Auditing Organic Food Processors

Presented By: Maida Asif (16 – 21010)Muhammad Shahid (16 – 21004)Fatima Sajid (16 – 21018)

Course: Public Health and Nutrition Instructor: Dr. Qurat –Ul – Ain

M.Phil Food Safety and Quality Management Forman Christian College (A Chartered University)

Defining Organic Food processingOrganic food is a food that is grown according to a set of

principles and legally defined standards.

Organic food processing can be defined as taking ingredients produced to these standards and converting them in to a product that is acceptable and desirable to the consumer whilst maintaining the organic ‘integrity’ of the ingredients, the products and process.

Organic food processing is not just the substitution of organically grown ingredients for non- organically grown ones, but the conversion of a set of production principles into a consumer product

It is a part of a whole food production and supply system and not just a separate function that sits between primary production and consumption.

Demands of organic food processing• It has to meet high standards of food safety but have minimal packaging

and use minimal additives.• Trying to adopt a local ingredient sourcing policy when there is currently

UK shortage of organically produced raw materials.• It has to satisfy environmental requirements such as efficient energy use

but short production runs in non-dedicated factories leads to greater cleaning requirements and greater processing losses.

EU standards for Product Formulation 70-95% organic

ingredien

t content

• Cannot be described as organic in the sales description but ingredients can be identified as organic in ingredient declaration.

95-100%

organic ingredi

ent conten

t

• Can be defined as organic in sales description but must include a reference to the agricultural ingredient as obtained from the farm,

Certification And Auditing Process

CERTIFICATION

Time Scale

Choice of Certification Body

Preparation

Source of Information

Certification And Auditing Process

Operator to plan enough time into the development process to allow for

certification

Operator to ensure that development plans and launch dates are realistic

Time Scale

Operator will need to select a certification body authorized to undertake

organic certification.

Choice of Certification Body

Certification And Auditing Process

In initial preparation prior to submitting an application delays are to avoidedMore of the required information to be provided at the beginning to make the process more easier

Preparation

Certification bodies provide sufficient information but preference to be given to advisory visitsAlternatively services of a recognized independent consultant may be usedPremature sale or marketing of non-licensed organic product to be avoided-Legal Offence

Source of Information

• Obtain Copy of Organic Standards

• Compare various standards and charges

Choose Certification Body

• Optional but recommended

Advisory Visit

• Product specification sheet (s)

• GMO declaration• Supplier certificates• Labels• HACCP• Pest Control Details

Prepare and Submit Application

Receipt of Application Acknowledged and Inspector Allocated

How to gain Organic Accreditation?

How to gain Organic Accreditation?

• Quality manual• Training records• Goods in records• Production record• Sale/Output records• Invoices• Copy left at site

Inspection

• Specifications checked• Certification

equivalence of ingredients checked

• Any other issue decided upon

Report Submitted for Consideration by

Certification Department

• Send in any requested information

• Sign and return

Compliance From Issued Detailing

Actions

• Both process and products licensed

• License last for 12 months

Organic License Issued

The Auditing Process

Confirmation Letter IntroductionConfirmation

of Current Status

Physical Inspection of

Premises

Documentation Audit trialReport and Summary

Types of Audit

Confirmation Letter

Date and time of the inspection (agreed); the inspector will confirm these details in writing Inspector to be supplied with a copy of the application form, previous report and supporting information

On arrival at the site the inspector will briefly explain what is required and agree a logical program for audit Physical inspection of the processAppropriate staff and documentation to be present

Introduction

Confirmation of Current Status

Chec

k of

Product Range

Product Specification

Labelling

Status of Suppliers

GM Declaration

Review of Training Procedures

Physical Inspection of Premises

A tour through all stages of the process from goods in to dispatch

Storage of cleaning chemicals and pest control material to be noted

A detailed check of input, production, cleaning and pest control records to

confirm the information supplied verbally and that documented procedures

are being adhered to

Documentation

Audit Trial and Mass Balance Analysis

One product taken physically from storage or from records

Traced through the process records to ensure that integrity has been

maintained

A check will also be made to ensure that quantities of ingredients used

correlate with the amount of finished product produced from them

Report and Summary

A report produced on the site and summarize the findings

Issues raised

Inspector role is to gather information and make recommendations

They are not allowed to give advice and they do not make the final decision

about whether the license should be awarded

Types of Audit

AUDIT

Initial

Annual

Unannounced

Additional

Purpose of Inspection

Statutory and organic certification requirements

Correct use of logos and verifying level of sales values for fee assessment

Two way flow of information, recommendations for improvements

Surety to the consumer that product is organic, when he/she picked a

product off the shelf

Product labelling

• checked to ensure that it complies with regulatory requirements and the

individual certification body standards

• Checks are also made to ensure that examples held by the certification

body match those in use by the license holder

Knowledge of standards

• One area that is assessed is understanding and knowledge of the

standards

• It is a requirement that staff are given training

• This is assessed by level of compliance with the standards in general and

by talking to production operatives to assess their knowledge of organic

operating procedures

Attitude and competency of management and staff

• evaluate the attitude of the management and staff

• The company culture and attitude of management and staff is often the

first impression that is gained by the inspector upon arrival at site.

• Where it becomes obvious that organic integrity of products may be at

risk, then increasing penalties will be imposed eventually leading to a

suspension of the license

Future trends

• Greater use of information technology allowing full traceability back to the primary producer.

• Use of ‘genetic fingerprinting’ by DNA techniques could be used for traceability purposes or developed as a test for organic integrity.

• Self assessment becoming a part of the annual audit.• An increase in the number of unannounced audits• More emphasis on the equivalence of production methods used for

imported• organic products