Pacsecure provides food safety for packaging materials guidelines to firms
During the past two years, more than sixty firms from Canada and the United States have attended the PACsecure standard “Train the Trainer” sessions in order to improve the safety of their processes and materials related to food packaging.
Some of these companies have become third party certified to The Packaging Association’s HACCP-based food safety standard for individual packaging materials. Firms include Atlantic Packaging, Jones Packaging, Layfield Packaging, Farnell Packaging, Maritime Packaging, Flexipak, Tempo Plastics, Haremar, Carfabel Packaging, and Metro Label. The industry’s response has been spurred on by many of their customers who are already HACCP compliant.
Identifying risks
Over the past decade, The Packaging Association has developed five food safety standards for packaging materials based on Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) criteria – a criteria recognized by the United Nations and most of the food industry world wide.
Developed for flexible plastics, rigid plastics, paper, metal and glass packaging, the standards cover twenty-four different general manufacturing practices to make the specific packaging materials.
More than a hundred packaging organizations, their customers and suppliers helped develop the standards along with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Because many different processes are involved in packaging, “one size does not fit all” when it comes to implementing a food safety standard for the different materials.
Unlike many standards, developed on broad-based principles for the food industry, the PACsecure standards were specifically designed to identify
potential hazards associated with each of the
twenty-four common packaging manufacturing
processes, resulting in more cost effective solutions.
Currently, PAC is seeking recognition of its PACsecure standards with the Global Food Safety Initiative as well as with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
The standards have also been accepted by the U.S.-based Food Safety Alliance for Packaging (FSAP), which includes organizations such as General Mills, Kraft, Nestle, Conagra Foods, Unilever, Sara Lee and Campbell Soup.
As part of its initiative, PAC has put on “Train the Trainer” workshops in Canada and the U.S. for quality and assurance managers, and conducted a mock recall and traceability field trial for packaging converters. PAC also serves on the packaging technical committee of the Global Food Safety Initiative.
For further information, contact Larry Dworkin, Government Relations Director, PAC at 416-645-3282 or email larrywdworkin@gmail.com
Of special interest to Operations Managers, QA Managers, Health & Safety Managers, these technical seminars are supported by The Canadian Government through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
The Packaging Association (PAC), through a 70 member steering committee, has developed five new PACsecure voluntary food packaging-specific safety standards for Flexible Plastics, Rigid Plastics, Paper, Metal & Glass. They are designed to help packaging converters harmonize with the international protocol long used by the global food and beverage industry: Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP). In addition, PAC has developed Good Manufacturing Practices. (See Steering Committee list)
Many North American retailers and packaged goods companies are requesting HACCP compliance. Major food manufacturers such as Nestlé and Kraft are already requesting HACCP compliance from their suppliers.
“HACCP is the most effective tool to prevent the occurrence of food borne illnesses and to avoid consumer injuries linked to the consumption of our products.” read more...
Sandra Howe, Corporate Quality Systems Manager,
Nestlé Canada Inc.
“In the food safety food production chain, you're only as strong as the weakest link.” read more...
Lorne Hietala, Manager, Packaging Services,
Parmalat Canada
Participants will return from these 1-day sessions armed with valuable knowledge to share with management and employees on critical food safety procedures and best practices, including:
The following Canadian PACsecure/HACCP standards are now ready and will be available for purchase online and at Train the Trainer sessions. Choose from the five material specific standards and prerequisite (Good Manufacturing Practices):
As a processor or retailer, you need to control risk throughout the food chain to the point of demanding HACCP compliance from your suppliers.
As a supplier, you share in the responsibility. You want to help your customers. And you don't want to risk losing their business.
Food safety and bio-security are top global priorities, and of increasing concern to retailers and consumers. Processors have been compliant with the internationally recognized HACCP food safety standard for years, but suppliers now need to get with the program — literally.
To learn more, contact Larry Dworkin at:
(416) 490.7860 ext. 219 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
“In combination with prerequisite programs such as GMP, HACCP is the most effective tool to prevent the occurrence of food borne illnesses and to avoid consumer injuries linked to the consumption of our products. Nestlé Management is strongly committed to applying the Codex Alimentarius HACCP Principles. In keeping with this approach to food safety, vendors to Nestlé are required to have an effective HACCP system implemented.
The importance of our packaging vendors in ensuring endpoint food safety of our products must not be underestimated. Packaging is an integral part of the product purchased by the consumer. It is important to protect the product, helping to ensure its safety, integrity and shelf-life. It is also the carrier of key consumer information such as ingredient composition, allergen content, nutrition information, and preparation instructions. As such, packaging vendors implementation of HACCP is as important as any other vendor within the food supply chain.”
“In the food safety food production chain, you're only as strong as the weakest link. There are a lot of links from farm to fork. So you need to build on the weak links, strengthen them, so in the future the chain doesn't break. Packaging is one of those links. …If you have a system in place like the PAC standard, then that shortens the amount of time we need to spend with you during our audit. …It's a paradigm change. Where you were used to doing things a certain way, we now need to move to more of a food safety focus. You can't resist it. You need to embrace it, or we'll fall behind.”
