Food Safety standards and schemes

The BRC Global Standard for Food Safety – first published in 1998 and now in its 7th issue. The standard is for food manufacturers and contains requirements for a HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) system in accordance with the requirements of Codex Alimentarius, a documented quality management system and control of the factory environment standards, products, process and personnel.

BRC Global Standards and Schemes are used by suppliers and global retailers. They facilitate standardization of quality, safety, operational criteria and manufacturers’ fulfillment of legal obligations. They also help provide protection to the consumer.

The US FDA issued FSMA Final Rule on Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVP) for Importers of Food for Human and Animals is now final. For the purposes of FSVP, an importer is the U.S. owner or consignee of a food offered for import into the United States. How are you ensuring your suppliers are in compliance? LRQA’s foreign supplier verification services can evaluate hazard- and risk specific criteria.

The Food Safety System Certification 22000 scheme - FSSC 22000 - has been developed for food manufacturers that process or manufacture animal or perishable vegetal products, products with a long shelf life and food ingredients such as additives, vitamins and bio-cultures.

The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), coordinated by CIES – The Food Business Forum, was launched in May 2000. Under the umbrella of the GFSI, seven major retailers, including Walmart and Tesco, have reached a common acceptance of GFSI-benchmarked food safety schemes (including FSSC 22000, BRC, IFS, HACCP). To reduce redundancy in the supply chain, these seven retailers have agreed to common acceptance of certification to any of the GFSI-accepted schemes.

The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) Global Markets Programme is an initiative launched by the GFSI which offers small and less-developed organizations a step-by-step approach to implementing food safety requirements building to GFSI-recognized food safety standard or scheme certification.

Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) techniques are increasingly being used in the food industry and are become a universally accepted method for food safety assurance. The UK’s Food Standards Agency recommends HACCP as the most effective way for food businesses to ensure consumer protection.

ISO 22000 is an international standard which specifies the requirements for a food safety management system. It involves interactive communication, system management, prerequisite programmes and HACCP principles.