Food Safety (www.brcstandards.com)

In today's global economy, it is critical that manufacturers and producers of food provide safe, quality products. In order to accomplish this objective, they must be able to verify that the processes used to produce these items are safe from bacteria that can cause food borne illnesses. Contamination of food can occur at any step in the process, from the farming of the food to the final consumption.

Specific stages include:

Production: Growing the plants we harvest or raising the animals we use for food. Processing: Changing the plants/animals into what we recognize and buy as food. Distribution: Moving food from farm/production plant to the consumers. Preparation: Making food for consumption.

After a number of food safety scares, the Consumer Goods Forum launched the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) in order to provide continuous improvement in food safety management systems and ensure confidence in the delivery of safe foods to consumers worldwide.

UL DQS provides assessments, certification and training in the following areas:

ISO 22000

The ISO 22000 international standard specifies requirements for a food safety management system including:

• Interactive communication
• System management
• Prerequisite programs
• HACCP principles

The BRC Global Standards are a suite of four Technical Standards that specify requirements to be met by an organization thereby enabling the production, packaging, storage and distribution of safe food and consumer products.

BRC IoP is the global standard for food and non-food packaging and packaging materials. The standard provides a common foundation for the certification of companies supplying packaging to manufacturers and retailers.

FSSC 22000 is based on the food safety management standard ISO 22000:2005 and BSI PAS220:2008. This scheme was developed for the food manufacturers that process or manufacture animal products, perishable vegetable products, products with a long shelf life and (other) food ingredients like additives and/or vitamins.

HACCP is a systematic preventative approach to food safety and pharmaceutical safety that addresses physical, chemical and biological hazards as a means of prevention rather than finished product inspection.

FAMI-QS is the quality and safety system for specialty feed ingredients and their mixtures. The Code addresses safety, quality and regulatory compliance by:

• minimizing the risk that unsafe specialty feed ingredients and their mixtures enter the feed and food chain;
• enabling an operator to implement the objectives of the Feed Hygiene Regulation (183/2005/EC); and
• providing measures to ensure that other feed safety regulatory requirements are met.