AsureQuality first 

AsureQuality is the first Conformity Assessment Body (CAB) in the world to be both accredited to the new FSSC22000-Q scheme, and to issue accredited FSSC22000-Q certification to a customer.

First published in February this year by the Foundation for Food Safety Certification, FSSC22000-Q gives organisations the option to have their Food Safety and Quality Management Systems certified under one certification, by way of one integrated audit rather than individual FSSC22000 and ISO9001 audits.

The first dairy site in the world to gain FSSC22000-Q certification is Fonterra’s Te Awamutu site, with other Fonterra sites awaiting certification.

Lesley McKeown, Technical Manager for Management Systems at AsureQuality says, “The number of FSSC certifications is rapidly rising globally, and with increased recognition by stakeholders in the food industry it is quickly becoming the global benchmark for food safety.

“The incorporation of ISO 9001 with its strong customer focus provides a robust framework for a fully integrated Food Safety and Quality Management System. This also provides for the management of overseas market access and customer requirements, and also helps an organisation to ensure that they are able to deliver consistent quality and safe food.”

James Kane new Country Head at Mondelez

Mondelez International today announced that James Kane has been appointed Country Head, New Zealand, effective from 16 November 2015.

Prior to this appointment James was sales director for New Zealand, and has worked with Mondelez since 1999 in a number of sales based roles. He succeeds Jack Evison who is returning home to Australia.

“I am thrilled to take on the role as Country Head for Mondelez New Zealand” said James. “This is a fantastic opportunity to further develop the local business and work with the brands that Kiwis love, and continue to strengthen customer relationships that we have established this year”.

Mondelēz International is the owner, in NZ and Australia, of Cadbury, Vegemite, The Natural Confectionery Company, Oreo and Philadelphia.

Headquartered in Melbourne, they have around 3000 employees and operate six manufacturing sites across Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and New Zealand.

Seminar today - are my business risks what I think they are?

Are you following the story of the undeclared dairy product  in coconut based drinks? Whose business risk is this?

Join Catalyst Ltd food industry specialists to discover some new approaches to assessing risk in the food system.The free seminar will be presented by Jane Lancaster and Dennis Thomas.

17th November, 2015

3.00 to 4.15pm

The Foodbowl, 28 Verissimo Drive, Auckland

The seminar will be followed by refreshments and an opportunity to network.

USA authorities looking at use of ‘natural’ on food labels

(from The IFT Weekly, Nov 11)

Due to the changing landscape of food ingredients and production, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is asking the public to provide information and comments on the use of the term “natural” in the labeling of human food products.

Although the FDA has not engaged in rulemaking to establish a formal definition for the term “natural,” it does have a longstanding policy concerning the use of “natural” in human food labeling. The FDA has considered the term “natural” to mean that nothing artificial or synthetic (including all colour additives regardless of source) has been included in, or has been added to, a food that would not normally be expected to be in that food. However, this policy was not intended to address food production methods, such as the use of pesticides, nor did it explicitly address food processing or manufacturing methods, such as thermal technologies, pasteurisation, or irradiation. The FDA also did not consider whether the term “natural” should describe any nutritional or other health benefit.

Currently, the FDA is for information and public comment on questions such as:

• Whether it is appropriate to define the term “natural”
• If so, how the agency should define “natural”
• How the agency should determine appropriate use of the term on food labels