World Food Safety Day raises awareness of the threat of unsafe food to human health and society.
The event aims to draw public attention and direct efforts to stop the roughly 600 million cases of foodborne illnesses that occur annually.
Poor food safety
Every year one in ten people will fall ill from foodborne illnesses and poor food safety remains a cause of death for millions around the world. The traditional food safety professionals working to prevent the 400 thousand deaths that result annually from foodborne illness make up a critical part of the global food supply chain. However, part of embedding a food safety culture is empowering every person who works in food sector organisations—from farmers harvesting crops and drivers transporting goods to CEOs in the boardroom and those serving in restaurants—to be responsible for food safety. This means that even a ‘simple’ store-bought sandwich can involve the diligence and commitment of hundreds of food safety professionals with varying levels of contact with or impact on production or delivery.
Do the basics
Embedding industry best practice in developing and marketing products and services is a key component of success. Resilient organizations ensure that they do the basics such as HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) right consistently through the strength and reliability of their processes, while still leaving scope for innovation and creativity. Business-critical processes in the management of areas such as food safety and quality, environment, health and safety, information security and business continuity must be robust and compliant, both within an organisation and also throughout its supply chain.
The importance of adopting a food safety culture throughout a business is becoming ever more prevalent, and a major component of food safety management systems, including ISO 22000 and FSSC 22000. Developing a strong food safety and quality culture is a major contributor to establishing food business resilience and this is where an investment in training people fits in.
BSI has trained more than 2300 delegates in South Africa. Our delegates register for our courses to gain a greater understanding of their role, and to improve their performance within an organization, helping to make their business more resilient”.
“Training is an investment that leading businesses recognize to have a meaningful impact on performance, development and of course, culture. Your brand can only be as innovative and safe as your people.
BSI provides training on various business improvement courses, allowing people to advance their skills set and their career. Training staff regularly on management systems like ISO 22000, and food safety risk management frameworks such as HACCP can help to embed this food safety and quality culture.
BSI is a leading food safety certification provider with extensive auditing for a wide range of food safety standards across the entire food and beverage supply chain – including Global Food Safety Initiative recognized standards.
BSI services for the food sector include certification, customised audits and supply chain solutions. BSI has over 2 800 food and agri-food standards in its portfolio, serving more than 80,000 clients worldwide. Contact us today to improve your food safety
