CIES – The Food Business Forum, announced that last week’s International Food Safety Conference in Geneva resulted in the following developments:
- The development of the Benchmark Model in the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), which is designed to allow the review of food safety standards against a set of criteria, is moving into the implementation phase. These standards contain additional requirements to applicable legislative requirements for the supply of food products, with compliance earning endorsement from GFSI. The Model is beginning with manufacturing standards, with plans to move to agricultural standards at a later time; adherence to standards is expected to yield cost savings and efficiencies for both retailers and manufacturers.
- The GFSI website, www.globalfoodsafety.com, has gone live, with downloadable information for both manufactuerers and retailers.
- The conference also unveiled the design of an Internet-based “Early Warning System,” which will give retailers and suppliers access to information on food safety incidents, issues and facts. The system will be developed by retailers and suppliers in coordination with public authorities.
- GFSI said it is studying the possibility of introducing the “Fight Bac” campaign outside the US. This campaign, which promotes good at-home hygiene practices among consumers, has been very successful in the US.
- KC's View:
- As food safety and food security – two different yet related issues – become of ever-greater relevance in an unsettled world, initiatives like these will help the food industry move from being reactive to pro-active.
