Creating Your Corporate Vision for Food Safety Compliance
Contents
- Setting the Stage
- Challenges
- Three Areas Where Change Is Happening
- The Five Elements of Your New Vision
- How to Realize Your Vision
Setting the Stage
What is a Corporate Vision for Food Safety Compliance and Why Does It Matter?
A corporate vision for food safety compliance is a defined and documented strategy for mapping out the business’s objectives for meeting its compliance obligations now and in the future. It is focused on future-proofing the business’s need to meet a dynamic compliance framework, maintain a high level of consumer protection and support business development objectives.
The Corporate Food Business
The corporate food business may be characterized as a food enterprise that maintains operations and markets spanning a number of geographical borders. It is typically multi-site in nature with a corporate structure which may include group, business unit and local site operations.
General
Food safety hazards and their management remain an ongoing preoccupation for most food businesses. It is driven by numerous commercial, legal and regulatory demands. Often the true nature of these hazards and their associated risks do not become apparent until there is a specific event. These events may range from a minor consumer complaint to the more serious market recall in full public and regulatory glare.
Today, food businesses manage these risks through various systems of compliance which are developed against specific standards and internal business needs. These systems are verified through a framework of internal and external audits or certification programs, and the expectation is that they are sufficient to keep the business on the right side of their compliance and business objectives.
However, the scope and nature of food safety compliance has been changing dramatically over recent decades. The changes have taken place on many fronts and have led to an increased compliance burden.
Globalization
Key among these changes has been the globalization of the food industry. This has seen the emergence of many large food businesses operating across numerous geographical borders and regions. These companies are multi-site in nature with some form of central organization and management compliance needs and oversight.
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