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Asia-Pacific Participates in Special Panel at IFT's 2007 Annual
Meeting
August 10, 2007
As published
on www.ift.org 2007>Food Expo Roundup
Global
Ingredient Safety Session
Recent media and consumer attention on outbreaks of foodborne
illness due to adulterated ingredients spurred a late-breaking
session at IFT this year on global ingredient safety. A panel
of distinguished academic, government, and industry leaders
opened discussion on the impact of recent adulterated imports,
and what the response by government and industry could or
should be.
The panel included
Mark Nelson, director of regulatory affairs for Nestle USA,
Fred Meyer, managing director of RQA Asia-Pacific, Ram Chaudham,
co-founder of Fortitech, John Surak, principal of Surak &
Associates, Frank Busta, director of the National Center for
Food Protection and a former IFT President, and Bob Gravani,
professor of food science at Cornell.
In introductory
remarks, the panel all maintained that the issue, though driven
by recent problems with Chinese ingredients, is not a problem
with China alone but stems from working in an increasingly
complex global environment. Despite the complexity, global
sourcing is a must, said Fred Meyer. Professor Gravani remarked
that consumers know no seasonality, making sourcing ingredients
from all over the world a necessity. Meyer also noted that
with the opportunity of great growth in certain markets comes
great risk, and the challenge is managing that risk. He and
others on the panel suggested that more attention should be
paid to the supplier relationship, including the differing
technical, cultural, and language aspects. Frank Busta noted
the vulnerability of the food system to intentional contamination,
which is highly unpredictable and asymmetrical.
Many consumers
wonder why more inspections won't simply solve the problem.
But, "you can't inspect everything," said John Surak.
Limited resources mitigate against this. "If everything
goes to a lab, nothing ends up on a plate."
What has been learned
from the recent outbreaks? To dig deeper into the supply chain,
panelists said. It is no longer enough for companies to go
back just one source, they may need to go back to the source's
source, said Meyer. What's more, industry cannot be complacent
and simply trust their supplier to do the necessary quality
assurance. Mark Nelson noted that more evaluation is needed,
and said recent events remind us of and emphasize the fact
that industry must ramp up safety and q/a programs to respond.
Companies, some on the panel said, are ultimately responsible
for the safety of their products.
Ram Chaudhari said
there can be too many middle men, and it would help to cut
down on the distance between supplier and manufacturer, and
also noted the importance of applying audit programs to specific
cases.
Busta, meanwhile,
emphasized the opportunity for trade association and select
supplier programs to enhance supplier credibility and, where
necessary, education.
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New
VP for RQA's Product Dynamic's Division
July 20,
2007
We are
pleased to announce that Pamela Vaillancourt has joined
Product Dynamics, a Division of RQA, Inc. as Vice-President,
Business Development. Her areas of responsibility will
include: Consumer Research, Sensory Evaluation, Product
Formulation and Development, in addition to other innovative
and custom services. Pamela will be working with our clients
to incorporate these services into their business from
concept to commercialization. You’ll find Pam to
be an experienced resource, who will make your goals her
top priority, and hopefully make your job easier.
Pamela
joins Product Dynamics with over eleven years of experience
in sales and service within the food industry and over
twenty years of experience in food manufacturing and food
service. She is also well versed in regulatory affairs
and quality assurance. She is currently a member of the
Board of Directors for the Institute of Food Technologists
(IFT) and has recently been elected by her peers to serve
a 3-year term on the IFT Nominations and Elections Committee.
She is an active member of the Research Chefs Association,
American Candy Technologists, and the American Society
of Cereal Chemists.
Her degrees
include a Bachelor of Science in Food Science and Technology
from Washington State University and a Master of Science
in Food Science from the University of Washington. She
has also had culinary courses from the Culinary Institute
in St. Helena, California and multiple business and marketing
courses.
Pamela
will work with Judy Lindsey, VP and General Manager, and
Cynthia Wolter, Director, Research, who along with the
entire Product Dynamics team, will continue to provide
you with professional and timely services. Pamela is anxious
to meet you and explore means of expanding your success
through partnering with Product Dynamics. She will be in
touch with you shortly to introduce herself, share Product
Dynamics in-house capabilities, and to discuss your specific
needs and challenges.
RQA,
Inc. would like to thank you for your support. Our business
is only as successful as those of our clients and we appreciate
the opportunity to be your supplier of choice for your
third party services and needs.
Larry
Platt
President - RQA, Inc.
Pamela
can be reached at the Product Dynamics facility in Orland
Park, IL or at her office in Sacramento CA:
Pamela Vaillancourt
(708) 364-7060 x182
(206) 510-0440 cell
p.vaillancourt@rqa-inc.com
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Product
Dynamics Announces Major Expansion
Excerpts Courtesy of the Daily
Southtown Newspaper
 August
11, 2006 Orland Park, IL - Product Dynamics, a division of RQA,
Inc., recently completed a major expansion of its offices and
testing labs in the southwest suburbs of Chicago.
The expansion,
completed in June, boosted Product Dynamics' offices to 38,000
square feet, from 6,000 square feet.
"This
(expansion) allows us to expand our capabilities," said
Judy Lindsey, vice president and general manager.
The roomier
facility gives Product Dynamics more space to run consumer
tests of products, she said. "Everything we do involves
consumers interacting with product," Lindsey said.
There
is space for up to three kitchens, where food is prepared
and served to testers, all of whom are regular folks living
in the south and southwest suburbs.
For more
information visit: www.productdynamicsdivision.com
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