Contents Unit 4: Food Legislation and Risk Assessment1 Euromodule Food Safety and Risk Assessment...

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Unit 4: Food Legislation and Risk Assessment 1

Unit 4: Food Legislation and Risk Assessment

EuromoduleFood Safety and Risk Assessment

Arja Siebenga, Hogeschool van Arnhem en NijmegenVersion 1, oktober 2004

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Contents Unit 4

• Introduction• The Food Supply Chain and Traceability• Legislation and Food Safety Agencies

– Codex Alimentarius– Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) agreement– EU Food Safety Legislation

• International quality systems– Hazard Analyses Critical Control Points (HACCP)– ISO 9000 (at this moment ISO 9001:2000)– EUREP-GAP– British Retail Consortium (BRC)– Safe Quality Food

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Introduction

• There is concern on Food Safety Hazards among consumers and also among producers (see Unit 1)

• Caused by:– Food Poisoning incidents and subsequent Recall

actions– Food comes from all over the world and so the

production is an uncertain factor

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Introduction

• Consumers and Producers want safe and high quality food in the supermarkets, shops and marketplaces

• Consumers and Producers want: – Legislation and food safety control– Quality systems– A safe Food Supply Chain

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Precautionary principle

• Consumers and Producers want to prevent food hazards and incidents, so Authorities want to take precautionary measures

• The European commission took her responsibility and published the White Paper in 2000, after the Green Paper

• See: http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/health_consumer/library/pub/pub06_en.pdf

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White Paper

• The European Commission, which wants to assure that the EU has the highest standards on food safety, published the White Paper on Food safety with a proposal for a European Food Authority and Food Safety Legislation

• The principles of the White Paper:– To cover the whole of the food chain “farm to table”

– To use the precautionary principle where appropriate

– To be able to trace products through the whole food chain if necessary

– To use scientific advice

– To appropriate official controls and rapid action on emergencies

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New EU General Food Law

• Has regulations for:• Supply Chain Management (SCM) • Control Systems and• Transparency and Traceability in food processing chains for

eventual problems and subsequent recalls• Quality systems

• Is based on worldwide trade and legislation:• Codex alimentarius• Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures (SPS) agreement of

the World Trade organization (WTO)

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The Food Supply Chain

• Includes:– Primary production (agricultural)– Food processing– Food trade; wholesale and retail– Catering– Consumers; they drive the chain (demand

chain)

Bourlakis M.A. eds. (2004), Food Supply Chain Management. Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Oxford.

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Farmers – Agricultural Producers

Food and drink

manufacturing

Wholesaler

Catering Retailer

Consumer

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• The management environment of the chain:– Quality; the degree of congruence between customers expectations

and their realization

– Technology; in agricultural production, food manufacturing and distribution

– Logistics; a key business process that provides increased customer satisfaction

– Information technology; supports the movement of products and product information dissemination in the food chain

– Regulation framework; based on (inter)national law

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Traceability

• The ability to track and/or trace product flows in a production and distribution chain

• It implies that product flows are uniquely identifiable and at critical points in the production and distribution processes, the identity of product flows is logged

• This information is systematically collected, processed and stored.

Vernède, R., Verdenius, F. and Broeze, J., (2003) Traceability in Food Processing Chains. KLICT Position Paper, Agrotechnology & Food Innovations, Wageningen.

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Traceability

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Traceability

• From January 1st 2005

• Every company in the Food sector

• Must be able to perform T&T: in own warehouse one participant in the chain before one participant in the chain after

Most important points of T&T (art. 18 General

Food Law):

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Traceability

• Is for all food related products

• Each company is responsable for their choice of batch size

Most important points of T&T (art. 18 General Food Law):

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Legislation and Food Safety Agencies

• The Codex Alimentarius, the SPS (Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures) agreement and the General Food Law:– Aim– Set up of the legislation / system– Control and sanctions– Administration and organization

www.globalfoodnetwork.org/pdf/InternationalReportDefinitief2.pdf

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Codex Alimentarius Programme - Aim

The main purposes are:• Protecting Health of the consumers• Ensuring fair trade practices in food trade• Promoting co-ordination of all food standards

work from international governmental and non-governmental organizations (harmonization).

ftp://ftp.fao.org/codex/standard/en/CXP_001e.pdf (the Codex document)

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Codex Alimentarius Programme Set up of the system

The Codex Alimentarius is a collection of:• Food standards• Codes of practice• Other recommendations presented in a uniform way

Example: Recommended International Code of Practice;This code recommends a HACCP-based approach to enhance Food

Safety

This is a code for all food processing companies, there also is a codex for a type of product or process

http://www.codexalimentarius.net/standard_list.asp (a list of all existing codex)

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Codex Alimentarius Programme Set up of the system

There are also guidelines in the Codex for:

• Production

• Processing

• Marketing and

• Labelling

Example: for niche products or special foods, there is the Codex for organically produced foods.

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Codex Alimentarius ProgrammeControl and Sanctions

There is no organization that controls the Codex; each country in the world has its own responsibility and for each Codex has the choice of:

• Full acceptance• Acceptance with minor deviations or• Free distributionAn increasing number of countries are aligning there national food standards with those of the Codex Alimentarius, particularly in the case of additives contaminants and residues.

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Codex Alimentarius ProgrammeOrganization

The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) was created in 1963 by:

• Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)• World Health Organisation (WHO)

The secretary of the Codex Alimentarius Commission is a senior FAO official who serves as the Chief of the Joint FAO / WHO Food Standards Programmes located within the Food and Nutrition Division at FAO in Rome.

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Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) Agreement: Aim

The basic aim of the SPS agreement is to maintain the sovereign right of any government to provide the level of health protection it deems appropriate, but first of all to ensure that these sovereign rights are not misused for protectionist purposes and do not result in unnecessary barriers to international trade.

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SPS AgreementSetup of the system

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreement is based on seven principles which the member states of the WTO have to follow:

1. National sovereignty2. Harmonisation3. Equivalence4. Science-based measures5. Regionalisation6. Transparency7. Dispute resolution.

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SPS AgreementControl and sanctions

• Only governments can submit trade disputes to the WTO’s disputes settlement

• By accepting the WTO agreement, governments have agreed to be bound by the rules in all of the multilateral trade agreements attached to it including the SPS agreement

• In case of trade dispute there is the WTO’s dispute settlement procedure and the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB).

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SPS AgreementAdministration and organisation

• The SPS committee is open to all member countries

• Look for literature concerning the dispute between European Countries and the United States of America on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO’s)

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EU Food Safety LegislationAim

To establish and maintain high level protection of human health, safety and consumer protection

So the General Food Law is the only of the three agreements whose only purpose is the consumer and his health, safety and legal protection

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EU Food Safety LegislationSet up of the legislation

The General Food Law consists of:• Directives; A number of guidelines that can be

transformed into national laws, there is some space for adaptation to the specific national situations. Example: Obligation of the manufacturer to establish a self monitoring system in accordance with the HACCP concept.

And• Regulations; They should be taken over literally by the

member states. Example: Food and food ingredients must be traceable

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EU Food Safety LegislationControl and Sanctions

• Control is a responsibility of the local government

• The EU can assign a European Inspection Team that examines if a member state acts according to the rules.

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EU Food Safety LegislationAdministration and organisation

The European Community has several bodies for legislation matters:

• European Food Safety Authority; scientific advice

• Council of Ministers; decision-making on final legislative matters

• European Parliament; legislation and control.

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International Quality Systems

The most important quality systems:• Hazard Analyses Critical Control Points (HACCP)• ISO 9000 (at this moment ISO 9000:2000)• EUREP-GAP• British Retail Consortium (BRC)• Safe Quality Food.

We will discuss:• Description of the system• Aim• Set up of the system• Control and Sanctions• Advantages and disadvantages.

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Hazard Analyses Critical Control Points (HACCP)

• The HACCP system is the system that is required for any food business or organisation in most countries by legislation.

• The joint FAO / WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission recommends the HACCP approach to enhance Food Safety.

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The Aim:

“HACCP is a tool to assess hazards and establish control systems that focus on prevention rather then relying mainly on end-product testing on food safety”

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Set up of the system:

• HACCP is a science based system– With 7 principles, for example “Conduct a

hazard analysis”– And 12 guidelines, for example “List all

potential hazards associated with each step, conduct a hazard analysis and consider any measures to control identified hazards.

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• Control on HACCP is part of the control of the legislation; in EU that is General Food Law based legislation in each country

• Sanctions depend on the different legislations and are enforced in EU by the Food controlling organisation in each country.

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Advantages• Gives insight in the critical control points of

the process• Gives trust for the consumer that products

are produced safely and hygienically• Decreases chance on recall• Decreases number of desired audits;

saves money• Reduces the costs of food borne illness.

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Disadvantages:• Increased production and supervisory costs• Need to train supervisors managerial and

production staff• Attitude / Motivation of all• Reduced Staff time available for other tasks• Costs of implementation• Reduced flexibility in production process and

introduction of new products.

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ISO 9000 (at this moment ISO 9000:2000)

ISO systems are:• Generic {for all types of organisations producing

all kinds of products or services in any sector of activity (profit, non-profit or public)}

• Management systems (there is a minimum of operational order so that time, money and other resources are utilised efficiently)

• Standards (providing the organization with a model for setting up and operating the management system).

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ISO 9000 (at this moment ISO 9000:2000)

The Aim / result of ISO 9000 is:“Transparency of the processes so the

organization can deliver measurable output.”

The system is frequently revised. The last time was in the year 2000, so we currently use ISO 9000:2000, which was published in 2001

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ISO 9000:2000

The revised system consists of:• ISO 9000 Quality Management System (QMS):

Principles and Definitions• ISO 9001 QMS: Requirements• ISO9004 QMS: Guidelines for performance

improvement• ISO 19011 Guidelines for auditing QMS.

www.iso.org

www.Irqa.nl

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ISO 9000:2000

ISO has no Control itself but:• conformity assessment is a matter for suppliers

and their clients in private sector• when ISO standards have been incorporated into

public legislation, regulatory bodies execute the assessments

Many testing laboratories and certification bodies offer independent (“third party”) conformity assessment services.

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ISO 9000:2000

Sanctions can be used for misleading practices such as:

• Misuse of the ISO logo, which is a registered trademark

• Giving the false impression, through expression such as “ISO certification”

• Giving the false impression that ISO 9000 is a product quality label.

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ISO 9000:2000

Basic Advantages:• The meeting of regulatory requirements• The meeting of customer needs• The model ISO 9000 makes for a company

seeking to formalize their management system of quality assurance.

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ISO 9000:2000

Important disadvantages:• ISO 9000 is not a specific food safety system

and does not necessarily ensure food safety and does not require an HACCP plan to be completed to meet the standards

• The actual change of operations can be very expensive (Designated employees have to be trained and take classes and spend time to train fellow employees)

• Companies sometimes feel that the existing set of operational procedures is already working well and so the need to change is not felt.

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EUREP-GAP

EUREP stand for Euro-Retailer Produce working group and is a platform in which the major European food retailers are grouped.

The Aim:“The objective is to raise standards for the

production of fresh products such as fruits vegetables and livestock”.

www.eurep.orgwww.eurep.net

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EUREP-GAP

EUREP supports the principles of and encourages the use of HACCP

EUREP-GAP for fruit and vegetables is developed by all kinds of representatives from the fruit and vegetables chain. Growers are obliged to comply with national and international laws.

Growers have to show commitment to:• Food safety• Reduction of environmental damage• Reduction of the use of pesticides• Efficient use of natural resources• Health and safety for employers.There is a strong focus on traceability.

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EUREP-GAP

Set up of the system:EUREP has developed a protocol for Good Agricultural Practice for fresh fruit and vegetables.

EUREP has also developed a protocol “Integrated Farm Assurance” Livestock and Combinable Crops.This is a guide to standards of EUREP.

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EUREP-GAP

• The EUREP-GAP approval is received after a verification from a verification body and there must be at least one internal inspection a year.

• A significant number of retailers only allow fruit and vegetables with EUREP-GAP certificate.

When less then 95% of the “minor musts" is fulfilled the certificate will be temporarily suspended.

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EUREP-GAP

Advantages:Reducing Food Safety Risks in Global Primary Production

by means of:• Encouraging the development and adaptation of

national and regional farm assurance schemes• Reducing costs of compliance• Increasing the Integrity of farm assurance schemes

world wide.

Disadvantages:• Regulations are quite broad and general• It is an industry initiative focused on business-to-

business rather than consumer orientated.

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British Retail Consortium (BRC)

BRC took the initiative to formulate common standards to inspect suppliers providing retailers with food.

Aim:With a BRC-certificate producers satisfy all demands that British supermarkets require at once. Because this lowers the cost for customers and producers both with regard to inspection cost this concept is valued broadly.

www.agriholland.nl

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British Retail consortium (BRC)

Set up of the system:BRC requires suppliers to have a quality system

operational, the application of HACCP, including process, staff and product, and finally environmental demands should be met

It consists of: - Inspection protocol (used by the organiza-

tions controlling the suppliers)- Elaborated checklist for the suppliers itself.

A supplier can achieve two levels; foundation and a higher level.

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ControlA couple of accredited organizations are allowed

to certify companies.

SanctionsShortcomings of the norm can be divided into

three categories:1. Critical (blockade)2. Major (improvement reports)3. Minor (recommendations)

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Advantages:1. In the international context BRC is widely known2. Suppliers have less audits3. Audits are more standardized4. Suppliers can stress their strengths and indicate on

which level they are operating5. Mainly HACCP based

Disadvantages:1. Very extensive checklist (more than 200 control points)2. Some items are typically English.

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Safe Quality Food (SQF)

SQF is an Australian initiative that focuses on Food safety, product quality and the stimulation of improvement strategies.

Aim:1. To raise standards of Food Safety and quality across the food

chain2. To continuously improve and deliver high standards of customer

services3. To continue to pursue increased recognition of SQF Management

Systems by customers and client in new existing markets4. To maintain and protect the high level of integrity of SQF Codes.

www.sqfi.com

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Safe Quality System (SQF)

Set up of the system:• SQF 1000 Quality Code: a simple HACCP-

based supplier approved system for primary producers

• SQF 2000 Quality Code: a user-friendly quality assurance system specifically tailored for food businesses

• SQF 3000 Quality Code: a system focused on retailers, especially for biological, chemical and physical contamination.

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Advantages:1. Very complete system, certified companies easily

obtain other certificates2. Assessed by officially accredited organizations3. Broad reputation is an advantage for exporting

companies4. SQF label can be used as a marketing instrument5. Enabling tool for producers, manufactures and

distributors to demonstrate “due diligence” and traceability

6. Proven way for Supply Chain to increase market share

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Advantages continued:• Internationally recognized• Management system that allows

implementation of operational efficiencies.

Disadvantages:1. SQF certification is not automatically a HACCP

certification2. Not always clear for customers what product

quality issues are covered.

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Quality Systems

Those were the five most used world wide quality systems.

You see how important the issue of safe food and quality of our food is supposed to be!

Contents Unit 4: Food Legislation and Risk Assessment1 Euromodule Food Safety and Risk Assessment...

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