Food Safety Supplement - Guidelines to Safe Food

Food safety management is based on a simple logic of due diligence, where food providers have done all that is possible to analyze the food safety risks and they have taken the appropriate corrective actions.

No certificate in the world can verify that products are safe all the time. The onus lies with the suppliers to provide the evidence that reasonable steps have been taken to minimize food safety risks.

Certification is always based on the evidence provided on the day of the audit. Very often, companies claim in their marketing material that they are certified Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, (HACCP), which proves the highest product quality. However, this is a fundamental error that professionals and authorities should counter to ensure that the food industry does not give misleading claims and information.

TASTY BUT SAFE?: Good taste does not mean safety, and the food industry needs to be careful about misleading consumers unwittingly.

Product certification, HACCP and quality systems have their positions in the market and they are independent of each other. A ‘quality’ product does not mean a ‘safe’ product. Congruently, a ‘nice tasting’ sausage does not mean it is safe for human consumption.

Setting up a HACCP system is relatively easy but it is totally useless if it is not verified and objective evidence of reviews and corrective actions are not evident. Experience has also shown that many companies clearly prepare their site in readiness for the visiting auditor or site inspector.

Business managers should appreciate that a book keeper is not an auditor. Yet, many fall into the trap of thinking that a visit by an inspectorate agency means that the product is safe. Inspections and auditors are two separate professions that serve different purposes. It is also not surprising that there have been instances of food handlers given licenses without first attending a basic hygiene course.

In such situations, certification and accreditation bodies may provide businesses with a false sense of security. Ultimately, it is the business directors or owners who are solely responsible for proving and instilling due diligence. Certification may satisfy the market requirement but it does not nullify business owners from the legal responsibility of providing safe products.

Due diligence now becomes a legal requirement and certification a voluntary option. Each industry has guidelines to assist companies with best practices. Any suggestion that a certified company can hide behind the certification is folly and in my opinion, dangerous. There were instances where certified products that have passed their use-by date were still on the shelves, and cheese were stored next to meat in a supermarket, and carton boxes were seen in a processing area. I have visited EU-approved food plants on both official and unofficial visits and observed a lack of everyday best practices such as no evidence of stock rotation or temperature control, processing areas with glass windows that might be open or even broken, production personnel wearing jewellery or in their own clothes rather than in proper uniforms, and meat slicing taking place next to mince meat production. Records of non-compliant items are sometimes not followed up on and returns not evaluated.

Several food plants, whether certified or not, still do not have the full understanding of microbiological tests requirements. Company law, by inference, requires that all directors and owners be responsible for demonstrating due diligence at all times. Certification however is not a proof. Total support must therefore be given to advisory and controlling bodies in the spirit of improving and enhancing professional conduct and quality. Improvement is a non-stop process of which we are all a part. There is still a need for a basic understanding of the concept of food safety. International records show that food poisoning cases are on the increase.

Whilst it is very tempting to increase the level of inspection, we should focus on enhancing educational levels and government agencies should provide more support to the food industry. This yields more sustainable, long-term and positive results.

Educators need to demonstrate to managers that setting up a food safety management system (FSMS) is not solely about implementing a set of rules or guidelines at all times, but a way of utilizing those guidelines to enhance product positioning in the market and increase operational efficiency and effectiveness. It should not be seen as simply transposing laws or directives into one’s organisation. The manager should attempt to utilize those guidelines as an opportunity to push the efficiency of the operation forward. The key to a good management system is therefore, continuous improvement.

www.worldfoodsafety.org