Regulatory Focus

In comments during the 38th annual Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association Fall Symposium, president Hamed Faridi (McCormick & Co.) highlighted recent challenges facing the industry (bold emphasis ours):

"As individual companies we trade on our reputations. This is no less true for industry as a whole. Recently we have seen new challenges to the integrity of the supply chain and a wider public debate of the issue of globalization of the food supply. The explosion of consumer concern over the safety of imported pet food, toothpaste and toys is instructive. As the providers of key ingredients to some of America’s biggest consumer industries, our customers rely on us to have a secure supply chain that delivers products which meet customer specifications every single time. We must know our supply chain to ensure we maintain the confidence of our customers. New business methods and technologies could be part of the solution. Of course, the challenge is to maintain competitiveness at the same time … The speed with which import safety became an issue this year and the breadth of concern it engendered in the community are strong reminders our industry can never be complacent."

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