You’ve got a phone call, email, carrier pigeon from a client or prospective supplier asking if you have or are prepared to get HACCP certification. But you don’t handle food, why is this relevant to you? We can tell you why.
HACCP certification is about managing risks within the food industry. Risks can occur with all the inputs required to produce a finished product. HACCP Food Safety Management is a risk management framework developed for businesses to address the risks involved in broadly supplying and preparing food for distribution. HACCP itself is an acronym for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point. The food management system is a controlled approach to identify any hazards specific to your business and operations and also implements controls to ensure food safety.
For example, a manufacturer of plastic food packaging could be asked to get HACCP certification by a client using their products to prepare and package their food items. The client is seeking to identify and manage all the potential risks involved in manufacturing their final product, this does include assessing what risks might occur regarding the packaging used.
Some examples of food inputs include;
- Packaging Materials: plastic, paper or glass
- Print and Labelling
- Water and Ice
- Warehousing and Logistics
- Cleaning
- Pest Control
These are just some examples of the risks associated with the indirect inputs of the food preparation process. As each of these inputs will have direct contact with food it is essential to ensure that the materials used are food grade and safe. As noted in the examples above HACCP certification applies to the direct product inputs and also the services.
Think HACCP certification is for you? Contact us here for more information and a quick quote.
Our checklists break down the requirements so you can conduct your own self-assessment. Download them here.
