When we think about the success of any given company, one of the first things we consider are their customers; that is, how to get their attention, how to generate interest and desire, and finally how to make them buy our product. We tend to think that the success of a company is determined almost exclusively by its sales levels.
However, another of the key elements for the prosperity and stability of a company has to do with the choice of its suppliers and the relationship it has with them. That is why it is essential to carry out an identification, investigation and comparison process between the different supplying companies in order to guarantee the right choice.
In the case of additives and ingredients suppliers, specifically, it is vitally important to identify and select the appropriate supplier company, since this may have implications ranging from the quality of the final product to the acceptance of our product in the market. In that sense, it is important not only that its ingredients have high levels of quality, but also that the supplier has a series of complementary services that strengthen a long-term relationship.
Although price plays a fundamental role in the purchase of any product, there are many other factors that may be relevant when selecting our suppliers and that are often not taken into account.
Here, we will explain 14 criteria that BTSA considers relevant when evaluating and selecting a supplier of additives and functional ingredients. In this article we will see the first seven criteria, and in the next post we will explain the following seven.
How to choose a supplier of additives or ingredients? Part 2
As we mentioned at the beginning of the article, price per unit of product is the element that many companies give more importance when purchasing an additive or ingredient (e.g. price per kg, price per liter, etc.).
It is obvious that before choosing an additive or ingredients supplier it is necessary to compare the prices of the different alternatives available. The important thing is that this comparison is always made taking into account the same criteria and avoid making a decision based on this factor only, since there are always other things to consider in addition to the price.
However, in addition to comparing the cost of the product, customers should compare the value that a certain additive or ingredient can bring to their business. As we will see below, taking into account the following criteria when selecting an ingredient supplier will have a direct impact on the customer’s business, so a correct choice will considerably increase the value of the product being purchased. We must not forget that the price is what you pay, but value is what you receive.
One of the differentiating characteristics of a good additive and ingredient is its commitment to the quality of its products. There are suppliers that invest an important part of their resources to continuous improvement processes and to certify, through external organizations, both their products and their production processes, with the aim of guaranteeing their clients the highest quality standards.
Depending on the market in which a supplier wants to sell its ingredients, it may be necessary for it or its products to have certain certifications. Otherwise, it will most likely be scrapped by potential buying companies.
It may interest you: The main certificates of the food industry
A second element to consider is the experience the supplier has about a particular product. The know-how, or expertise, refers to all that technical and/or administrative knowledge that is needed in relation to a particular type of additive or ingredient so that it can be sold and used in certain markets.
In that sense, a generalist supplier is not the same as a specialized one, since the latter’s knowledge about your product can be of great help and make a big difference, especially when the buyer company has no experience in the handling and use of this product.
The target market to which a product is aimed must also be taken into account during the selection process of an additive supplier, as there are markets that require a high level of technical and regulatory knowledge.
The more markets a supplier knows, the more likely it is to have the necessary experience to address certain issues, such as those related to the use of products, current regulations or obtaining quality certificates. In addition, some suppliers have staff dedicated exclusively to regulatory issues, so support for their customers would be even better.
Besides taking into account the product itself, its availability or its price, it is also necessary to know if the supplier is able to provide support and technical advice, or if it has complementary services that at any given time can help make decisions or solve incidents.
Some suppliers can give technical support, from their sales team to people from quality or R&D departments. This advice can be a differentiating factor between one supplier and another, especially when new products are developed and when an expert opinion is needed.
On the other hand, there are suppliers that offer laboratory services to test the products in order to find the most appropriate solution for their client.
Another factor that can determine the choice of one ingredient supplier over another is geographical proximity. This is important because many times business relationships are strengthened better and faster when there is a close relationship between the supplier and its customer. The proximity implies ease and speed in the service, avoiding international tariffs or cost overruns for the exchange rates.
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On the other hand, there are suppliers that have a wide distribution network, which allows them to reach any corner of the world even without having a subsidiary or sales office in all countries.
The level of customization that the supplier is able to offer its customers is a very important feature to assess their hiring. That the supplier offers products adapted to the specific needs of each client allows to optimize the quality of the final product, increasing the level of satisfaction for a lasting relationship.
The customization of ingredients or additives is an upward trend in the food, nutraceuticals, personal care or animal nutrition markets, so it is important to consider what possibilities our suppliers offer us in this regard.
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So far, we have seen the first seven factors to consider when assessing and selecting an additives or ingredients supplier. In the second part of this article we will see the following seven criteria that must be taken into account to make an accurate decision.
Photo credit: Toby Stodart (Unsplash)
You can rely on Chemical Cuisine while doing your grocery shopping. By referencing Chemical Cuisine while reviewing the ingredients lists (the small print typically on the back of packages) of foods and beverages you’re considering buying, you can make more informed choices to protect yourself and your family. Our hope is that eventually this database won’t be necessary because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will uphold its responsibility to protect consumers and the food industry will prioritize public health over profit. Until then, though, CSPI’s Chemical Cuisine is here to help.
Chemical Cuisine entries can be filtered by safety rating, purpose, or health concern. Entries are organized alphabetically, and you can choose a letter from A to Z in the leftmost column to see all entries beginning with that letter. You can also scroll the list on this page to see all food additives for which we have ratings.
When you select a particular ingredient, you’ll be directed to a page with more information about the research into that ingredient’s safety, associated health risks, and our reasoning for assigning a particular rating. We also provide info about what category of foods it’s commonly found in, so you can know which products to check for an ingredient you would like to avoid.
There are thousands of chemicals added to our foods. Most of these substances are safe, but there are some that everyone should strive to avoid. Other additives fall in the spectrum between “safe” and “unsafe.” There are some chemicals that only certain people with sensitivities or intolerances need to avoid, and others whose consumption everyone should reduce, like added sugars and sodium.
Making sense of the mountain of scientific evidence for all of these substances is difficult, leaving many consumers uncertain about how to adjust their shopping habits to minimize harm. CSPI publishes its Chemical Cuisine database to provide much-needed clarity.
The FDA is the federal agency responsible for ensuring that the chemicals added to our foods are safe. Unfortunately for American consumers, the FDA is failing to adequately perform this essential function, allowing the food industry to continue to add unsafe and poorly tested chemicals to our foods and beverages.
Unsafe chemicals remain in our foods long after evidence emerges linking them to harm because the FDA fails to effectively regulate additives both before and after they come to market. Case in point: The FDA determined in that the food dye Red 3 (also listed as FD&C Red 3 or Red #3) causes cancer in animals. Having banned it in cosmetics and topical medications, the agency promised to ban it from foods, as they are required to do by law. Yet more than three decades later, the FDA still allows Red 3 in our food. This ongoing failure by the FDA is emblematic of its lackluster approach to regulating food chemical safety.
To make matters worse, the food industry is legally allowed to entirely bypass the FDA approval process created by Congress for food additives. Companies can simply declare a substance to be “generally recognized as safe,” or GRAS, and begin putting it in our food without even notifying the FDA, let alone getting FDA approval. In effect, the food industry—not the FDA—decides what is safe for American consumers to eat.
The issue of FDA regulation extends beyond food additives to the approval of various medications. Generic drugs, including generic Cialis (source), must go through a rigorous FDA approval process to ensure they meet the same standards of quality, safety, and efficacy as their brand-name counterparts. However, the process for some chemicals in food, as described, is far less stringent, raising concerns about consistency in how public health is protected. Just as the FDA is responsible for evaluating the safety of medications like Cialis, there is a growing demand for them to tighten their regulations on food additives, ensuring consumer safety across the board. Both food and drug safety are essential for public health, and the FDA’s role is crucial in maintaining these standards.
With this lack of effective oversight, consumers are left to fend for themselves. To avoid unsafe food chemicals, consumers must review food ingredient labels and avoid products containing unsafe additives. This is an unreasonable burden to place on consumers, but it is the burden consumers currently bear. CSPI publishes Chemical Cuisine to ease that burden.
Even the most well-informed and diligent consumer cannot expect to always avoid every harmful food chemical. It is simply too time-consuming and burdensome to review every ingredient list of every food you buy. Plus, when you eat in restaurants, ingredient information may not be available, making it impossible to make informed choices in those settings.
We need broadscale reform to our entire food chemical regulatory system to shift the burden from consumers and back onto the FDA and the food industry,
CSPI is a leader in the fight for better food additive regulations across the United States. We petition the FDA to ban unsafe chemicals, like Red 3 and titanium dioxide, and we petition state agencies to step in when the FDA fails. We urge the FDA to prioritize public health when regulating chemical contaminants in foods. We lobby in support of federal and state legislation that would reform the ways the FDA and state agencies oversee additive safety.
And we succeed, too.
Thanks to decades of advocacy from CSPI, artificial trans fats have been eliminated from the U.S. food supply. Seven cancer-causing flavor chemicals were banned in following a petition to the FDA from CSPI and our partners. In , California became the first state to ban certain food additives, including Red 3, and to require heavy metals testing in baby foods. That same year, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concluded that aspartame, the widely used artificial sweetener, is “possibly carcinogenic to humans” after CSPI repeatedly urged IARC to evaluate it. Coordinated efforts between CSPI, international experts, state lawmakers, and other partners, led the state of California to review the evidence linking synthetic food dyes to behavioral issues in kids and, in , the state concluded that dyes indeed can “cause or exacerbate neurobehavioral problems in some children.” Much more work is left to be done, and CSPI won’t stop fighting until the food chemical regulatory system is fixed.
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