Title: Designing a suitable food safety & quality management model: The SSQA perspective

Biography:

Felix Amiri is the food sector chair of the Global Coalition for Sustained Excellence in Food & Health Protection (GCSE-FHP). He is a key contributor to the SSQA implementation manual published by AFISS.  Felix teaches International Food Safety Law and Regulations at Conestoga College. He also serves as Technical Director and provides consulting services to various food companies. Felix has been directly involved in product/process development, quality assurance &operations management with various reputable companies, including Vese Food (Nigeria) Ltd., Unifine Richardson, Golden Valley Farms, Heinz (Martin Pet Foods) and YUM Brands International.

Abstract

Common in the food industry are phrases like: “Our food safety management system is HACCP-based” or “we are audited by such and such audit scheme and inspected under this or that set of regulations”. These phrases often describe external-party impositions of Food Safety & Quality Assurance (FSQA) management requirements. Although some deliberations take place in the implementation of the imposed requirements or programs, they are not the same things as deliberately designed FSQA management models. From the perspective of SSQA (Safety, Security & Quality Assurance), an FSQA management model needs to be deliberately designed & implemented by an operation. The model also needs to cover more than a specific food safety concept, certification audit scheme or regulatory setup. In designing a suitable model, every operation needs to be aware of the external and internal instruments and influences involved in the management and monitoring of its food safety and quality assurance programs. The goal of the deliberately designed and implemented model should rightly be to deliver food that is safe and of acceptable quality to the consumers. A suitable & effective “model” for an operation needs to take into consideration the roles and processes of regulations, industry self-monitoring requirements, academic research, scientific and technological developments, industry knowledge and best practices, as well as consumer needs and other motivating factors that drive what operations do to ensure the safety and quality of food.