Food safety focus on packaging

ALWAYS a hot topic, food safety is getting much attention these days as media intensifies coverage of foodborne illness outbreaks happening across the globe. Likewise, the implementation of the Food Safety Modernisation Act (FSMA) of the United States has done its fair share of keeping manufacturers on their toes. Furthermore, consumer  packaged goods companies (CPGs) are seeking the latest technologies to ensure regulatory compliance and advance their operations.

The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), established in 2000, recognises the need for harmonious food safety standards. Most recently, there has been a push by CPGs toward certification of packaging suppliers.  As demand is quite high, the PACK EXPO International is considering this a major theme at its next show in September.

Change is just around the corner

Addressing a room full of suppliers at a conference at Pack Expo 2012, Cass Wade-Kudla, senior manager of Packaging at General Mills Inc. summed up this movement quite well:  “If you supply a food company, you are no longer just the packaging industry, you are a part of the food industry,” she said. “We treat food packaging with the same food safety rigour as food ingredients.”

Food needs all the protection it can get. According to the Centers for Disease Control and  Prevention in Atlanta, foodborne illnesses affect an estimated 48 million people in the United States alone, every year. Of those, 128,000 are hospitalised and some 3,000 succumb.Consequently, FSMA expands the role of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in interstate commerce, requiring CPGs to comply with a variety of new procedures, including preventative controls, records and traceability, and verification. To ensure compliance, processing and packaging suppliers are working directly with their customers to advise on new technology applications and equipment re-designs.

 
The waiting game

An open and flexible dialogue with equipment suppliers will be critical to manufacturers in the coming months. CPGs are already challenged by the ongoing delays of formalised regulations. In January 2013, following the 24-month delay between signing the law and publishing proposed regulations, the FDA finally released two of five food safety standards for 120 days of public comment.

The first rule requires any registered facilities of food intended for sale in the United States(manufacturers, processors and packers) to develop a written food safety plan that identifies hazards, and outlines steps to minimise these hazards as well as monitoring procedures and methods for recording results. The plan must also map out steps that will be taken to correct any issues that may arise.

The second rule puts forth enforceable safety standards for the production and harvesting of produce on farms. Whilst small farms (family farms with less than $250,000 annual monetary value of all commodities sold) will have one year to achieve compliance, larger farms will have 26 months. The proposed standards require farms to identify routes for microbial contamination – including water sources, animal health and hygiene, equipment, tools and buildings.

In these still early stages, many CPGs continue to question what new measures will be mandated. They are also concerned about implementing changes that could be incorrect, unnecessary and costly in the long run. However, theseAir Jordans