Nutrition scandals have led consumers to believe that smaller producers may be more tempted to commit food fraud or relax standards. Food certificates can help SMEs with market penetration. They can enhance brand recognition and guarantee your food product quality to your customers. They also prove to authorities that the production site is safe and legal.
While capital is limited for small producers there are government funding tools that can help in order to adopt standards and regulations. Below you can find three areas where food certificates will help you guarantee your quality:
– Product
Being certified means that your capabilities and your products meet market needs and comply with regulations; both today and tomorrow.
– Process
Certified producers ensure consistency in strength and reliability throughout their processes, while still leaving scope for innovation and creativity. Processes in areas such as food quality, environment and health & safety must be robust and compliant, both within the production and also throughout its supply chain partners.
– People
In a developing culture where suggestions are as welcome as rules and feedback is not just gathered but acted upon resilience is critical as it nurtures a workplace where levels of morale, wellbeing and retention are high.
Harmonization with international bodies creates resilient organizations that can prosper and thrive; even during challenging times. Taking the decision requires careful consideration of your operations, supply chain and continuous training of production staff.
The steps to get a certificate are different for every producer and product, but the benefits are always measurable and will:
10• Eliminate multiple audits and meet regulation requirements at a lower cost.
Despite the varying food and beverage standards around the globe, most regulatory bodies have one common goal: to protect the health and safety of consumers.
Despite the varying food and beverage standards around the globe, most regulatory bodies have one common goal: to protect the health and safety of consumers.
ISO 22000 sets out the requirements for a food safety management system and can be certified to.
Through its members, it brings together experts to share knowledge and develop voluntary, consensus-based, market relevant International Standards that support innovation and provide solutions to global challenges.It maps out what an organisation needs to do to demonstrate its ability to control food safety hazards in order to ensure that food is safe.
HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point)
HACCP certification programme is mainly to help food producers to develop, implement, and evaluate the safety and quality of the operation process. Audits focus on the potential causes of food safety hazards by assessing the entire production process, and then applying preventative controls at critical points as equipment, supply chain of raw materials and employee training and supervision. By using the HACCP system, control is shifted from end product testing (corrective) into the design and manufacturing of products (preventive). HACCP has international recognition as the most cost-effective means of controlling food borne disease and is endorsed as such by the Joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission.
Certification to the IFS standard is rapidly becoming a fundamental requirement of many leading European retailers particularly in Germany and France. Developed originally by the German retailers (BDH) and amended with the assistance of the French Retail Group(FCD) the standard is designed to assess the ability of food processors to comply with food safety requirements and demonstrate due diligence. Certification can be achieved at two levels, Foundation and Higher Level depending on the score achieved at the assessment.
ΙFS has been recognised by the GFSI organisation and is based on the HACCP principles by giving special emphasis to Good Industrial Practice (GMP) and Good Hygiene Practice (GHP).
BRC (British Retail Consortium)
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) is the leading trade association for UK retailing. Although the BRC food safety standard began in the UK, it is now recognised as a global standard. There are over 17,000 BRC certified sites worldwide, and a large network of BRC certification bodies in 90 countries. BRC initially developed its Global Standard for Food Safety in order to help the food industry meet legislative requirements of the EU General Product Safety Directive and the UK Food Safety Act.– Author: Antonios G. Georgakis | COO Todelli.com
