What Is A Food Safety Management System?

Organizations and businesses that are associated with the production, distribution, preparation and the handling of foodstuff are susceptible to certain hazards, which can occur during any stage of the entire procedure. After considering a number of factors and taking into account all the hazards the regulatory authorities of most countries have stipulated that these organizations or businesses are required to have a Food Safety Management System in place to provide adequate safety for their produce and the general public at large.

A Food Safety Management System can be implemented by organizations and businesses to meet the requirements set forth by the regulator in accordance with the type of business they are involved in. There is a requirement to understand that the stipulations could be different for a producer, a manufacturer and for that matter even a retailer. However, it is the overall responsibility of the business concerned to ensure that the products delivered to the end consumer are safe for consumption and do not pose any kind of risk to them.

At this stage it would be honest enough to state that businesses and organizations could begin believing a FoodSafety Management System is just another problem, which will make it difficult for them to continue with their business activities. Implementing a Food Safety Management System is not just about having a few controls in place but needs a commitment from the business that they will at all times comply with the regulations which have been stipulated by the regulatory authority. They are obliged to have in place a mechanism, which will allow them to have systems that are established, operated and updated within the framework, which has a structured system of management and has also been incorporated within their overall activities of management.

The introduction of a Food Safety Management System within the framework of an existing business can sound like a complicated matter to most businesses. The system will need dedicated personnel who can monitor the raw material or the finished products of the business every step of the way and even ensure that they maintain adequate records, which can be verified by the supervisory body. There will definitely be certain costs involved which the organization could feel is not warranted. It is a certainty that the organization will have to set aside resources and the manpower necessary for the proper implementation and maintenance of the system. However, companies that are prepared to overlook the resources, which they will be required to expend, will stand to gain immensely because the system can be beneficial to them.

There is a strong belief among many that the presence of food borne hazards only affects the products at the point of consumption, which is truly not the case. Food safety hazards can occur during any stage of the food chain and therefore it is vital that adequate controls in place. A Food Safety Management System has been designed specifically for this purpose and the sole objective of the system is to ensure that the combined efforts of all parties within the food chain are taken into account. One of the foremost systems which have gained popularity throughout the world is the ISO 22,000 and has in place a system which is not just beneficial to the end client but also to all parties involved during different stages of the production and the handling.

A Food Safety Management System is not just a requirement for large companies because it can be implemented throughout the food chain. It must be understood that larger companies are generally not involved in the production of raw material and the risks of contamination of foodstuff is not limited to the supply chains of the products. Contamination of foodstuff can happen at any stage and the objective of the system is not just to prevent such incidences but also to have safeguards in place to ensure that the entire food chain is managed effectively. This is probably the best way for organizations and companies to ensure that they are not exposed to problems of any kind due to the mishandling of foodstuff during any stage of the production, handling and final delivery to the customer.

Do companies or organizations, which have been certified by ISO 20,000 or HA CCP, stand to benefit from the extra expenditure, which they are required to indulge in? This is an issue that has often been raised especially by entities that believed they had everything in place to carry on activities without having a Food Safety Management System. This could perhaps be sheer ignorance on their part because they would have failed to understand the kind of benefits which would be available to them simply because they decided in favor of having a safety system which will classify them as a better organization than the rest.

When companies and organizations do not consider having a Food Safety Management System in place, they are restricting their business opportunities to their individual localities. On the other hand having a system in place will open up a whole set of avenues for them which will assist them to expand their business throughout the country and even venture out into the international markets. At the same time, they will also have an opportunity to instill a better sense of confidence among their clientele simply by having a certificate, which will prove that they provide adequate attention to the quality of the products, or services, which they are distributing. Consumers will be pleased to note that they are dealing with a certified company and purchasing products, which are safe for consumption. The benefits of having a Food Safety Management System are manifold and therefore all companies and organizations involved in this business can benefit immensely simply by following a structured management system.

A Food Safety Management System may very well be considered as an unwanted hassle, which will only bring untold miseries on the applicant. However, certain countries have made it a stipulation, which needs to be followed without exceptions while countless others are still in the process of developing systems, which are suitable for them. Regardless of belief, which could be held by companies, food handlers and retailers, there is a need to understand that the requirement of a Food Safety Management System is a matter that cannot be ignored and is better implemented from the very onset.

Disaster Can Strike When Food Safety Management Systems Are Not Implemented

The subject of food safety has been receiving plenty of attention over the last few years especially after a number of incidents were reported. Some of the incidents even caused fatalities while the others hospitalized a number of people. After giving the matter the consideration it deserves the authorities have presently stipulated that all businesses within the food chain must have a Food Safety Management System to safeguard against risks of any kind. They have considered risks due to human errors and also because of allergens, which could be present within the food chain. Several countries have now made it mandatory for all businesses involved in the production, processing, transportation and storage of food stuff to have in place a Food Safety Management System and have also stipulated penalties for organizations that do not do so.

The authorities have stipulated the kind of businesses, which must have Food Safety Management System within their workplace. The list provided is exhaustive and even covers businesses which can be involved in the production of raw material, the ingredients to be used for the cleaning of raw material, the handling of products during the preparation and after and finally even the transportation of the finished products. The sole objective of this system is to provide the consumer a product, which he or she can trust and have without the fear of contamination. While the controls mentioned by the authorities certainly look difficult it is well known that food safety risks exist and they can easily be eliminated if the organization or the business is prepared to take the steps needed. A number of companies and organizations have abided by the law and are presently benefiting from the investment they made to have Food Safety Management System in place.

The primary responsibility for managing the system effectively rests with the management of a company and therefore a Food Safety Management System is just as effective as the management of the organization. An organization can invest sums of money to implement the guidelines, which have been provided and also make regular efforts to upgrade the system. However, the entire effort will come to naught if the management of the organization does not provide the proper attention and keep in regular touch with the happenings within the organization. In fact disaster can strike as it has done with the Peanut Corporation of America where an outbreak of salmonella in 2008 caused fatalities among nine Americans and hospitalized over 700. The CEO of the company along with the quality assurance manager and other management staff was sentenced to a combined total of 53 years in prison leading to the company becoming defunct. Under the circumstances, would it not be preferable to have an effective Food Safety ManagementSystem in place rather than risk a prison term or even closure of the organization?

Looking at the kind of penalties that an organization or its executives could face it would be better to conclude that most would prefer to have A Food Safety Management System despite being required to invest resources and manpower and remaining in touch with the matter of food safety with utmost responsibility. The managements of most organizations do not prefer to have a set of controls placed upon them simply owing to their belief that it would hamper the profitability of the company. These matters are highlighted within the litigation with PCA when it was revealed that the management knowingly shipped tainted products to the market and had even tempered with records from the lab. Therefore the better option for organizations would be to make a small investment to implement Food Safety Management System and to say no to the risks.

When the matter of implementing Food Safety Management System is discussed organizations do not have to worry that they will be obliged to bring in major changes that can affect their overall functionality. They need to have in place a system of controls, which will reduce the risks, which they could be facing. The management of the organization must also consider the fact that the system must be indoctrinated within all its staff members without whom the implementation would become awkward. Applying the criteria listed under HACCP and implementing it to the fullest will also make it better for the organization to understand how matters related to food safety can be easily managed. HACCP will provide the organization with the information that is needed to manage risks of all kinds and even have critical control measures in the event of any accidents.

The organization can consider implementing these measures without external assistance or decide to have a professional draw up a custom-designed plan for their requirements. There will certainly be some costs involved when the services of a professional are enlisted. However, he or she will be able to consider the requirements of the company, design a plan specifically for them and even have them successfully audited to be certified as an organization, which is compliant with the requirements. Organizations must understand that they will be required to train their staff and management to follow every stipulation, which has been mentioned by the regulatory authorities.

Organizations that are certified as compliant with Food Safety Management Systems can rest assured that they will have new opportunities opening up for business. The certificate provided is recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative and therefore the benefits which organizations can get is manifold. They will be given the opportunity to participate in businesses internationally where they had never ventured out earlier. It will also give their customers a message that the organization makes all the efforts needed to safeguard the interests of their consumers. This will be a credible initiative on the part of the organization and will not lead them into any kind of disaster.

Not having Food Safety Management System in place or not paying proper attention to it can lead to a disaster while the reverse will be true for organizations that are willing to believe in the policy of "zero risk" and continuing their business after considering the requirements of their clients before the profitability of the organization. The principle can be sometimes difficult to adhere to but is definitely a requirement if organizations are part of the food chain.

Risk Based Thinking Is Vital For ISO 14001 Certification

The newly revised version of  ISO 14001 (2015 version) relies heavily  on  risk  based thinking.  The focus is more on risk identification and managing risk, rather than  on  corrective- preventive philosophy of the previous version. The risk based approach  requires that environmental  risks be identified  for processes as well as products  and services,  throughout the organization. The same thinking needs to be applied for the processes of external providers. The top management must create awareness of the need for risk based thinking.

Advantages  of the  risk  based approach

This approach provides  for  a proactive,  strategic response   towards all real as well as potential environmental issues. The key advantages  would result  from the focus it provides  towards  identification  of  potential incidents and elimination or the minimization of root causes of  the risks.. This  philosophy  can  have  positive influence  on persons taking decisions regarding processes, products and services,  who will  also take   responsibility  for protecting the  environment.

Compliance to the requirements of the standard along with legal/regulatory requirements  can be ensured with the guidance of experts, such as  ISO 14001 consultants. These  consultants can also  provide training on awareness of risk based approach for the entire organization. They can help the organizations to achieve ISO 14001 certification in a time bound manner.

Risk related clauses to be complied with for  ISO 14001 certification

Following are the important ISO 14001 requirements regarding risk management. Clause 4.1  of  ISO 14001: 2015 highlights need for understanding business environment (context), and  external as well as  internal  issues that impact environmental performance. These concerns could relate to water, air quality, usage of land, legal as well as regulatory aspects, sociopolitical issues, organizations technology, products, services and  processes. The company must plan to minimize or eliminate the undesired consequences of the risks.

Enterprise must  determine risks applicable to its business, related to environment, along with legal compliance requirements. Example could be risk arising due to emissions, natural  flooding, spillages or leaks, contamination as well as  water scarcity.

Clause 5.2  prescribes that policy established, must  include  enterprise’s commitment to pollution control,  environment  protection along with improvement approach.

Clause 6.1  explains  the need for action-plan to effectively address risks to environment. Clause 6.1.2  covers environmental aspects. It involves determination of part of processes and activities that adversely  influence the environment. Aspect can include direct as well as  indirect influence.  impact is the extent the activity adversely  affects the environment. Aspect will also depend on the technology used for the operations.  Clause 6.1.3 explains  voluntary obligation as well as legal/ regulatory compliance requirements.

Clause 6.2.1 stipulates the requirement  for establishing environmental  objectives  based on policy framework already prescribed under  clause 5.2. These objectives must include  time  bound plans, roles and responsibilities and other resources needed. The environmental objectives must be  integrated into  operational  plans well as business   processes. The risk based thinking should percolate to life cycle of the products.

Clause 8.3 prescribes the need for  emergency  response as well as preparedness response. Risk based thinking requires aspect identification as well as classification. Emergency can arise due to negative impact of various aspects. Likelihood of emergency situation needs to be assessed. In a petroleum installation, for instance fire may be an aspect that needs emergency response system. If a certain aspect is considered significant, preparing emergency response plan is a must.

Clause 8.4 requires the risk based monitoring and  measurement of process, products, services of external providers. Clause 9.1.2 covers the stipulation for evaluation of the  EMS  for regulatory  as well as legal compliance.

Thus  we find that Risk based thinking is embedded  in the entire ISO 14001 standard for the environment management system requirements.

Gaining a competitive edge through ISO certification

ISO certification can be used to streamline the internal business processes of a company e.g. by decreasing the time required to perform specific activities in business functions, by reducing waste, decreasing procurement costs and by increasing productivity. Research has indicated that the contribution of certification to the gross profit ranges from 0.15% to 5 % of annual sales revenues.

In some companies standards serve as the basis for innovation in business processes, and allow companies to expand the network of their suppliers or to introduce and manage new products efficiently and effectively. In other companies standards helped reduce the risk in introducing their products in national markets.

Certification has also been used as the basis for new product development, entering new markets, both domestic and export, supporting the increased demand and creating new markets. In exceptional cases the effect of standards has exceeded the figures given above by a wide margin with companies obtaining a gross profit contribution of up to 33% of their annual sales revenue. This helped them to position themselves as leaders in their field for a certain time period.

Examples of a few companies around the world who gained competitive edge through ISO certification are given below:

PTT Chemicals is a major petrochemicals company in Thailand. Its main products are polyethylene, polymers, ethylene oxide based performance products and olefins. The main standards that it uses are ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, ISO 17026 and various technical standards. The economic benefits to it by the standards are USD 9.4 million annually which is equal to 3% of annual sales revenue. The key benefits are that the standards brought about a steady increase in the plant’s output. ISO 9001 played a key role in developing Good Manufacturing Practices in the plant and contributed to plant reliability and reduction of wastes.

Vinakip is an electric devices manufacturing company in Vietnam. Its products are sockets, wires and cables, plugs, switches etc. The most important standard it uses in ISO 9001 and various national standards. The economic benefits it achieved from the standards is USD 370 500 which is equivalent to 38% of annual sales revenues. Using standards allowed Vinakip to reduce the product lines to a small number of standardized products. Improving the quality of material provided by suppliers through better control, sharing information more efficiently between internal departments, reducingthe production cost and decreasingthe generation of waste, improving the training of staff by referencing the standards, unifying documentation and labelling practices for most of its products, developing a culture of continuous improvement in the organization.

ISO 9001 helped the company define its business processes clearly and to share information about product characteristics, key activities and performance indicators as well as good practices. The result was improvement in processes, reducing the product variety and improving cooperation with suppliers which led to better quality inputs less waste and lower number of repairs. The use of testing standards allowed the company to meet customer expectations and legal requirements while ISO 9001 certification improved the company’s reputation and the confidence of customers in its products.

Festo Brazil is a German subsidiary and a provider of pneumatic and electrical drive technology, making integrated systems and services for factory and process automation. The standards that the company uses are ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 as well as many automotive industry standards like ISO 16949 and VDA 6.4. The economic benefits of the standards were USD 27 million annually amounting to I.9 % of sales revenue. Using the standards helped Festo Brazil to implement an efficient procurement method resulting in work saving, saving 30% in purchase by buying standardized parts, by optimizing and reducing the design time of its engineers, improving communication between different departments, streamlining manufacturing by instilling a company-wide continual improvement drive.

These improvements were brought about by using standards in procurement and standardized parts resulting in 30% saving in costs. Due to clever use of advanced standards the design time by engineers and the overall project time was reduced which allowed new and customized products to reach the market in a shorter span of time. ISO 9001 was implemented very thoroughly and combined with technical, managerial and organizational improvements was responsible for increased productivity and quality in manufacturing and thus the company became a world class producer.

Lobatse Clay Works is a company operating in Botswana and makes face bricks as well as window sills and pavers. It uses BOS 28 Burnt Clay masonry units Standard, ISO 9001 and OHSAS 18001. The economic benefits of standards to the company were USD 256213 annually equivalent to 2.63 percent of company sales revenue. The major benefits for LCW of using standards were Calibration of equipment, increase in conformance of material from suppliers, improvement in production process and reduce in the number of health and safety incidents. Standards helped LCW to focus on a limited number of brick types which it process at a high consistent quality. Quality Procedures that define its processes like excavation of clay soil to production of bricks and their storage, packaging and delivery to customers have helped in streamlining the production processes of the company.