1              Overview

Food safety standards regulate the safety and suitability of food. “Safe” and “suitable” are the words used by the Codex Alimentarius Commission in its basic texts on food hygiene to describe food that is fit for human consumption.

The Codex Alimentarius Commission is responsible for developing international food standards, codes of practice and guidelines on behalf of the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Health Organisation, with the aim of protecting the health of consumers and ensuring fair practices in international trade.

In Australia, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has developed a package of food safety reforms to update existing regulatory requirements and to ensure a nationally consistent approach to food safety.

As part of these reforms, FSANZ proposed that food businesses should be required, over time, to implement a food safety program based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) to control potential food safety hazards. Standard 3.2.1 Food Safety Program was developed for this purpose and forms the basis of Global-Mark’s Certification program for HACCP.

2              In Simple Terms

Many food businesses are now required to document and implement a food safety program based on the HACCP principles.

Certification can provide increased confidence that food safety is being maintained by food businesses on a continuing basis.

This program applies to food producers, processing, transport and other organisations involved in the distribution, wholesale or retail of food products.

3              Specific Program Conditions

Where Standard 3.2.1 Food Safety Programs does apply to a food business, the proprietor must examine the food handling operations to identify potential food safety hazards and prepare a written food safety program to control these hazards. This food safety program must stay on the premises and will be subject to a periodic audit.

A hazard is a food safety problem (actual or potential) that could occur in your business or its processes.

Standard 3.2.1 is based upon the principle that food safety is best ensured through the identification and control of hazards in the production, manufacturing and handling of food as described in the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system, adopted by the joint WHO/FAO Codex Alimentarius Commission.

Standard 3.2.1 defines the six core elements of a food safety program. These are:

·       Hazard identification: the systematic identification of hazards that may be reasonably expected to occur in the food handling operations of the business;

·       Hazard control: the identification of the control point and controls for each hazard;

·       Monitoring: the systematic monitoring of the controls;

·       Corrective action: the steps to be taken when a hazard is not under appropriate control;

·       Review: regular reviews of the program to ensure that it is still effective; and

·       Record keeping: the records made and kept by a food business to show the action taken to ensure that the business complies with the food safety program.

Where Standard 3.2.2 - Food Safety Practices and General Requirements and Standard 3.2.3 Food Premises and Equipment applies, will also be used as part of our certification program, as it applies to each organisation seeking certification.

4              What Documents/Records Are Needed To Understand This Program

In order to understand our Program, you should also access and be aware of the following documents:

·         G-00: Welcome Pack

·         MSP-00: Introduction to our Management Systems

·         MSP-01: Nomenclature and Definitions

·         MSP-24 Appeals