Dive Brief:
- The Grocery Manufacturers Association and Battelle announced Tuesday a tool for manufacturers to better prevent food fraud, EMAlert. It's a web-based platform, using live data, for manufacturers to synthesize economically motivated adulteration (EMA) vulnerability specifically in manufacturing.
- The product could be a helpful resource for meeting FSMA requirements for the preventive controls for human food rule. It could also aid in protecting brand recognition, Ashley Kubatko, a principal research scientist at Battelle, told Food Dive.
- By estimates, food fraud amounts to $49 billion lost yearly across the world, and 10% of food purchased is likely adulterated, according to a GMA news release.
Dive Insight:
EMAlert falls in line with the FDA's approach of preventive rather than reactive goals when it comes to final FSMA rules. With FSMA implementation top of mind for the industry and the GMA involved, the product will likely be an industry go-to.
"It looks at characteristic attributes of why a commodity would be attractive for food fraud," Kubatko said.
Kubatko said this is the sole product of its kind on the market that is quantitative over qualitative, pointing to its effectiveness.
"The issue with a qualitative assessment is that you might have 50 or 100 commodities that fall in the red bin but you only have enough resources to prioritize 10. How do you choose what 10?" Kubatko added.