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|  | | | | | | | | | | | | Quality and Hygiene Management
| | Food safety and
hygiene management:
When “good” is not good enough
The demands being placed on the food industry
have been increasing steadily over the past
years. When it comes to winning and maintaining
the loyalty of customers and consumers
alike, a simple certificate, documenting
the implementation of a quality management
system to ISO 9001, no longer suffices. |
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addition to the harmonization of the European
laws on hygiene and their detailed requirements
for HACCP concepts and Good Hygiene
Practice, industrial enterprises and retail associations
have developed their own standards.
That is how, for example, the International
Food Standard (IFS) and the Global Standard-
Food of the British Retail Consortium (BRC
Food) for the standardized assessment of their
respective suppliers came into being. With ISO
22000, a management system for food safety
came into effect in 2005 that can be applied
by any organization, regardless of their place
in the food production chain.
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Active food safety:
A healthy slice of consumer protection
For organizations involved in the manufacturing of food for human
consumption, systematic hygiene management, in connection with
a working HACCP concept, stands for applied food safety – and with
it, pro-active consumer protection. In addition to the legal basics,
a variety of standards is available, both international and sector-related,
which organizations may use to provide focus to their efforts.
While legal provisions naturally concentrate on the safety of the
product itself, standards require a comprehensive management
system for food safety.
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From the producer to the consumer:
The food production chain
Demands for food safety and comprehensive hygiene management extend far beyond the
ranks of food and feed manufacturers. Rather, the manufacture and placing on the market of
foodstuffs is seen as a chain, with the safety aspect woven throughout its links. That is why
more and more often, other industries, such as the suppliers of raw and auxiliary materials,
packaging, machinery, or logistics, need to supply evidence of HACCP concepts and the adherence
to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP).
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| November 2007
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