Food and beverage manufacturers must conduct a food fraud vulnerability assessment and put appropriate control measures in place to reduce its risks, according to a guidance document published by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI).
“The vision is that, like the introduction of food defense into the guidance document a few years ago, the mitigation of food fraud and the potential impact on consumers’ health becomes an integral part of a company’s food safety management system,” the report said.
Eventually, a company’s food fraud prevention plan will be evaluated during a food-safety certification audit conducted under the GFSI.
“The auditor will review the documentation related to the vulnerability assessment process and confirm that a comprehensive control plan … has been developed and implemented,” the report said.
The GFSI emphasized an auditor will not be expected to detect fraud or affirm that an antifraud program is capable of preventing fraud.
A food fraud vulnerability assessment will require that a company have a documented food fraud vulnerability assessment in place to identify potential vulnerability and prioritize food fraud vulnerability control measures, according to the report. A control plan must specify the control measures the organization has implemented to minimize public health risk from the identified food fraud vulnerabilities.
