Canada unveils joint comparison project of worldwide food-safety programs
Canada unveils joint comparison project of worldwide food-safety programs
An initiative that started in early 2006 as a project among the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors, the Canadian Horticultural Council and the Canadian Produce Marketing Association to promote food safety by establishing comparability of Canadian industry-led food-safety programs at the primary production and packer-wholesaler levels of the supply chain with those in place in other countries has resulted in a detailed, 125-page comparison report on 15 non-Canadian programs from around the world.
A letter issued about the report said that "the goal of the Joint Food Safety Program Comparison Project is to provide an objective comparison between the national, HACCP-based Canadian fresh produce food-safety programs and the most frequently used food-safety programs from other countries that export product to Canada."
Heather Holland, CPMA's senior technical manager for food safety and government relations, told The Produce News that "our job as a joint group was to determine what the comparison criteria for programs would be. We had to decide how would we do that as the work had never been done before, at least in the North American context so we formed a joint steering committee with participation from the CCGD, CHC, CPMA, the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Monachus Consulting, the firm that prepared the final report."
The three Canadian programs the committee used as a basis for comparison -- the CHC's Potato and Greenhouse programs and the CPMA's Repacking and Wholesale program -- were compared to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fresh Produce Audit Verification program, California Leafy Greens' Best Practices, PrimusLabs.com's Ranch Audit, Davis Fresh's ProSafe Certified Farm and Ranch, EurepGAP-Fruits and Vegetables, New ZealandGAP, Fresh Care of Australia, ChileGAP, South Africa's The Perishable Products Export Control Board Primary Production & On-Farm Produce Handling, PrimusLabs.com's Greenhouse program, AIB's Fresh Produce & Fruit Packinghouse program, Davis Fresh Technologies' ProSafe Certified Packinghouse program, PrimusLabs.com's Packinghouse with HACCP program, Scientific Certification Systems' GMP Packing Facility Practices and The Perishable Products Export Control Board Off-Farm Produce Handling.
"It is important to note that this report does not compare programs in order to promote one particular program, but instead provides an extensive overview with which stakeholders can assess the components of programs in a facilitated manner, and from that are free to draw their own conclusions," the letter noted.
The letter stated that "the CHC, CPMA and CCGD have indicated that this work will be used as the basis for moving forward in identifying as to which fresh produce food-safety standards and/or programs which could be considered comparable for the Canadian marketplace, and to increase awareness of food safety efforts within Canada and within other countries. Ensuring that the Canadian fresh produce industry is using comparable food- safety programs may result in facilitating the export of fresh produce to other countries, as well as working toward a recognizable level of food safety for fresh produce consumed by Canadians."
While Ms. Holland said that there is no foreseeable end-point to this project as it is moving on three different levels -- the Canadian marketplace, the North American marketplace with the United States and Mexico, and the international level with the International Federation of Produce Standards -- she noted that some of Canada's leading retailers are currently requesting suppliers of fresh produce in Canada to be on the CHC or CPMA programs or a comparable food-safety program.
"We really need to have key participation of retail and foodservice because their support of a standard approach is essential to ensure that food safety is not being used in a competitive manner," she said. "That doesn't serve anyone well."
For more information or to request a copy of the report, contact Ms. Holland at 613/226-4187 ext. 225.
A letter issued about the report said that "the goal of the Joint Food Safety Program Comparison Project is to provide an objective comparison between the national, HACCP-based Canadian fresh produce food-safety programs and the most frequently used food-safety programs from other countries that export product to Canada."
Heather Holland, CPMA's senior technical manager for food safety and government relations, told The Produce News that "our job as a joint group was to determine what the comparison criteria for programs would be. We had to decide how would we do that as the work had never been done before, at least in the North American context so we formed a joint steering committee with participation from the CCGD, CHC, CPMA, the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Monachus Consulting, the firm that prepared the final report."
The three Canadian programs the committee used as a basis for comparison -- the CHC's Potato and Greenhouse programs and the CPMA's Repacking and Wholesale program -- were compared to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fresh Produce Audit Verification program, California Leafy Greens' Best Practices, PrimusLabs.com's Ranch Audit, Davis Fresh's ProSafe Certified Farm and Ranch, EurepGAP-Fruits and Vegetables, New ZealandGAP, Fresh Care of Australia, ChileGAP, South Africa's The Perishable Products Export Control Board Primary Production & On-Farm Produce Handling, PrimusLabs.com's Greenhouse program, AIB's Fresh Produce & Fruit Packinghouse program, Davis Fresh Technologies' ProSafe Certified Packinghouse program, PrimusLabs.com's Packinghouse with HACCP program, Scientific Certification Systems' GMP Packing Facility Practices and The Perishable Products Export Control Board Off-Farm Produce Handling.
"It is important to note that this report does not compare programs in order to promote one particular program, but instead provides an extensive overview with which stakeholders can assess the components of programs in a facilitated manner, and from that are free to draw their own conclusions," the letter noted.
The letter stated that "the CHC, CPMA and CCGD have indicated that this work will be used as the basis for moving forward in identifying as to which fresh produce food-safety standards and/or programs which could be considered comparable for the Canadian marketplace, and to increase awareness of food safety efforts within Canada and within other countries. Ensuring that the Canadian fresh produce industry is using comparable food- safety programs may result in facilitating the export of fresh produce to other countries, as well as working toward a recognizable level of food safety for fresh produce consumed by Canadians."
While Ms. Holland said that there is no foreseeable end-point to this project as it is moving on three different levels -- the Canadian marketplace, the North American marketplace with the United States and Mexico, and the international level with the International Federation of Produce Standards -- she noted that some of Canada's leading retailers are currently requesting suppliers of fresh produce in Canada to be on the CHC or CPMA programs or a comparable food-safety program.
"We really need to have key participation of retail and foodservice because their support of a standard approach is essential to ensure that food safety is not being used in a competitive manner," she said. "That doesn't serve anyone well."
For more information or to request a copy of the report, contact Ms. Holland at 613/226-4187 ext. 225.
