisory services offers options and perspectives on how to avoid using bioengineered substances.
“Of the many lessons learned by our company in dealing with the global food supply chain, one of the most critical, is that leaner teams mean a renewed focus on operational effectiveness,” said Secrist. “Our BE Compliance service is a crucial tool that food manufacturers and brand owners can leverage to quickly and efficiently meet the new NBFDS deadlines.”
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