The Food Safety Handbook: A Practical Guide for Building a Robust Food Safety Management System, contains detailed information on food safety systems and what large and small food industry companies can do to establish, maintain, and enhance food safety in their operations. This new edition updates the guidelines and regulations since the previous 2016 edition, drawing on best practices and the knowledge IFC has gained in supporting food business operators around the world. The Food Safety Handbook is indispensable for all food business operators -- anywhere along the food production and processing value chain -- who want to develop a new food safety system or strengthen an existing one.
Food safety awareness is at an all time high, new and emerging threats to the food supply are being recognized, and consumers are eating more and more meals prepared outside of the home. Accordingly, retail and foodservice establishments, as well as food producers at all levels of the food production chain, have a growing responsibility to ensure that proper food safety and sanitation practices are followed, thereby, safeguarding the health of their guests and customers. Achieving food safety success in this changing environment requires going beyond traditional training, testing, and inspectional approaches to managing risks. It requires a better understanding of organizational culture and the human dimensions of food safety. To improve the food safety performance of a retail or foodservice establishment, an organization with thousands of employees, or a local community, you must change the way people do things. You must change their behavior. In fact, simply put, food safety equals behavior. When viewed from these lenses, one of the most common contributing causes of food borne disease is unsafe behavior (such as improper hand washing, cross-contamination, or undercooking food). Thus, to improve food safety, we need to better integrate food science with behavioral science and use a systems-based approach to managing food safety risk. The importance of organizational culture, human behavior, and systems thinking is well documented in the occupational safety and health fields. However, significant contributions to the scientific literature on these topics are noticeably absent in the field of food safety.
The new, updated Global Standard for Storage and Distribution Issue 2 will replace Storage and Distribution Issue 1 for all audits from March 2011. The Standard provides certification for the section of the supply chain between BRC Standards for the manufacture of food, packaging and consumer products and the end user of these products, the retailer/food service company. Aimed at companies involved in the storage and distribution of goods, the new Standard represents a substantial upgrade to Issue 1 and builds upon experience, with a new lay out, simpler presentation and clearer explanation of requirements. The Standard is designed to ensure best practice in the handling, storage and distribution of products and to promote continuous improvement in operating practices. The updated Standard includes the audit requirements, scheme rules and background to the Standard and provides the basis for an accredited certification of sites storing and/or distributing food, packaging and consumer products. It also enables certification of sites that wholesale products or carry out a range of contracted services.
The safety of food products is fundamental. The value of an effective and well-defined, -implemented, and -maintained management system is priceless. When it is integrated into a process, it supplies the necessary foundation and structure to help provide the consumer with a safe product of the highest quality. Food Safety Management Programs: Applications, Best Practices, and Compliance presents the insight and shared experiences that can be applied to the development, implementation, and maintenance of an effective food safety management system. The text supplies useful tools that can be applied according to the particular needs of an operation, adding value to its processes and aiding in the establishment of a successful management-based food safety system. The author also encourages the development of a quality management system. The text begins by summarizing Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) food safety schemes (eight as of the writing of this text). These include FSSC 22000, Safe Quality Food Code (SQF), British Retail Consortium Global Standard for Food Safety (BRC), International Featured Standards (IFS), Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) Seafood Processing Standard, Global Red Meat Standard (GRMS), CanadaGAP, and PrimusGFS. It also lists websites for additional information and updates. Although this text focuses on food safety management systems (FSMS), it also includes references to ISO 9001, along with the quality requirements of some of the food safety management standards. It offers information that can be applied to whichever standard is chosen by an organization. With insights from experts in a variety of food industry-related sectors, the text explains the requirements of the standards, methods for their integration, and the process for identifying and addressing gaps in a manner that is both compliant and beneficial for the organization. The book provides experience-based information that can be integrated into any operation, which is essential for the development of an efficient, value-added, and sustainable management system.
This book will offer companies in the food industry a comprehensive guide to preparing for a British Retail Consortium Standard evaluation (Issue 6). It will enable them to ensure that the correct systems are in place to achieve the Standard, and also that they present themselves in the best possible light during the audit process. It will also recommend the correct steps to take following evaluation and how to correct non-conformities. The book will be of interest not only to suppliers who are seeking certification for the first time but also to those already in the scheme, and are seeking to improve their grades.
The contamination of a product with the physical presence of something not intended to be there (a foreign body) often with the potential to cause harm, can result in issues that may include customer complaints, product wastage and brand damage along. Any manufacturing or storage and transport business must have an effective control system to prevent product contamination by foreign bodies. This guideline focuses on the technologies behind X-ray and metal detection and promotes best practice on aspects to be considered when establishing and operating these systems.
This is the latest guidance on the interpretation of the requirements of the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety - Issue 6 for fresh produce packers of fruit, vegetables and nuts. Concentrating on areas of particular issue within the fresh produce industry, this will help companies, auditors and customers understand how to implement the requirement of the Standard. The guideline includes practical guidance and real examples to illustrate the principles of the clauses and compliments the recently published more general interpretation guideline.
