Have you ever ordered a meal in a restaurant, fast food outlet or at the supermarket deli counter and wondered how your meal was prepared? Was it prepared in a safe and hygienic environment and what control measures are in place to ensure conformity?
Food safety is often overlooked in our daily lives, until there has been an influx in reporting of foodborne illness cases or consumers are hospitalized. Only then is the industry placed under the spotlight.
We can all recall the big Listeria-hysteria that hit South African consumers in 2017/2018 due to the consumption of contaminated ready-to-eat processed meat products.
After months of investigations, plant visits, microbiological and environmental sampling, they determined the root cause of the outbreak; again highlighting the importance of implementation and maintaining of food safety principles.
It was reported that the cost of recall, suspension of production and the safe destruction of the affected products and raw materials, would be around R 350 million.
Consequences of bad food safety
What really happens to the company when a foodborne illness outbreak occurs?
- Damaged brand reputation – going forward consumers will doubt the quality and reliability of the product
- Loss in sales – consumers will lose confidence in the brand which will have a direct impact on the value of the business
- Litigation – from those who are affected by the illness
The indirect costs could be devastating to a company, no matter the size or number of outlets.
New Government Regulations for Food Safety
After this unfortunate incident, in June 2018, the Department of Health gazetted the R638 “Regulations Governing General Hygiene Requirements for Food Premises, the Transport of Food and Related Matters” which replaces the R962. The revised regulations have enforced more stringent measures on the GMP’s (Good Manufacturing Practices), thereby enforcing each food-handling premise to comply to these minimum requirements.
A food safety management system should address the legal requirements, customer and statutory requirements which includes physical, chemical and microbiological aspects as identified in the HACCP study.
It is best practice that any food-handling company conducts internal food safety audits at least monthly to ensure compliance to basic food safety requirements.
Implementing and maintaining food safety compliance will assist the company in achieving a food safety system certification. The type of industry will determine which certification is best suited for the operation. The certification requirements will also be influenced by specific customer and statutory requirements. Once the system has been approved by external auditors from the certification body, an accreditation certificate will be issued.
Food safety is about changing the culture of the workplace, the behaviour of the staff, and ensuring continuous improvement throughout the implementation process.
For advice on Food Safety and complying with new government regulations contact LabourNet on 041 373 2994 or by clicking here.