A Quickly Shifting Planet

Importing foods and ingredients from abroad is, to this country, as old as the discovery of the New World itself. But particularly since the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, followed by a slew of tainted foods and products from other nations, importers have had to adapt to a rapidly changing and ever more challenging landscape.

In March 2007, a wave of pet deaths due to kidney failure shook the nation. The culprit? Cat and dog food made with melamine-tainted wheat gluten imported from China, which might have been deliberately added to fake higher protein levels. FDA investigated, and nearly 100 brands of pet food made with the ingredient were recalled.

Just two months later, the lethal chemical diethylene glycol, used in antifreeze and brake fluid, was found in toothpaste sold in the Dominican Republic and Panama. Chinese-made toothpaste containing the chemical was subsequently banned in North and South America and Asia. Subsequently, other products from China were banned or turned away by FDA, including drug-laced frozen eel and monkfish that turned out to be toxic puffer fish. Of the 447 products recalled last year by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Bethesda, MD, 298 were manufactured in China.

If China seems like the evil empire of potentially hazardous exports, it’s true that the emerging world power consistently has topped the list of countries whose products were refused by the FDA. But that list includes many countries, including Mexico and Canada, that export far more food products to the United States.

The once-innocuous “Made in (insert name of country)” label that identifies imported, often inexpensive, goods has, for many Americans, become a harbinger of danger. What effects have consumers’ perceptions had on American companies that legitimately import ingredients to meet U.S. demand for everything from tamarind and crabmeat to dried mushrooms and organic lemon verbena?

NAVIGATING THE STORMS

Today, U.S. customers often accompany importers on visits to farms and processing plants in other countries, as trust in relationship-building has taken on new importance. Third-party audits have become essential. The ability to trace foods to the point of origin also has become critical, as have systems for quality assurance and food safety.