In any business, market standards and practices change with time. Similarly, the current market practice for food businesses holds food safety management systems (FSMS) in a position of supreme importance. It generally refers to a useful business tool that ensures the best safety measurements and practices are being observed within the business. Moreover, in most countries, FSMS has now become a legal requirement. Understandably, any food business owner needs to know how FSMS works and how it can be leveraged to grow your business.
What is Food Safety Management?
In simpler words, food safety management stands for a systematic approach that is instrumental to control and monitor food safety hazards. It is used to ensure that the food being produced is safe to eat. All food businesses, be it manufacturing units or restaurants, are now required to put a sound FSMS in place based on the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles.
What are HACCP Principles?
• Conducting hazard analysis
• Identification of critical control points
• Establishing critical limits
• Monitoring CCP
• Implementing corrective action
• Verification
• Documentation and recordkeeping
Why Food Safety Management Is Important?
The ultimate goal of having food safety management in place is to monitor and control food quality so that no foodborne illness can occur. Foodborne illness refers to the diseases that are transmitted to people by food. Each year, millions of people across the world fall sick eating unsafe food. Therefore, it is important to have a system in place to control and correct any such outbreak.
Other than causing foodborne illnesses, low-quality food can also lead to several losses for the business itself. Such as:
• Loss of reputation
• Loss of sales and customers
• Lawsuit and legal costs
• Negative media exposure
• Increased insurance coverage
• Lower staff morale
Having a proper food safety management system will prevent these untoward costs.
