Food Adulteration: History of Food Safety Laws and What It Means Today

As noted, 21 U.S.C. § 342 is comprehensive. Food fraud features prominently. The statute prohibits the undeclared omission or abstraction of any valuable constituent. Recall the embalmed meat scandal of the early 1900s: One manufacturing practice involved extracting all the nutritional components from the beef and selling it as beef extract. After the nutrients were extracted, the pulp was treated with chemical preservatives, canned, labeled as roast beef, and shipped to unwitting soldiers. Of course, we have come a long way since 1900. Today, Americans enjoy the safest and most plentiful food in the world. Yet, acts of food fraud still abound.

As the food industry continues to globalize, food fraud will likely become more widespread. This is due to lack of oversight in other nations as well as diminishing resources. Consequently, oversight of suppliers will become both increasingly important and difficult. Given the intrinsic difficulties associated with detecting food fraud, and the substantial losses that companies and consumers suffer because of it, it will be increasingly important for companies to address the threat directly and unilaterally.

It may be that future technologies will effectively eradicate foodborne pathogens and better prevent contamination that, today, would otherwise render food adulterated. However, it is less likely that technology will be able to eradicate food fraud because doing so would require technology capable of outsmarting human beings.

Consequently, companies should develop and implement comprehensive multi-faceted strategies that incorporate testing, auditing, and oversight of suppliers, including certification by trustworthy organizations. Already, genetic testing, where applicable to prevent food fraud, is both economical and effective. Other testing methodologies are effective in identifying food fraud in situations where DNA testing is not feasible.

Employing a comprehensive and proactive approach to prevent all types of adulteration will help to minimize the risk to food businesses and their customers. Put another way, sometimes it is better to use 1,200 words to describe something, even if others use only 17.

Chappelle is a food industry lawyer and consultant at Food Industry Counsel, LLC. Reach him at [email protected]. Stevens, also a food industry attorney, is a founding member of Food Industry Counsel, LLC. Reach him at [email protected].