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FOOD
DEFENSE
Reduce your risk with the Foreign Trade Service sampling and inspection.
Product tampering, illegal pesticide use, toxins, bioterrorism,
misbranding and fraud, hazardous foreign matter, insects and rodent
pests all endanger the safety and quality of your imported foods.
Don’t allow your product or processing facility to become
contaminated. Don’t risk a recall that can damage your company
and brand reputation. Make an FTS inspection part of your food
defense plan.
PROCUREMENT QUALITY CONTROL
More and more buyers are outsourcing their procurement quality function to FTS. Many importers and food processors are making the FTS Certificate of Analysis a requirement of their contracts. FTS reduces your risk that your just-in-time inventory will be rejected by quality control when it arrives at the plant. Inspections conducted overseas prior to shipment are not a reliable defense against fraud, tampering, pilfering, product switching, contamination, bioterrorism, shipping damage and infestation. Many things can go wrong during shipment that can seriously damage the product. FTS can accommodate your inspection needs quickly with our nationwide staff of professional inspectors and samplers.
LABORATORY SERVICES
By making the FTS Certificate a requirement of your next contract, you will assure all parties of a fair, objective and independent evaluation of quality. Our staff understands that a food processing facility needs a safe and on time supply of ingredients. FTS Laboratories and our associate labs provide a full range of testing services that includes analytical chemistry and food microbiology. We also specialize in light filth analysis, insect identification and rodent hair identification. FTS inspectors examine warehouses for sanitation, insect and rodent infestation, and inspect bulk foods for infestation and foreign matter. As consumers and food processors insist upon a safer and purer food supply, tests for pesticide residues, aflatoxin, ochratoxin, E. coli, Salmonella, purity and microscopic filth, have never been in greater demand.
SAMPLING, INSPECTION AND GRADING
Our expertise in inspection and grading is unsurpassed. Since we began more than 60 years ago, FTS has collected and analyzed over one million samples of imported foods. FTS inspectors examine warehouses for sanitation, insect and rodent infestation, and we inspect bulk foods for infestation and foreign matter. Our inspectors conduct inventory audits and collateral surveys. We collect samples of bulk foods from railcars, bulk liquids from tank farms and drums, imported foods from containers at port terminals, seafood and meat in freezer warehouses. We provide grading and testing services for every type of food from soup to nuts!
CARGO CONTROL AND WEIGHING
FTS supervises the loading and unloading of containers. We certify weights, shipping condition and collect representative samples. Our expeditors control shipments; verify counts, marks and seals, and document storage temperature and humidity. Our inspectors conduct pre-shipment and damaged cargo surveys. FTS also repairs damaged cargo: Damaged cases, bags, cartons, and drums can be repaired, repacked, segregated or remarked.
FDA DETENTIONS
FTS has been sampling products detained by FDA since the inception of the Private Laboratory program. We now service every Port of Entry into the United States with a network of more than 70 samplers and inspectors. Our sampling service is provided for importers of foods and medical devices as well as for private laboratories. FDA has very specific rules and criteria for sample collection, documentation and chain of custody. Our team of trained and experienced personnel ensures that detention samples will be properly collected, documented and transported for a private laboratory analysis.
CLAIMS AND INVESTIGATIONS
The Foreign Trade Service team includes a network of retired law enforcement officers. These highly skilled investigators are experts in forensic sampling and FDA detentions. FTS inspectors and food scientists investigate product tampering, fraud, container pilfering, quality disputes and consumer complaints. Insurance claims are investigated by commodity experts. FTS conducts audits and collateral inspections. Expert testimony can minimize your loss and protect your brand name reputation. FTS has also been a very effective mediator in resolving quality disputes. We are the problem solvers. |
