The two groups have forged an amicable relationship, co-sponsoring a national food policy conference each spring. At the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety, spokesman Arthur Whitmore suggests that lobbying by the NFPA, as well as other industry and consumer groups, yields information and debate that leads to appropriate regulation. Whitmore also sees the NFPA as a conduit for notifying manufacturers of regulatory changes and helping them comply. Some of the scientific information on foods and their containers originates in the NFPA's labs. The serum contains clostridium botulinium.
Most work is less treacherous.
Proportionately few involve alleged product tampering. Would-be tamperers seeking a financial windfall might consider this comment from scientist Charbonneau. More often, NFPA scientists like Charbonneau direct their analytical skills toward resolving disputes between packaging suppliers and food processors. They determine who's responsible if a batch of frozen dinners has to be dumped. They search for leaks in plastic, study the seams and stress points of tin cans, examine whether a lid truly seals a bottle's contents.