Q. Please tell us about yourself. What brought you to your current position?
I’m Dedet Barroso, and I’ve spent the last 26 years committed to the food industry. I began as a licensed chemical engineer in the Philippines and then transitioned into the food industry. I spent three years with San Miguel Corporation, and then spent 16 years at McDonald’s in quality assurance (QA), where I learned an important lesson: “Good enough” doesn’t exist in the food industry vocabulary. I then went on to spend a year at Abbott in regulatory compliance. Along the way, I earned my food technologist license and completed an MBA. Currently, I’m the FSQA director at Source86, a US-based food broker. What I love about my role is that I get to do what I’ve been passionate about: Making sure that what’s on the label is actually what’s in the bag.
More importantly, I get to apply the principle of authenticity to imported products, sourced from different parts of the world and ultimately brought to consumers in the US. I find it meaningful when we ensure that the food we bring to the market is not only safe and compliant, but also exactly what we say it is.
Q. What is your favorite part of the work you’ve done in this field?
Delivering the promise of safe, good-quality, legal, and authentic food and services to our customers is my favorite part.
The process of evaluating suppliers, assessing product quality, and investigating discrepancies excites me. I enjoy turning complicated technical discussions into clear, practical answers that empower decision-makers—whether that’s a supplier, a plant manager, or my team. It’s all about honesty and accountability, and taking action.
Q. What is your talk about?
My talk on “Food Authenticity & Food Fraud: Laboratory Strategies to Protect the Supply Chain” highlights potential discrepancies between a food product and its nutritional label. We look at real, documented cases involving the authenticity of olive oil, honey, spices, coconut, and vanilla. Consumers mostly take these for granted and become victims of food fraud.
We discuss the scientific concepts behind detecting food fraud: DNA testing, stable isotope analysis, and authenticity marker testing. Finally, we bring everything together into a practical, risk-based approach that attendees can apply in real situations in their laboratories.
Q. Why do you think it’s important to discuss this topic with our audience?
Because food fraud isn’t a someday problem: It’s happening everywhere, and it may be sitting on shelves right now. Food fraud carries significant financial consequences, but there are bigger concerns. There’s the potential food safety risk, regulatory exposure, damage to brand reputation, and, most importantly, the loss of consumer trust.
The people responsible for detecting food fraud deal with increasingly complex global supply chains, not necessarily knowing the right questions to ask and/or using the right tools to get the answers.
Food safety, QA, and regulatory professionals are often the last line of defense. My talk will equip the audience with a better understanding of how laboratory testing can detect food fraud, how to interpret the results, and how to build a practical, risk-based food authenticity program.
Register today for free to attend Dedet’s and other insightful webinars at the 2026 LabXpo Food Safety Testing & Quality Assurance digital event.
Dedet Barroso is the Food Safety & Quality Assurance (FSQA) director at Source86, where she leads global food safety, quality assurance, regulatory compliance, and supplier verification programs for internationally sourced food ingredients and finished products. A licensed chemical engineer and food technologist in the Philippines, she also holds a master’s degree in business management and brings over 26 years of experience in the food industry.
Throughout her career, Dedet has worked with multinational organizations and has extensive expertise in GFSI standards, BRCGS, FSMA, supplier risk management, food safety systems, and global regulatory compliance. She is passionate about translating technical laboratory concepts into practical, risk-based solutions that help organizations strengthen supply chain integrity, protect consumers, and build a culture of food safety.
