By Dr. Julie Cerenzia, Director, Research & Information Services, Bryant Christie Inc.
Anyone involved in food export knows that in the world of trade compliance the only constant is change and that import requirements around the globe are often as harmonized as the proverbial snowflake. Although disruptions related to COVID-19 and trade disputes have grabbed headlines in the past year, other developments like the proliferation of front-of-pack nutritional labeling requirements are also quietly and continuously changing the regulatory landscape in business-critical ways.
On Thursday, February 25, at 1 p.m. (EST), I’ll be speaking at the American Frozen Food Institute’s (AFFI) Annual Frozen Food Convention (AFFI-CON) to discuss some of these critical regulatory developments that will have implications for your frozen food business. During the session, I will explore the benefits of understanding global regulatory changes like:
- Avoiding non-compliance fees: Compliance managers in the frozen food industry understand the risk for unpredictable and changing import regulations to affect budgets. These changes to import regulations may require product reformulation, label redesign, adjustments in packaging, or new suppliers. Additionally, if these new requirements are not immediately recognized, these changes may lead to costly non-compliance, lost sales, or interrupted supply that gives competitors an opening with your customers. Compliance is not just a regulatory issue – it’s an operations issue, an R&D issue, a sourcing issue, and a sales issue.
- Supporting strategic decisions: Company executives making strategic decisions recognize that compliance is also an important consideration for strategic expansions. Does a new market require product changes, a new nutritional panel, additional languages, or unique front-of-pack labeling? Can health and nutrition claims that drive product positioning and competitiveness in other markets be used in this market?
I hope you will join me for this session during AFFI-CON 2021 to learn more about what is happening in the global marketplace to set your business up for success in the coming year. You can register for the event on the AFFI-CON website.
