Valuable Information for Companies in the Food Industry

Welcome to PSV Food Safety Consultants

Welcome to our newsletter. It delivers important news and information, as well as identifying useful resources that can enhance your organization's competitiveness in the food industry. Our focus is on helping you to achieve and maintain approved food safety certifications. In doing so, we typically become a valued business partner to our clients.

Are You Ready to Legally Defend your Food Company?

Today, successfully handling a food safety recall is just the first step

companies must take to defend their organizations. Close behind subsequent FDA scrutiny comes an army of hungry attorneys seeking damages for clients affected by adulterated products.

To protect themselves, manufacturers of food products must demonstrate "due diligence" in preparation processes. According to Mettler Toledo: "In law, we each have a 'Duty of Care' which requires that we adhere to a standard of reasonable care while performing any acts that could foreseeably harm others. The 'Standard of Care' is the degree of watchfulness, attentiveness, prudence and caution of an individual who is under a 'Duty of Care'. In the food industry, the Standard of Care' is determined by the standard that would be exercised by the reasonably prudent manufacturer of a product. Failure to meet the standard could be regarded as negligence, and any resulting damages may be claimed in a lawsuit by the injured party."

Food recalls are both a public health issue and a significant economic issue. The average cost of a recall to a food company is

$10M USD in direct costs, in addition to brand damage and lost sales according to a joint industry study by the Food Marketing Institute and the Grocery Manufacturers' Association.

"Robust recordkeeping practices and sufficient product coding/lot numbers can help companies quickly identify the source and scope of a product problem and better track, trace and recall particular products in the event of a product emergency. Detailed manufacturing, processing and testing records can help show, for example, that a tainted ingredient was only used in specific lots of product that were manufactured on a specific date at one production facility. This type of information can help limit the scope and cost of a product recall," states Metropolitan Corporate Counsel.

The best way to satisfy the FDA and minimize legal damages is to have an effective food safety management system. At minimum, this means operating under a verified HACCP or HARPC plan. Going further, companies with certified GFSI systems (e.g., SQF, BRC, or FSSC 22000 ) are well positioned to legally demonstrate "Duty of Care" compliance in court.

We can Help

If your organization needs assistance in becoming certified to a food safety standard, preparing for vendor or re-certification audits, or being ready for HARPC compliance under the FSMA landscape, we can provide affordable local consultants to assist you. Learn more at Food Safety Consultants, a North American alliance of highly experienced consultants with proven track records.

July 2016

In This Issue

Are You Ready to Legally Defend your Food Company?

Don Steele

We are a nationwide network of food safety consultants with seasoned expertise in helping clients become certified under approved GFSI schemes. Our consultants work closely with you to develop a certification strategy that best fits your unique situation and budget. And our turnkey consulting approach ensures your certification success in a timely fashion...satisfaction guaranteed!.

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Free Reports

How can your business and facilities become certified to a GFSI approved scheme? This detailed, customized report explains the steps involved and provides North American organizations with an estimate for consulting, Registrar and auditing fees. It also gives you an idea of the timeframe typically required for a company like yours to achieve a GFSI food safety certification. And just for requesting the Report, we will send a FREE publication, "Marketing your Food Safety Certification - How to Promote your Food Safety Certification," which explains how to leverage your GFSI-approved certification to gain more business.