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Food Safety / HAACP / ISO 22000 / SQF
Food Safety is a key part of QSG's consulting practice. We bring a unique perspective to food safety by combining extensive, practical hands-on experience, with a clear understanding of the business imperatives that are crucial to your success. We provide these services to growers, processors/manufacturers, food service operators, retailers and distributors.
QSG's goal is to provide expertise in food safety consulting and food quality training on a national and international basis. We achieve this goal by offering consulting, auditing and training programs.
We are experienced with products such as bakery & cereals, beverages, deli, dairy, fats & oils, flavors, meat & poultry, prepared foods, produce, seafood and snacks, spices & condiments.
One of the keys to any successful Food Safety Auditing Program is to "know who you are buying from." In order to do this, food suppliers' facilities should be inspected on a regular basis either by your own auditors, approved 3rd party auditors or combinations of the two methods. This must be done in a comprehensive but cost effective manner.
QSG has extensive experience in understanding how to develop, implement and validate/verify supplier-auditing programs. We offer comprehensive services in this regard such as:
Supplier Auditing Optimization (review of current programs and recommendations for modifications, if needed)
-Developing and helping to implement new programs (includes guidelines for selecting Third Party Auditors, role of consumer complaint monitoring and cost implications to you and your suppliers)
-Conducting Triage Audits in cases where recalls or consumer complaints are involved
-Developing risk-based auditing instruments
Third party audits provide a credible verification system to the entire food processing industry including retail environments, meat, fish, and poultry, vegetable and produce suppliers. Having a HACCP plan in place is often a first step to a successful food safety program, but is not entirely enough to ensure that food safety standards are being adhered to on a consistent basis. Purchasing food products from an outside source may directly impact on the success of your business, if your vendor does not adhere to the same strict sanitation standards as maintained in your operations.
 QSG Consulting Group's team has conducted third party auditing services to the food processing industry. These third party audits have not only been successful in identifying potential problems in the food supply, but have also allowed our inspectors to act as liaisons between vendors and supplies to ensure that problems are solved in a safe, efficient and economical manner.
-Our team consists of trained, experienced auditors.
-We serve our clients in the areas of food borne illness prevention, risk management, risk mitigation and food safety, while ensuring clean, safe, sanitary food sources to our clients.
-We evaluate, verify and reassess HACCP plans, Standard Sanitary Operating Procedures (SSOPs) and Good Management Practices (GMPs) and validate Critical Control Points (CCPs).
-Our audits not only focus on the review of HACCP documentation, but concentrate on inspection of storage, food production and processing units, assessment of equipment/utensil condition, water/sewage systems, garbage disposal, pest control and structural components (walls, floors, ceilings, lighting and ventilation).
-After an audit, QSG's food safety consultants will recommend Corrective Actions in all problem areas and validate them.
The concept of HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) within the food industry is one that was first developed to help ensure that the safety of astronauts in the NASA space program. A properly functioning HACCP program is designed to follow the flow of food product throughout an operation and allows foodservice operators, manufacturers, processors and distributors to identify serious deficiencies in production of food from receiving to service in retail operations or packaging in a processing facility. Today, the HACCP process has been expanded significantly to incorporate the "farm to table" model.
Due to the success of HACCP, many different sectors of the foodservice industry have adopted HACCP and HACCP principles in their everyday operations, either as a mandate by local, state or federal regulatory agencies or as a means of attaining and maintaining a more comprehensive food safety and self-inspection system that goes far and beyond the basic concepts established by prerequisite programs, SSOP's (Standard Sanitary Operating Procedures) and GMP's (Good Manufacturing Practices).
From the beginning, Quality Support Group has been on the forefront of HACCP development within the food industry. Our team of experts has the knowledge and experience to assist you during the new development of your internal HACCP program or during the evaluation of an existing HACCP program, where process failures have been identified as contributing to a foodborne illness or outbreak.
Training courses are hands-on in nature with the goal of showing people why things are done rather than just having them memorize a list of rules. By using this approach, participants take ownership of the programs and ultimately are able to utilize and adapt this information effectively in their own workplace.
Our team's experience as past regulatory agents and as public health consultants allow us to quickly and efficiently integrate our knowledge of the food industry with the requirement of the myriad of regulatory agencies who oversee HACCP programs within the food industry. We can develop your entire HACCP program while ensuring that each of the seven steps of a HACCP system is adequately addressed including:
-Identifying Hazards
-Identifying Critical Control Points
-Setting up Procedures and Standards
-Monitoring Critical Control Points
-Taking Corrective Actions
-Developing HACCP record keeping systems
-HACCP program Verification
To complement our food, crisis and recall readiness programs we offer food safety training services that help to fill in the identified gaps and aid in implementation activities.
These services can be used in conjunction with other consulting services that we offer or as stand alone programs.
They include training for:
-Food Safety Certification (HACCP, SQF 2000, BRC, ISO 22000)
-Establishing a Crisis and/or Food Recall Program
-HACCP Training
Training courses are hands-on in nature with the goal of showing people why things are done rather than just having them memorize a list of rules. By using this approach, participants take ownership of the programs and ultimately are able to utilize and adapt this information effectively in their own workplace.
The SQF Program (Safe, Quality Food) is one of the world's leading food safety and quality management systems, designed to meet the needs of retailers and suppliers worldwide. The Program provides independent certification that a supplier's food safety and quality management system complies with international and domestic food safety regulations. This enables suppliers to assure their customers that food has been produced, processed, prepared and handled according to the highest possible standards, at all levels of the supply chain.
SQF is designed as a food safety program, but it also covers product quality, assuring consistent quality and meeting buyer specifications.
The SQF Program is administered by the SQF Institute (SQFI), a division of the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), and is the result of more than 15 years of development.
SQF certification is supported and in many cases mandated by an increasing number of international retailers and foodservice providers, and the SQF Program is part of a landmark agreement among seven global retailers on mutual acceptance of global food safety systems.
1.The SQF 2000 Code and Guidance documents for general food processing and specific food industry sectors.
2.Three levels of certification.
3.A third-party audit and annual certification that verifies the supplier is adhering to SQF's rigorous requirements.
4.Optional modules for responsible environmental, social and food defense practices.
5.SQF is a certification program endorsed by the Global Food Safe Initiative (GFSI).
6.The program involves a rigorous registration process for auditors.
7.Suppliers seeking SQF certification must appoint an SQF Practitioner to maintain and manage their system.
8.The Program provides additional tools such as guidance documents, self-assessments, audit checklists and voluntary modules to promote continual improvement of a supplier's SQF system
Suppliers must establish pre-requisite programs incorporating fundamental food safety controls which are essential to providing a sound foundation for the production and manufacturing of safe food.
In addition to Level 1 requirements, suppliers must complete and document a food safety risk assessment of the product and process using the HACCP method, as well as an action plan to eliminate, prevent or reduce food safety hazards.
In additional to Level 1 and Level 2 requirements, suppliers must complete and document a food quality assessment of the product and its associated process, to identify the controls needed to ensure a consistent level of quality.
It is a statement that the supplier’s food safety plans have been implemented in accordance to the HACCP method, and that the validation and verification of the food safety plan has been evaluated and determined effective to manage food safety.
Being compliant with SQF demonstrates the supplier’s commitment to:
• Produce safe and quality food
• Comply with the requirements of the SQF code
• Comply with applicable food legislation
Currently, many food producers have to undergo many audits based on different standards, due to the fact that there is no universally recognized standard for food. Because SQF is accepted by a large number of retailers globally, participating in this certification program will help eliminate much of this redundancy. It is every company’s obligation to their customer to provide safe and quality food. In addition, a growing number of retailers and wholesalers are requiring their producers and suppliers to implement the SQF program.
The BRC (British Retail Consortium) Global Standard for Food Safety was created to ensure supplier compliance and secure retailers’ ability to guarantee the quality and safety of the food products they sell. Today it is used worldwide as a framework for any business (retailers and processors) to assist the production of safe food and the selection of reliable suppliers.
The BRC Global Standard for Food Safety is one of the operational tools most frequently used for due diligence and supplier approval. It helps companies to select and qualify their suppliers. Thus, the system reduces the overall costs of the supply chain management and increases the level of safety for customers, suppliers, and consumers. While regarded as a ticket-to-trade, the standard is also a great opportunity to demonstrate your company’s commitment to food safety, quality, and legality, and to work on continual improvement.
BRC Global Standard for Food Safety meets the criteria of the Global Food Safety Initiative by CIES – The Food Business Forum, the global organisation including CEOs and senior management of around 400 retailers (operating close to 200,000 stores) and manufacturer members of all sizes. In other words it is going to be accepted by the majority of food retailers as equivalent to the other benchmarked food safety standards, such as IFS, SQF and the Dutch HACCP.
The main retailers in the United Kingdom were concerned about food safety because of their direct responsibility in case of an incident. To take control of the situation, retailers require that all food suppliers be certified to a specialised standard to ensure that they comply with quality and safety demands, and legal requirements.
After it was first issued in 1998 the standard was regularly improved, involving international stakeholders in the supply chain. Today it is a global tool based on the most recent and updated food safety standards and methodologies. The requirements in the standard are related to the quality management system and the HACCP system, supported by detailed prerequisite programmes, that is a set of GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice), GLP (Good Laboratory Practice) and GHP (Good Hygiene Practice) requirements.
Most British and many European and Global retailers and brand owners, as well as food processors, only include suppliers certified to the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety in their supply chain.
The BRC Global Standard for Food Safety enables your organisation to:
• Provide evidence of commitment, and, in case of a food safety incident, legal defence in the frame of the “due diligence” concept*
• Build and operate a management system capable of helping you to better meet food quality/safety requirements and legal compliance, with specific reference to the legislation applicable in the countries where the finished product is consumed
• Provide a tool for food safety performance improvement and the means to monitor and measure food safety performance effectively
• Facilitate reductions in product waste, product reworking, and product recall
Certification to BRC Global Standard for Food Safety also supports efficient supply chain management by reducing second party audits and increasing your overall supply chains reliability.
Companies that plan well will often have an advantage and be better prepared for certification. It is important that you and your company are positive, committed, and set clear target dates for implementation and assessment.
This includes:
• Establishing a quality management system
• Identifying legal requirements
• Identifying and documenting the specific food safety hazards and the relevant control measures (HACCP system)
• Identifying the applicable Good Manufacturing Practice/Good Hygiene Practice, including a pest control programme, equipment and building maintenance programme, housekeeping and cleaning programme, and all the specific standard requirements
• Implement any needed structural improvements
The potential benefits of HACCP are numerous, but the most significant are tangible and demonstrable improvements in food safety performance and a greater level of assurance in the area of legal compliance. The ultimate objective of the system is to assure food safety by means of food safety hazards identification and management instead of low-efficiency, retroactive quality control.
HACCP system certification enables your organisation to:
• Communicate confidence to the customers, demonstrating that the food is produced by means of safe processes
• Prove that it has taken all reasonable precautions to guarantee the production of safe food
• Allow customers to demand that suppliers are assessed and certified, if they operate in a country with a strong food safety legislative framework
• Reduce the number of audits carried out by customers and, consequently, save management time spent and related costs
• Reduce product waste and product recall
• Improve relations with food safety authorities
• Improve efficiency
Certification to the HACCP standard provides an effective means of communicating with stakeholders and other interested parties. It is an important element in demonstrating food safety commitments under corporate governance, corporate responsibility, and financial reporting requirements.
A preventive way of thinking is the main attitude that enables you to achieve significant results.
The process includes:
• Identification of the food safety hazards and significant risks
• Identification of the control measures capable of eliminating the relevant food safety hazards or reducing them to an acceptable level
• Definition of the operation parameters needed to ensure the control measures effectiveness, including monitoring procedures and corrective action in case of failure.
• Validation of the control measures
• Documentation of the HACCP system, including the HACCP plan
• Implementation, verification, and improvement of the HACCP system
One of the most important things to remember is that development, implementation, and certification of an HACCP system is a continuous journey, with the independent audit representing one element of the total assessment process.
The food safety management system standard ISO 22000 enables any company directly or indirectly involved in the food chain to identify the relevant risks and manage them efficiently. Preventing food safety failures and assessing legal compliance can help protect your brand.
 Implementation of a food safety management system compliant with the ISO 22000 standard changes your company’s approach from retroactive quality testing to a preventive way of thinking. Companies face strong requirements from legislators, customers, and consumers to assure consistently safe production processes.
An efficient management system tailored to your processes will help you prevent food safety failures and associated costs, and increase the reliability for legal compliance. A commitment to conscious risk management will be one of your main competitive advantages.
What is the standard?
The ISO 22000 standard has been designed to be compatible and harmonised with other international management system standards, including ISO 9001. It is therefore ideal for integration with existing management systems and processes.
ISO 22000 is applicable to all organisations directly or indirectly involved in the food value chain. This includes producers of packaging or detergents, suppliers of cleaning services, pest control, or industrial laundry services. It allows you to assess and demonstrate conformity of the product in relation to food safety and to demonstrate control of food safety hazards. The standard ensures food safety “from farm to fork” based on these generally recognised
Key elements:
• Interactive communication: An innovative and essential factor for risk management. A structured informative flow in every direction, internally and externally. It guarantees effective control of hazards.
• System management: The control of the interaction between the system’s elements guarantees efficiency and the effectiveness of the system.
• Prerequisite programmes: Good Manufacturing Practices, Good Hygiene Practices, Good Agricultural Practices, including e.g. equipment and buildings maintenance programmes and procedures, and pest control programmes, are the pillars on which a HACCP (Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points) system is based.
• HACCP principles: The basic methodology to plan safe production processes which are appropriate for every individual company, without unnecessary bureaucracy.
The potential benefits of ISO 22000 are numerous, but the most significant are tangible and demonstrable improvements in food safety performance and a greater level of assurance in the area of legal compliance.
The ISO 22000 standard enables your organisation to:
• Build and operate a food safety management system within a well-defined and clear framework that is flexible to your business needs and expectations
• Understand what the actual risks are for the consumers and for your company
• Provide a tool for food safety performance improvement and the means to monitor and measure food safety performance effectively
• Better meet food safety legal compliance and corporate requirements
Certification to the standard provides an effective means for your company to communicate with stakeholders and other interested parties. It is an important element in demonstrating food safety commitment under corporate governance, corporate responsibility, and financial reporting requirements.
The process described in ISO 22000 includes the following steps:
• Identify, evaluate, and control the food safety hazards that may be expected to occur in order to avoid harming the consumer directly or indirectly
• Communicate appropriate information through the food chain regarding safety issues related to the product
• Communicate information concerning development, implementation, and updating of the food safety management system throughout the organisation
• Evaluate periodically and update, when necessary, the food safety management system to cover the company’s actual activities and the most recent information on food safety hazards
One of the most important things to remember is that development, implementation, and certification of a food safety management system is a continuous journey, with the independent audit representing one element of the total assessment process.
QSG offers unique and targeted expertise on matters including FDA compliance and quality assurance. Our services involve auditing, due diligence, loss prevention, crisis management, product reconditioning and re-labeling and training. We strive to help prevent problems before they occur, as well as to resolve promptly any that may already exist.
Our corporate offices are based in the Boston area, but our consulting practice is global. We have extensive experience with domestic and foreign entities, as well as foreign language capabilities. From our headquarters, we are able to call upon vast resources from academic centers and other public and private facilities.
Overview
ISO 22000 is an international standard that defines the requirements of a food safety management system covering all organizations in the food chain from “farm to fork”.
The standard combines generally recognized key elements to ensure food safety along the food chain, including:
Interactive communication
System management
Control of food safety hazards through pre-requisite programmes and HACCP plans
Continual improvement and updating of the food safety management system
Who is it relevant to?
ISO 22000 is a truly international standard suitable for any business in the entire food chain, including inter-related organizations such as producers of equipment, packaging material, cleaning agents, additives and ingredients.
ISO 22000:2005 is also for companies seeking to integrate their quality management system, for example, ISO 9000:2000 and their food safety management system.
Benefits
Certifying your food management system against the requirements of ISO 22000:2005 will bring the following benefits to your organization:
Applicable to all organizations in the global food supply chain:
-A truly global international standard
-Provides potential for harmonization of national standards
-Covers the majority of the requirements of the current retailer food safety standards
-Complies with the Codex HACCP principles
-Provides communication of HACCP concepts internationally
-An auditable standard with clear requirements which provides a framework for third-party certification
-Suitable for regulators
-The structure aligns with the management system clauses of ISO 9001 and ISO 14001
-Enables communication about hazards with partners in the supply chain
More specific benefits include:
-System approach, rather than product approach
-Resource optimization – internally and along the food chain
-All control measures are subjected to hazard analysis
-Better planning - less post process verification
-Improved documentation
-Systematic management of prerequisite programmes
-Increased due diligence
-Dynamic communication on food safety issues with suppliers, customers, regulators and other interested parties
-A systematic and proactive approach to identification of food safety hazards and development and implementation of control measures
Training
We are experts in training as well as assessment and have a network of public and in-house courses dedicated to teaching you the skills you need before, during and after registration to the standard.
From a one-day introductory course to implementation training or auditor courses, our network of training courses can help you at every stage of the process. Our experience of how organizations of all types and sizes relate to the standard is unequalled - and we can deliver the training you need for understanding, implementing, assessing and certifying your ISO 22000 food safety management system.
 Click here for a list of current training events
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Quality Support Group (Cathy Crawford, Food Safety Consultant) approved to be listed in the MA Food Protection Manager Certification Trainer and Exam Directory.
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Media Links
The Recent movie, Food Inc., promotes locally grown, organic and natural foods. This film promotes the concept that we can feed America on natural, organic and local foods. It also claims to expose the "hidden truths" about what we eat and how it is produced. To learn more about that movie, check their website:
www.foodincmovie.com
This is only one side of the story. For more information, including video tours inside food production plants review the following website:
www.safefoodinc.org which explains the status of the safety of American foods and some of the food safety efforts underway by American food producers.
Listen to these webinars offered by QMI/SAI Global...A certified SQF 2000 Registrar.
http://www.qmi.com/webinar/22000/
http://www.qmi.com/webinar/brc/
http://www.qmi.com/webinar/organic/
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