Whether during the planting, growing, reaping or handling process; proper management and safety controls are critical to food safety. A well-managed food chain is critical for the health and well-being of all consumers and is essential for economic and political stability.
As the world population grows, the demand for food products has risen and in our modern society, many food products will cross national boundaries to meet this demand. This poses an additional challenge for businesses attempting to maintain food safety, which is why food safety standards are so crucial. Food standards are beneficial to industry players, consumers and regulators.
There are hundreds of standards and documents related to the food sector; the ISO alone has published more than 1600. The following are just a selection of the standards that regulate the food and beverage industry, against which organisations can be certified.
HACCP: Hazard Analysis and Critical Control point is a globally-recognised system that reduces the risk of safety hazards in food. This system requires the identification of potential hazards, and requires that these risks be controlled at specific points during the food production process. Market forces, the retail sector and statutory bodies are increasingly driving HACCP implementation and insisting on systems to address food safety concerns.
Benefits of HACCP include increased buyer and consumer confidence, market access, business liability protection, reduced operational costs and wastage, efficient oversight and control over the facility and product, improved product quality and consistency.
With experienced auditors in more than 65 countries and across all business sectors, DQS South Africa is your one-stop-shop for business solutions. Our holistic approach integrates assessments, audits, certifications, inspections and evaluation in order to guide organizations toward sustainable success. Let’s make it happen!
ISO 22000 Food Safety Management: ISO 22000 sets out the requirements for a food safety management system. This standard has a whole chain approach to food safety and involves all sectors of the food production process – from farm to fork. ISO 22000 was built on the assumption that the most effective food safety systems are designed, operated and improved within the framework of a structured management system. Following the same high-level structure as other ISO management system standards, ISO 22000 can easily be integrated into existing management systems.
FSSC 22000: FSSC 22000 (Foundation Food Safety System Certification) offers a complete certification scheme for auditing and certification of Food Safety Management Systems, based on pre-existing ISO standards, technical specifications for sector specific Pre-Requisite Programs (PRPs), as well as FSSC Additional Requirements which can be found in the FSSC 22000 Scheme documents. The scheme meets Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) Benchmarking Requirements, is globally accepted by Accreditation bodies and supported by key stakeholders.
FSSC certification demonstrates that your company has a robust Food Safety Management System in place, meeting the highest standards globally leading to international food industry acceptance.
If you would like to obtain management system certification against any of these standards, contact DQS today!
