This roundtable session will convene a panel of professionals from different segments of the supply chain to debate the validity of vendor/supplier controls commonly used for food safety hazards.  Certificates of analysis (COAs) can communicate testing results on purchased material, but how reliable are they and are there situations where a COA is enough?  The application of testing programs for chemical and/or microbiological hazards within the supply chain has been controversial, so under what circumstances are testing programs appropriate?  And who should do the testing?  Third-party food safety audits have a long history of use in the food industry to evaluate and qualify suppliers, but what is the role of these types of audits going forward?  When is a third party audit enough and when should a company conduct its own audit of its suppliers?  Given the supply chain controls required under the Preventive Controls Rules for Human and Animal Food, this session brings a timely debate to these common and sometimes controversial control measures.  

Invited panelists will represent ingredient suppliers, manufacturers, retailers, third party auditors, and regulators.