Food Fraud Advisors

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Our Services
  • Tools, Templates and Training
  • Learn about food fraud
  • Report a food crime
  • News
You are here: Home / Vulnerability Assessment Tools / Raw Materials Assessment Information

27th September 2015 by foodfraudadvisors

Raw Materials Assessment Information

Direct Sourcing

Answer ‘yes’ in the Vulnerability Assessment Helper if this raw material or ingredient is purchased by your company directly from the manufacturer or grower.  Answer ‘no’ if it is purchased from a distributor or importer, wholesaler or retailer.

Form of Ingredient

Answer ‘yes’ in the Vulnerability Assessment Helper if this raw material or ingredient is purchased by your company in individual pieces which can be visually identified as such.  Examples include chickpeas, whole peppers, chicken wings, bananas, frozen berries, rolled oats, coffee beans, whole cloves.  If this ingredient is purchased as a powder, liquid, mince, paste, pre-mix, slurry or blend then answer ‘no’.

Purchasing Specification

Answer ‘yes’ in the Vulnerability Assessment Helper if there is a formal specification for the raw material or ingredient.  This should be separate from any supplier invoice, certificate of analysis or purchasing contract.  Although it is common to base a purchasing specification on information provided by a supplier, a proper purchasing specification should be created ‘in-house’ and should work as a stand-alone description of the raw material or ingredient that could be used when purchasing it from any source.  Click here to read more about purchasing specifications.

Inspection and testing

Inspection means: does a designated person formally receive the shipment of this raw material or ingredient into your facility by

  1. checking that it is in good condition, undamaged and complete,
  2. checking that it is accompanied by proper paperwork, such as a certificate of analysis and
  3. does that person record the details of the incoming material including the batch number and
  4. is there a documented process for what to do if the shipment does not meet expectations?

Testing means: does a designated person take a sample of the shipment when it is received and perform physical, chemical and/or sensory tests to check that it meets criteria defined in the raw material specification?  If you do not have a raw material specification answer ‘no’ for testing.

Trading properties

Raw materials traded on specific properties are those for which the price paid for this raw material is based upon the content of water, dairy fat, nitrogen (protein), cocoa solids or some other key component. Answer ‘yes’ here if

  • the price your business pays is dependent on a specific property of this raw material or
  • if any of your suppliers’ suppliers price this material according to a specific property, even if your business pays a flat rate.

If you are unsure, speak to your purchasing officer.

Special criteria

Answer ‘yes’ here if there are special criteria for this raw material or ingredient such as halal, organic,non-GMO, grass-fed, free-range or if there is a specific country of origin or grade of produce required for this material.

Micro Ingredient

Answer ‘yes’ here if this ingredient is used in very small quantities and/or is present in the finished product at very small quantities.  If the limit of 1% is not useful for your product type, then choose more appropriate limit and amend the column heading.

The answer you provide for “Micro Ingredient” does not affect the calculated likelihood of adulteration or substitution for an individual ingredient or raw material; any ingredient can be vulnerable, no matter how small the amount used in a food product.  The answer to the Micro Ingredient question is used when combining the results from all ingredients to calculate the overall vulnerability of the finished product.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email

Filed Under: Vulnerability Assessment Tools

MORE FROM FOOD FRAUD ADVISORS

What is a food fraud team? (and what to do if you can’t get one)

A food fraud prevention team is a group of employees in a food business that is responsible for creating, implementing … [Read More...]

Food Fraud Databases Compared

Updated 30 April 2025 A food fraud database is a collection of information about food fraud incidents and food fraud … [Read More...]

What to do About Food Fraud (USA)

I was talking to a new client the other day.  They are based in the United States and had discovered their competitors' … [Read More...]

Paprika, Chilli Powder and Sudan Dye Contamination

Can paprika and chilli powder be “too red”? This post was originally published in The Rotten Apple … [Read More...]

Is Food Fraud to Blame for the Cinnamon-apple Recall (Video)

Our Principal, Karen Constable, explains how high levels of lead may have got into applesauce (video audiogram). For … [Read More...]

follow

  • View foodfraudadvice’s profile on Facebook
  • View karenconstable4’s profile on Twitter
  • LinkedIn

© Copyright 2015 - 2025 Food Fraud Advisors · All Rights Reserved · Privacy Policy · Return and Refund Policy