Proactive private label manufacturers lead the way in food safety standards

Private label manufacturers and their partners have driven significant change at all levels of the food supply chain, implementing rigorous measures to ensure the safety and quality of the products they provide – whether these measures are required by federal regulations or not. While the FDAs Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) will close many gaps and require all industry players to follow improved food safety practices, it is nonetheless impressive what companies have been able to achieve on their own initiative.

The most recent major push for improved food safety systems began in early 2000, following several food scares, when a number of major retailers saw that declining customer confidence was affecting their bottom line. These retailers developed the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) and began requiring their suppliers to comply with GFSI-certified audit schemes such as those provided by Safe Quality Food (SQF) and the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

Many leading private label manufacturers voluntarily chose to comply with GFSI benchmark programs long before the FSMA was passed. Trailblazer Foods, for example, is in its fourth year of SQF Level 2 certification. Proactive benchmarking speaks to a consistent commitment to maintaining an environment that ensures safe, high-quality products for customers – the ultimate goal of every reputable player in the food industry.

SQF certification, the most widely adopted GFSI benchmark scheme in the United States, indicates that producers adhere to good manufacturing practices and use science-based methods to minimize food safety risks. SQF applies to all levels of the supply chain and requires annual training of all employees.

What does this mean in light of the upcoming FSMA implementation? How will private label manufacturers and their retail partners be affected? The FSMA received a great deal of press when it was signed into law in 2011, as it represented a major shift in the focus of federal regulators: from responding to food contamination to preventing it. In accordance with the legislation, FDA proposed a variety of new rules that are now nearing implementation. These rules range from requirements for preventive control measures at processing facilities to stringent verification of foreign suppliers.

First, all players will now be mandatorily held to higher food safety standards. Companies that have proactively pursued benchmarking certification will already meet the vast majority of these requirements, as the standards are similar in many respects. For example, like SQF, the FSMA will address the entire supply chain, so retailers can assure their customers that the food in their stores has been produced, processed and handled according to the highest possible safety standards at every step. And both systems also require that manufacturers be able to trace every component of a product back to its source.

However, some of the FSMA standards are less demanding. For example, the FSMA will require verification of foreign vendors only, while SQF requires all vendors to complete a rigorous approval process.

The United States is recognized as having the safest food system in the world, and although the federal government certainly plays an important role in keeping shortsighted companies honest, the drivers behind this remarkable accomplishment have been – and will continue to be – the individual industry players that are constantly striving to improve their practices to provide their customers with safe, quality products. For those still playing catch-up in the area of food safety, the FSMA will force a change of priorities.

Tom Boyd is quality assurance manager and SQF practitioner for Trailblazer Foods, a Portland, Ore.-based supplier of food products for private labeling, for foodservice and under its own brands. He is a Certified Food Scientist though the Institute of Food Technologists and is also HACCP (hazard analysis and critical control points) certified.