FCC Expert Viewpoint International Importance of the Food Chemicals Codex

by Carlos Celestino Counsel, USP

From FCC e-Newsletter (Winter 2009, Vol. 1, Issue 3)

It is becoming increasingly clear that today's global food market requires increased vigilance regarding food ingredients, food manufacturing processes, and food suppliers to ensure that safe food products are reaching the consumer. Likewise, consumers are increasingly more astute and wary about the food they buy and commonly scrutinize product labels and ingredient lists as if to reject the notion that food is safe simply because it is readily available on the grocery store shelf. Recent events in China concerning the intentional adulteration of pet food and infant formula illustrate the need for industry, government, and consumers to have access to quality standards that can effectively be used to test the identity, strength, and purity of food ingredients. The Food Chemicals Codex (FCC) is a vital resource for the food industry offered by the United States Pharmacopeial (USP) Convention that provides quality standards, which can be used nationally and internationally to help achieve and maintain food safety. The FCC promotes uniformity of quality and provides added assurance of safety for food ingredients.

The international acceptance of harmonized food standards, whether for the purposes of easing product entry into importing countries, avoiding risks of noncompliance, recall and adverse publicity, or fostering uniformity in the global food safety net, is a laudable goal. True harmonization will require assimilation of the food standards of the FCC with its compendial counterparts in Europe, Britain, Japan, and elsewhere. This process will not occur overnight, but it is achievable if supported by the international food industry. True harmonization will be a gradual process among the compendial standards-setting bodies that will be tasked with distinguishing the acceptable from the antiquated or unworkable, and resolving the many differences in between. The FCC's contribution to this process will be its steady focus on the quality of food ingredients, which when added to the safety assessment conducted by other standards-setting bodies will result in the best harmonized food ingredient standards.

As the international food industry struggles with the challenges inherent in preventing the next instance of intentional and criminal adulteration of food, adherence to the quality standards of the FCC can serve as a proactive line of defense against such conduct. There are various ways by which the FCC can help facilitate a worldwide safe food market. First, the international food industry can incorporate the analytical methods and assays contained in the FCC's food ingredient monographs to arrive at a conclusive determination as to the identity of a substance in instances where no other methods or assays are available within their region of the world. Rather than inventing new analytical methods to determine the identity and purity of a particular food ingredient under review, other food standards-setting bodies are free to use any of the methods developed for that ingredient that are contained in the FCC. Second, FCC Reference Materials are available or can be developed to assist the international food industry in conducting tests and assays to verify the identity, strength, and purity of food ingredients. Regardless of the source of food ingredients, FCC Reference Materials provide verification that the food ingredient listed on a Certificate of Analysis is indeed that ingredient because it meets the required testing and assay criteria. Third, it behooves the international food industry to encourage the harmonization of food standards between the FCC and the various compendia in other parts of the world to facilitate the ease of import, enforce uniform composition of food ingredients, curtail the risk of nonconforming food substances, and ensure consistency of testing methodologies and analytical approaches. The FCC is moving to become a vital player in the international food industry by advancing global harmonization efforts involving food quality standards. Fourth, the majority of the standards contained in the FCC are for food ingredients that are legally approved for use in the United States. However, some of the FCC standards are for food ingredients that have been approved in and are legally marketed in countries other than the United States. The FCC offers the opportunity for the international food industry to develop quality standards for food ingredients that are approved in a particular region of the world and, by doing so, helps foster innovation and new technologies currently being used in international food markets.

Based on the above, it appears evident that the FCC has an important role to play in the development of international food standards. To this end, the international importance and recognition of the FCC will be illustrated in future issues of this newsletter. Future issues will also discuss the feasibility of harmonization between the FCC and other standards such as the Codex Alimentarius, and evaluate the capability of the FCC to include standards for food ingredients legally marketed outside the United States.