Non-Regulatory Food Safety Management

Around the world, thousands of people are employed in the food safety management industry, with millions of dollars invested in food safety research and management, in addition to numerous inspections and tests conducted by governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations. Food safety still remains an issue of utmost importance and a major priority in public health. In response to the increasing awareness and concern regarding food safety, international organizations, governments, non-government organizations, retailers, and producer associations have implemented a large number of food safety management regulations, standards, and guidelines to assure food safety. Some of them are compulsory requirements for food companies (government regulated de facto standards), while other are not. Schemes which are not mandatory requirements from governments are defined as non-regulatory schemes. Most non-regulatory food safety management schemes (FSMS) are voluntary. However, they often become de facto standards, in a business sense, because they are adopted by dominant market players in the food supply chain.

The food and beverage industry is the largest manufacturing sector in New Zealand, and is of paramount importance for the national economy. It consists of about 2,000 enterprises and employs more than 80,000 people. The industry is dominated by several main categories: dairy, meat, seafood, fruit and vegetables, wine, and specialty food industries.

The primary food safety regulating authority in New Zealand is the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI). The MPI administers four main acts: the Food Act 1981, the Animal Product Act 1999, the Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines Act 1997, and the Wine Act 2003. In order to meet regulatory requirements, the industry needs to implement risk-based management programs, such as Risk Management Programs (RMPs) and Food Safety Programs (FSPs). These programs have to be independently audited by MPI approved verifiers. Besides regulatory requirements, food and beverage manufacturing enterprises have to meet non-regulatory requirements whether they supply international or domestic markets. A study was performed on the implementation of non-regulatory FSMS in the New Zealand food and beverage manufacturing industry.

A questionnaire was developed based on regulatory and non-regulatory food safety management literature and was issued to 419 food and beverage manufacturers. Among respondents (28.54% response rate), seventeen non-regulatory food safety management schemes have been implemented. These schemes can be categorized into three groups: public international schemes, public industry sector schemes, and private individual firm schemes. “A total of 45 enterprises have implemented public international standard schemes which include Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) and the ISO 22000 Food Safety Management System (ISO 22000). A total of 18 enterprises have public industry schemes in place, including British Retail Consortium (BRC) Global Standard for Food Safety, Safe Quality Food (SQF) Program and Food Safety System Certification (FSSC) 22000” (Encheng Chen).

A major factor in the inclusion of non-regulatory FSMS for food businesses is the development and implementation of these requirements into their current food safety management system. The process of development and implementation takes time and financial resources. The survey investigated the changes in relation to food quality and safety management, market performance, production cost, and the relationship with customers as a consequence of implementation of non-regulatory FSMS. The study showed that improvement in product traceability, quality of internal procedures, and the food safety awareness of employees were among the most statistically significant desirable changes that had increased. It was also found that the ability to maintain current customers and to attract new customers had increased. Respondents experienced increases in the costs of laboratory tests, record keeping, and training. Other cost increases were in relation to monitoring the production process and internal audits. Respondents also indicated that the number of customers increased, and that they worked more frequently with customers on food safety assurance.

The study addressed some of the challenges that food and beverage processing enterprises faced during the implementation of non-regulatory FSMS. Respondents could have selected up to five important areas in which their firms have encountered challenges. These areas were related to finance, infrastructure, or people. The most challenging area reported were increased paper work, record keeping and document, cost of development and implementation, technical knowledge and skills of employees, resistance to change by employees, cost of training and education, and access to adequate information. Respondents also reported ways in which their enterprises overcame the challenges associated with the implementation of non-regulatory FSMS. Nearly three-quarters of the respondents claimed that they invested in education and training as a method of overcoming challenges. Other respondents noted improvements in internal communications and interventions altering the organizational culture.

This study provided baseline information on the implementation of non-regulatory food safety management in New Zealand, and adds substantially to the understanding of non-regulatory food safety management. The conclusion drawn from this study could help owners of these schemes or the drafters of standards to improve these schemes. Increased attention should be paid to the challenges encountered by food businesses and the critical factors influencing the effectiveness, as outlined in the previous paragraph. With a better understanding of the motivators for food businesses to implement non-regulatory FSMS, the scheme owner could design a system which can maximize the implementation and therefore result in better regulation of food safety. These findings and conclusions can be taken beyond the scope of the study and applied to the creation non-regulatory FSMS in other countries.

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Source:

Encheng Chen, Steve Flint, Paul Perry, Martin Perry, Robert Lau. “Implementation of non-regulatory food safety management schemes in New Zealand: A survey of the food and beverage industry.” Food Control, Volume 47, January 2015, Pages 569-576.