We’re here to help with information about all the credentials you need and where you can find the best materials for your business that are up to code.
What is Food Safety and Compliance?
Food safety and compliance is a set of regulations and certifications that ensure food is manufactured and marketed under safe and sanitary conditions. This is done through routine surveillance inspections.
Official food inspectors make sure that food is pure, safe to eat, and properly labeled according to food safety laws and regulations. Their goal is to keep people safe and prevent food supply contamination.
What is GFSI?
GFSI (the Global Food Safety Initiative) is an independently-reviewed organization establishing standards and certifications to regulate food safety. GFSI helps provide companies and consumers with confidence that food is grown, produced, packaged, shipped, and sold safely.
Every day, GFSI continues to develop new ways to improve food safety and standards, ensuring unbiased reporting and accountability. Plus, this agency established the food safety certification FSSC 22000 to govern food quality in a comprehensive, effective, and versatile way for different industries.
Types of Food Safety and Compliance Certifications
If your business involves food, you are eligible to obtain food safety and compliance certifications. We’ve provided a list of certificates your business may need to incorporate to help maintain quality standards.
ISO 22000 FSMS
ISO 22000 FSMS provides assurance within the food supply chain at the national and international levels. This certification is available to all types of food suppliers.
Some of the benefits of receiving the ISO 22000 FSMS certification include:
- Reduction of exposure to risk
- Improved food safety
- Ability to identify, prevent, and control food hazards
- Ability to build a flexible food safety management system within your organization
- Improved monitoring and measurement of food safety performance
- Food safety legal compliance
FSSC 22000
The FSSC 22000 food safety certification aims to control food safety risks. FSSC (Food Safety Management Certification Scheme) provides structured plans and systems for managing food safety risks and safe products.
The FSSC Food Safety Certification is widely accepted and recognized as a trustworthy certification worldwide. It fulfills all the Global Food Safety Initiatives (GFSI) benchmark requirements and applies to the food, feed, and food packaging manufacturing and supplying sectors.
Some of the benefits of receiving the FSSC Food Safety Certification include:
- Improved risk management by creating an environment allowing safe product production
- Continual management, monitoring, validation, and improvement in the system
- Increased market reach
- Consistent quality offerings
- Increased operational efficiency
HACCP
HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) is similar to other food safety management standards because it demonstrates strong ethics, healthy food practices, and a commitment to providing safe food for your customers.
The HACCP Certification is designed to prevent microbiological, chemical, and physical contamination in food supply and production. It’s unique because it follows an evidence-based approach, thus enhancing its efficiency and accuracy.
Some of the benefits of receiving the HACCP certification include:
- Ability to identify food risks
- Ability to establish critical control points and set critical limits
- Ability to fulfill market requirements
- Control measures are validated, verified, and monitored
BRCGS Food and BRCGS Packaging and Packaging Material
BRCGS (British Retail Consortium Global Standards) was developed to empower manufacturers to fulfill legal obligations efficiently and ensure food safety for their customers.
The purpose of the BRCGS food standard is to maintain quality, hygiene, and product safety within the food industry. It also focuses on the packaging that is associated with foods.
Some of the benefits of receiving the BRCG food standard include:
- Minimization of duplication of evaluation
- Global recognition
- Reduction of product complaints, returns, and rejections
- Increased cost efficiency
- Reduction of waste
FAMI–QS
FAMI–QS is a certification offered by the well-recognized Quality and Feed Safety Management System. This certification focuses on the feed ingredients added to animal products that may or may not carry any nutritional value. These ingredients could affect the characteristics of the original product, as well as the performance. The goal of the FAMI–QS certification is to measure and monitor the safety of and quality of feed additives.
Some of the benefits of receiving the FAMI–QS certification include:
- Increased hygiene
- Improved product production traceability
- Improved risk management
- Improved safety and quality of the product production
- Increased cost efficiency
- Minimized time and effort during production
SQF
SQF (Safe Quality Food) is a certification offered by GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative). The accreditation provides standardized safety requirements for food manufacturers and suppliers. It also demonstrates a business’s compliance with international and domestic food safety regulations, assuring suppliers and customers that their food is high-quality and produced with healthy and standardized practices.
Some of the benefits of receiving the SQF certification include:
- Enhanced process management
- Improved ability to identify and manage risks
- Global recognition
- Increased business opportunities
- Reduction of waste
AIB
The AIB (American Institute of Baking-food) provides food safety certifications, audits, inspections, and educational seminars for the food manufacturing and distributing industries. The purpose of the AIB certification is increased quality assurance and food safety.
Some of the benefits of receiving the AIB certification include:
- Increased ability to identify, reduce, eliminate, and prevent food hazards
- Prevention of damage
- Reduction of waste
- Improved ability to maintain a healthy environment for food management
Invest in Bags That Are Food Safety and Compliance Certified
Now that you know all the ins and outs of food safety and compliance certifications, it’s time to invest in the perfect bags for your product. A-Pac Manufacturing is proud to hold the FSSC 22000 certification and GFSI recognition. This means we can guarantee our product quality for food industry applications, and better serve our customers with exceptional poly bags for all their needs.
What are you waiting for? Contact us at A-Pac Manufacturing today! We specialize in producing high-quality bags for small businesses that follow food safety standards. Give us a call today!
