[Commercial Pest Management] Food Safety Requirements & PMPs

The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) was formed in May 2000, as a non-profit organization, by major retailers in response to an upsurge of food safety incidents worldwide that occurred in the 1990s. Various instances of product recalls and public health safety crisis led to a declining public perception of the food industry on a global scale. With inconsistencies in food production and food safety standards varying from region to region, and multiple audit requirements, the ever-growing need for improvements in food manufacturing, processing and distribution standards on a global level was evident. Benchmarking was implemented and sought to establish best processes and standards within the system. Through benchmarking, audit standards were established and third-party certification bodies were formed to conform to the standards established by GFSI, rather than their own individual standards. Prior to the implementation of GFSI, the food manufacturing, processing and distribution industry was heavily reliant on HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) and GMPs (Good Manufacturing Practices).

HACCP seeks to identify key critical hazard points and effectively address those hazards in the production process prior to end products reaching the food supply. Good Manufacturing Practices are processes that are required to conform to guidelines recommended by agencies that control the licensure and authorization of a particular food product. HACCP and GMPs will continue to play a major role in food protection.
 

FSMA Implementation.

On Jan. 4, 2011, President Obama signed into legislation the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), a revolutionary reform of food safety laws. FSMA was placed into legislation to amend the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act with respect to the safety of food supply. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the enforcement agency.

FSMA is scheduled to be rolled out completely by 2016, with incremental roll outs of the entire law in stages occurring from the passing of the act in 2011. Overall, FSMA seeks to take a proactive approach vs. a reactive approach to ensure that the U.S. food supply is safe; this is possible through effectively written food safety systems.

FSMA’s operations statement is to “protect public health by strategic implementation of preventative-oriented food safety systems.” This, of course, summarizes the overall vision for the implementation of the legislation. HACCP and GMP standards will continue, in addition to standards amended through the passing of the FSMA. HACCP and GMP formulated the basis on which GFSI was created and through an adherence to auditing schemes benchmarked through GFSI, a food safety program can remain in compliance with FSMA as well.
 

Affects on Pest Management.

The GFSI benchmarked audit scheme standards for pest management are clear in that they express the need for open lines of communication between the IPM contract service provider and the organization he or she is servicing. In order for the pest management program to be successful, it is vital that the IPM contract service provider and organization work together in maintaining an effective food safety program that remains compliant within the framework of the GFSI and FSMA.

As pest management professionals, the impact of GFSI and FSMA are substantial and will continue to grow. On average, a food safety third-party audit for a pest management client consists of 20 percent pest control-related items.

Pest management plays an integral role within all food safety protection programs whether on a private or government level. The formulation of the GFSI and passing of the FSMA has caused many clients to rethink their pest management programs. GFSI-based, third-party audits especially for clients will play more of a role in the future vs. FSMA-based audits as the requirement since these audits are specific when it comes to pest management programs. In fact, most if not all, third-party audit requirements meet or exceed requirements set out by FSMA. These important changes challenge the pest management industry to continuously improve their service offerings and afford them a larger role in their clients’ operations.
 

2014 Food Safety Events.

During 2014, GFSI implemented a series of focus days in Mexico, China, India and Japan. These educational and networking programs brought together industry leaders and regulators. The GFSI/Consumer Goods Forum objective statement was: “The overall goal of these one-day events are to create or expand the overall food safety network in a selected region and to share views about current food safety trends with fellow food safety experts.”

These events provide producers, manufacturers, stakeholders, food safety experts and government officials with information regarding the GFSI program itself and the benefits of implementation of the GFSI approach towards the overall food supply in their respective region. It appears that the approach GFSI has used is to expose emerging markets that are experiencing explosive growth (such as India and China) to the GFSI approach. From a financial standpoint, it is beneficial to these producers to educate stakeholders in emerging markets since these markets will continue to play a growing role in increasing these producers’ revenue and market share. China, in particular, is an excellent example as the world’s most populous country and consumer of goods.

For members of GFSI, such as PepsiCo and Wal-Mart, it is beneficial for their local producers and suppliers to embrace the GFSI approach and standardizations that come with the program. From a food safety standpoint, it a huge win for consumers as well (especially in markets where the instance of food-borne illness and product contamination is rampant and the need for reform of food safety practices is apparent).
 

Changes This Year.

An important change during 2014 has been the push to establish a system of unannounced audits for all auditing schemes. These unannounced audits can have an immediate adverse effect — especially on your pest management operations — by increasing the difficulty of your client audits and further challenges us as an industry to effectively increase our level of communication with clients.

Frank Yiannas, vice president of Food Safety and Health for Wal-Mart wrote in a statement, “In light of our recent decision at ASDA (Wal-Mart’s business in the United Kingdom) and based on the overall trend in the industry, we would like to ask all GFSI benchmarked scheme owners to consider offering an unannounced option within your scheme by June 2015. We believe unannounced audits, where applicable depending on the commodity and type of operation, will help suppliers demonstrate their commitment to food safety by being ‘audit-ready’ at all times. Moreover, it’s just one more demonstration of our commitment to continuous improvement throughout the entire food system.”

Wal-Mart, which has more than 11,000 stores worldwide and revenues exceeding $480 billion (U.S.), is in a position of influence. What the firm requests will most likely, if not definitely, be followed by others in the industry.

Robert Garfield, senior vice president of the SQF Institute (SQFI), a third-party audit certification body of the GFSI program, stated, “SQFI developed its unannounced audit protocol to prepare our clients for the future of third-party accredited assessments, which are in line with food safety management expectations of industry stakeholders and consumers.”

The days of preparing a client for an audit ahead of time are starting to come to an end and the focus now is a culture of continuous “audit readiness.”

The author is an associate entomologist, food safety and service specialist, RK Environmental Services, Westwood, N.J., and can be reached via email at pstieglmayr@giemedia.com.