What are some factors that go into choosing a food safety system whether it is SQF, FSSC, ISO or HACCP?
Good day everyone,
My name is Ricardo Johnson, I am just starting in a new company as QA Manager, long time reader, first time I am actually posting on here. I would like to ask how do you know what food safety system does an manufacturing facility requires?
Where I work, it is a small company under 70 employees and they currently are going for HACCP. What are some factors that go into choosing a food safety system whether it is SQF, FSSC, ISO or HACCP?
Happy to be here as I have learnt a lot over the years.
Regards,
R. Johnson
I would start by checking what certification standards any local auditors on Jamaica audit against.
It can safe a lot of money if you don't have to fly an auditor into the country.
Secondly, what do your customers expect you to have?
What is the most-oft requested certification from clients?
It depends on your definition of "food safety system" and "required."
HACCP is the plan / program that helps ensure your process will produce safe food. its a good place to start.
SQF, FSSC, BRC, etc are all basically a template of what their idea of what a entire food safety program should include (using the GFSI standard). HACCP is a portion of all of them.
many of your customers may currently or at sometime require a GFSI audit (sqf, brc, fssc)
How you pick a GFSI scheme is really up to you. like others said it might be best to pick one that has a lot of auditors in your area. you may want to review the different standards and see which ones fit your facility better. I find that SQF is more flexible than say BRC in many areas. Maybe that's good. maybe more structure would be better for you. they all have some ups and downs.
I agree with the above posters that your customers are likely the best bet on determining what standard you should look to. Governments typically lay the fundamental requirements of a food safety system, but oftentimes simply following the law is not enough to prove to customers that you have a trustworthy process. Elevated standards like ISO, SQF, etc. place additional requirements on manufacturers above and beyond local regulations. They also help to standardize rules across borders.
HACCP is a slightly different story, you may or may not be required to have a HACCP plan depending on your risk category or food product. I would start by looking at the customers you currently (or would like to) serve and work to comply with their requirements.
Hi Ricardo,
:welcome:
Welcome to the IFSQN forums
Generally, a food safety management system should include elements that are prescribed in food safety certification standards such as BRCGS, SQF, IFS and FSSC 22000, not just HACCP.
As an example, section from the SQF Food Safety Code: Food Manufacturing
System Elements
2.1 Management Commitment
2.2 Document Control and Records
2.3 Specifications, Formulations, Realization, and Supplier Approval
2.4 Food Safety System
2.5 SQF System Verification
2.6 Product Traceability and Crisis Management
2.7 Food Defense and Food Fraud
2.8 Allergen Management
2.9 Training
Module 11: Good Manufacturing Practices for Processing of Food Products
11.1 Site Location and Premises
11.2 Site Operation
11.3 Personnel Hygiene and Welfare
11.4 Personnel Processing Practices
11.5 Water, Ice, and Air Supply
11.6 Receipt, Storage, and Transport
11.7 Separation of Functions
11.8 Waste Disposal
Each section has areas to cover in sub-sections. For example, taking Section 2.4 Food Safety System, Food Safety Plan (HACCP) requirements in sub-section 2.4.3 Food Safety Plan:
2.4.1 Food Legislation (Mandatory)
2.4.2 Good Manufacturing Practices (Mandatory) - ensure the applicable Good Manufacturing Practices described in Module 11 of this Food Safety Code are applied or exempted
2.4.3 Food Safety Plan (Mandatory) - A food safety plan shall be prepared in accordance with the twelve steps identified in the Codex Alimentarius Commission HACCP guidelines
2.4.4 Product Sampling, Inspection, and Analysis
2.4.5 Non-conforming Materials and Product
2.4.6 Product Rework
2.4.7 Product Release (Mandatory)
2.4.8 Environmental Monitoring
A HACCP certification or approval by a local authority may be required dependent on local legislation, but certification of your food safety management system to a GFSI Benchmarked standard is a company decision and should be influenced by your customers and their preference. GFSI-Recognised Certification Programme Owners can be found on the GFSI website here.
The FSSC 22000 Certification Scheme includes the requirements of ISO 22000 Food safety management systems — Requirements for any organization in the food chain which has more complicated HACCP requirements for determining Critical Control Points, Operational Prerequisite Programmes and Prerequisite Programmes.
So, unless you are familiar with that approach to hazard analysis/hazard assessment then SQF or the BRCGS would be the most popular certification standards that you might want to consider. Both standards are free to download, so less initial outlay compared to the FSSC 22000 scheme. I would download the relevant standard from both SQF and BRCGS and have a look through to give yourself an idea of the expectations of the schemes.
Kind regards,
Tony
Hi Ricardo,
Just to emphasize that if you only (literally) just want "HACCP" certification there are various commercial alternatives (but maybe not in Jamaica) available which are likely to be considerably less intensive than GFSI-recognised schemes.
As per previous Posts, it often depends on what your customer actually requires.
Good day everyone,
Thank you so much for your replies, looking into SQF certification at the moment so we will see where we go from there.
Best Regards,
Ricardo Johnson