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Fo o d M a g i c D a i l y M o n d a y, J u n e 2 3 , 2 0 1 4 4 FOOD SAFETY SCHEMES: CHOICES FOR CUSTOMERS When it comes to determining the food safety scheme that is right for your busi- ness, the best choice is … it depends. It depends on a variety of factors concern- ing your business objectives. Global sourcing of ingredients has created the need for common standards that are aimed at ensuring the safety of food that is consumed by humans. There are sever- al options for food manufacturers and processors that have been accepted under the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). Certifications to a GFSI scheme are becoming more common as more organi- zations are expecting entire supply chains to adhere to one of the standards. Here are the four main objectives of the GFSI: reduce risks by delivering equivalence and convergence between effective food safety management sys- tems; manage cost by eliminating redun- dancy and improving operational effi- ciency; develop competencies and capac- ity building to create consistent and effective global food systems; provide a unique international stakeholder platform for collaboration, knowledge exchange and networking. The most popular standards are list- ed below allowing you to see the purpos- es and differences between each one. BRC The BRC is a food safety scheme aimed at product safety and quality. It is been globally implemented and is currently utilized in more than 100 countries. It specifies safety, quality and operational criteria in order to protect customers and comply with regulations. Benefits of BRC are: clear guide- lines as to how food safety should be addressed; a straightforward certification process requiring an on-site audit. FSSC 22000 FSSC 22000 is a comprehensive food safety scheme for food manufacturers who supply major food retailers that focuses on quality, food safety and legality. Benefits of FSSC22000: provides a good framework for a food safety man- agement system; allows an organization to define its own system and plan; com- prehensive requirements outlining effec- tive HACCP studies and plan; easily inte- grates with an organization's existing management system; applicable to a vari- ety of sizes of organizations with differ- ent structures. SQF SQF is used to certify a supplier's food safety and quality management system and is meant to comply with domestic and international food safety regulations. Benefits of SQF: enhances the organization's food safety management system; demonstrates commitment to safe food; enhances consumer confi- dence and brand equity; prepares organizations for inspection. IFS IFS works to provide a uniform standard for quality assurance and food safety for retailer branded food items. Benefits of IFS: straightforward certification process requiring only an on-site audit; focuses on quality, food safety and legality; once certified, audits are annual; IFS has a global net- work of offices covering Europe, the Americas and Asia; 12-month time period to make corrective actions; crite- ria are risk-based and there are no pre- scriptive elements; the IFS Audit Portal is a database and a reporting and notifi- cation tool; the IFS offers an integrity program providing QA. As you can see, determining which scheme is best for an organization depends on a variety of circumstances. If you are look- ing to grow in markets beyond the borders of the U.S., BRC and IFS might be worth looking into. FSSC 22000 is based on ISO 22000 and only needs verification that PAS 220 is also being followed in order to gain certification. Whichever scheme is chosen is sure to only help improve overall food safety and quality. For more information, go to http://ul- dqsusa.com, call 847-393-5644 or email michael.pearsall@us.dqs-ul.com. DRY ICE BLASTING FROM CONTINENTAL CARBONIC Are you looking for a way to reduce the amount of water used to clean your food processing facility? Are you looking for a faster, "greener" way to obtain your sus- tainability objectives? Continental Carbonic Products, Inc. has implemented dry ice blasting in many food processing facilities, preventing moisture from being introduced to production areas. Any food processing facility can benefit from using dry ice blasting, whether you manufac- ture ice cream cones and need a better way to remove carbon build-up or you need to clean packaging equipment such as multi-head weighers or snack food bagmakers. In addition, dry ice blasting can also be beneficial for general mainte- nance such as conveyors, bucket eleva- tors, floors, walls and ceilings. Dry ice blasting is very similar to sand blasting, except it uses dry ice as the media instead of sand. Dry ice is acceler- ated towards the surface that needs to be cleaned using compressed air. A combi- nation of kinetic energy and thermal effect allows the dry ice to penetrate and separate the grime from production equipment. After the dry ice makes its initial impact, it instantaneously subli- mates, turning from a solid to a gas, leav- ing the production equipment clean and dry. There is no secondary media clean- up. Cleaning with dry ice blasting reduces bacteria counts, including salmo- nella, e. coli and listeria. Many times, dry ice blasting is faster than manually clean- ing with solvents or steam, resulting in a reduction of labor costs. Dry ice blasting can help you avoid defects and loss of product, saving you money. C o n t i n e n t a l Carbonic offers a full, top-of-the-line selection of dry ice blasting equipment from IceTech and Phoenix. The dry ice blasting machines, nozzles and acces- sories it offers are versatile and portable, allowing you to dry ice blast clean a variety of cleaning applications in one facility, and allowing your mainte- nance and sanitation teams to work in tandem to meet all cleaning needs and deadlines. Continental Carbonic has the largest rental fleet of dry ice blasting equipment in the United States. By offering dry ice blasting equipment for rent, sale and lease-to-own, it makes dry ice blasting an affordable cleaning alternative. Whether you use dry ice for shipping, temperature control during processing or dry ice blast cleaning, Continental Carbonic has the dry ice you need, when you need it. The company takes great pride in its 'true and honest' weights, superior dry ice con- tainers, equipment san- itation, quality control and extensive distribution network. Continental Carbonic is your Single Source Advantage with dry ice blasting equip- ment, top quality blasting dry ice, knowledgeable sales managers, train- ing and technical support. Visit Continental Carbonic Products, Inc. at booth 3456. For more information, go to www.continentalcarbonic.com or call 800-DRY-ICE2. AN INDEPENDENT PUBLICATION NOT AFFILIATED WITH IFT Lee M. Oser CEO and Editor-in-Chief Kim Forrester Paul Harris Jeff Rosano Associate Publisher Lorrie Baumann Editorial Director Jeanie Catron JoEllen Lowry Dave Bernard Associate Editors Yasmine Brown Vicky Glover Graphic Designer Ruth Haltiwanger Mandy Feld Customer Service Managers Larry Blaskey Levi Borland Ryan Harter Lynn Hilton Justin Schmigel Account Managers Enrico Cecchi European Sales Food Magic Daily is published by Oser Communications Group ©2014. All rights reserved. Executive and editorial offices at: 1877 N. Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ 85715 520-721-1300/Fax: 520-721-6300 www.oser.com European offices located at Lungarno Benvenuto Cellini, 11, 50125 Florence, Italy. their parents) will adore. Parents are pleased to find that these are not your average sugar-filled treats; these fruit snacks have no added sugar and are made with natural ingredients. The company's president, John Boot, was recently asked if Niagara Natural could make a smaller fruit piece that would be suitable for coat- ing in chocolate. After some testing, the company developed a fruit snack shape which was the perfect size and taste for panning. They were then asked to make a size that would be practical to be used for baking inclu- sions. The creative minds at Niagara Natural came up with a size small enough for inclusions and also man- aged to create these inclusions in the fun shapes that the company is known for. This is how Niagara Natural's line of ingredient bits began, opening up an entirely new opportunity for the com- pany. Niagara Natural ( Cont'd. from p. 1) Niagara Natural's unique process enables it to customize the formula to create superfruit flavors and nutraceu- tically enhanced fruit bits while simul- taneously keeping the price competi- tive because of minimal seasonal fluc- tuation. In addition, the extrusion sys- tem is able to process a variety of shapes designed specifically for the customer's application. The manufacturing plant was orig- inally set up for producing private label, and as such the standards for BRC, Nut Free, Kosher, Organic and Non-GMO Certification were already in place. These certifications are car- ried over to the production of the com- pany's Real Fruit Ingredient Bits, ensuring that Niagara Natural's fruit snacks will be loved by kids and appre- ciated by parents. Visit Niagara Natural at booth 4557. For more information, go to www.nat- uralfruitsnacks.ca, call 905-262-8200 or email jboot@naturalfruitsnacks.ca.