What is Food Safety Management System?
Food safety is a scientific approach on multiple disciplines involving the handling, processing, storing and distribution of food in various ways that prevent food-borne diseases through contamination and/or infection in the food production chain.
The principles of Food safety intends to prevent food from being contaminated or infected. This can be achieved through various means, some of which are given below:
- Cleaning and Sanitizing all surfaces, equipment and utensils.
- Through maintenance of personal hygiene and cleanliness across the chain.
- Maintaining the right temperatures, environment & equipment throughout the processes of storing, chilling and heating of food.
Implementation of effective pest control is a necessary requirement.
Why Food Safety Management System?
- Safe and nutritious food is the key to sustain life and to promote good health.
- More than 200 diseases from diarrhea to cancers are caused by unsafe food containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances.
- 420000 die every year, resulting in the loss of 33 million healthy life years (DALYs) and an estimated 600 million (almost 1 in 10 people in the world) fall ill because of contaminated food.
- 125000 deaths occur every year among children under 5 years of age and out of this figure, 40% carry food-based diseases.
Food supply chains have gained pace in international markets and are now crossing multiple national borders. Having good collaboration between governments, producers and consumers helps to ensure food safety.
Steps to create and maintain a food safety culture in an organization:
Step 1: Lead from the top
Management plays a crucial role in setting an example for the rest of the team to follow the food safety norms and effectively practice the same on a daily basis.
Step 2: Reasoning for the purpose
Elaborate and a detailed study on the importance of food safety norms that are set specifically for certain processes. This step is taken so that they understand the reasoning behind those policies and procedures and have a better adherence and compliance towards the norms.
Step 3: Food Safety Training
Imparting training and education to the fellow staff and employees should be an ongoing process. New employees need to be trained on food safety and its importance for the organization.
Step 4: Provide the Proper Equipment
The commercial kitchen should have the necessary tools that are required to safely prepare and serve food. For example, making sure that there are food thermometers at every workstation so that employees working in that particular activity can easily and regularly monitor the temperatures of the food that is being prepared.
Step 5: Keep Temperature Logs
Guide the employees in the workstations to record the temperature of foods at specific intervals and maintain a log of temperature records.
Step 6: Inspection of Incoming Food for Safety
Train and instruct your team to conduct a food inspection once it arrives at the facility before it is used for the processing. If food isn’t safe when it arrives at your facility, ensure that your team is good enough to refuse potentially unsafe food items.
Step 7: Stay updated and informed on food safety awareness
Recently, hundreds of people were sickened by contaminated papayas from Mexico. Stay current on news stories about food-borne illness outbreaks to ensure that you’re not buying or using potentially unsafe or foods.
Step 8: Regular Self-Audits
In order to enforce an effective food safety in the day to day activities of an organization, periodic self-inspections should be part of your planned activities and be integrated with the ongoing practices of the system.
Step 9: Choose third-party Food Safety Consultants
Get a third party Food Safety Consultants to review your facilities and talk to the staff on their day to day activities while also providing necessary training related to food safety and make sure that the system is in line with requirements to the protocols that needs to be followed in an organization.
Related Links
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ISO 20000 Certification
ISO 22301 Certification
ISO 21001 Certification
ISO 41001 Certification
ISO 50001 Certification
ISO 29001 Certification
ISO 14001 Certification
ISO 45001 Certification
ROHS Certification
TQM Certification
ISO 22000 Certification
FSSC 22000 Certification
HACCP Certification
HALAL Certification
GMP Certification
KOSHER Certification
ISO 17025 Certification
ISO 13485 Certification
CE Mark Certification
GLP Certification
GDP Certification
Vulnerability Assessment
What are some of the food safety methodologies in practice?
- ISO 22000
- FSSC 22000
- HACCP
- Global GAP
What is ISO 22000 Food Safety Management System?
ISO 22000:2018 outlines the requirements of a food safety management system and processes that need to be in place for an organization to get certified. It details the need of an organization to establish and demonstrate its ability to monitor and regulate the food safety hazards in order to make sure that the food is safe. FSMS can be implemented by any organization irrespective of its size or nature in the food chain.
What is HACCP?
Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) is an internationally recognized methodology used for identifying and monitoring food safety related risks associated in the processing facility. HACCP is a systematic approach in which food safety measures are addressed through identification, analysis and control of biological, chemical and physical hazards right from the stage of raw material arrival, procurement and handling, to manufacturing or processing, distribution and consumption of the finished food product.
What is FSSC 22000?
The FSSC 22000 Food Safety System is a certifiable standard methodology which is based on ISO 22000 and other ISO standards in addition to sector specific PRPs that provide a structure or framework for effectively monitoring and managing the organization’s food safety requirements. FSSC 22000 is completely recognized by Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI).
The FSSC 22000 Scheme consists of three components: ISO 22000, sector specific PRPs and additional requirements.
What is Global GAP?
GLOBAL GAP is an internationally recognized system that outlines the set of farm standards that needs to be implemented and demonstrated by farm producers in adherence to the requirements of GLOBAL GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) standards.
Some of the practical benefits from food safety standards
- The GLOBAL GAP standard includes multiple initiatives like food safety, environment, animal welfare, and workers’ safety and welfare factors. It emphasizes on integrated and sustainable production of feed, hatchery, the grow-out, harvest and post-harvest activities, as well as other activities involved in the supply chain.
- The preventive approach of a food safety standard-based practice not only improves food safety management, but also complements the other quality aspects.
- Food Safety norms helps us in managing the system from risks and provides the company with an effective management of food safety hazards by creating an environment capable of producing a safe food product and a management system to continually manage, monitor, validate and improve the system.
To know more about food safety and its relevance to your organization, reach out to us on www.certpro.in
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