Food Safety

VSO Consulting offers specialized services regarding Food Safety.  Emphasis has been placed on the following aspects.

Implementing food safety management systems, such as ISO 22000

The purpose of a food safety management system is to analyze in a systematic way which elements of food companies have the greatest impact on food safety and find ways to manage them safely and efficiently.   Emphasis is placed on finding the most important food safety issues and defining measurable goals to either avoid or reduce risk.
                                                                                                                                                                  By implementing Food Safety Management food producers can demonstrate how they manage risks pertaining to food safety and how they ensure that their products are safe for consumption, i.e.  by implementing HACCP, sanitation programs and all the necessary infrastructure in a single integrated management system and then inform stakeholders about how it operates.

One of the most important aspect of Food Safety Management is to join together in one, all the different systems that affect food safety, such as HACCP, GMP, sanitation, pest control and other systems that affect the safety and wholesomeness of food.

VSO’s consultants are experienced in the development of Food Safety Management Systems that meet the requirements of ISO 22000.

Hygienic Design

Services regarding Hygienic Design focus on the following factors:

• Counselling regarding construction and renovation of housing for food production, such as what requirements must be met concerning hygiene and Food Safety.   The object of these services is to ensure that housing for food production is designed, built and maintained with respect to hygiene requirements and Food Safety.
• Risk assessment of food processing equipment based on requirements including hygienic design criteria and legal requirements for food safety..   The hygienic design of food processing equipment is evaluated by examination of production lines and individual devices.
• Participation in focus groups regarding Hygienic Design.
• Education and training.

Design and implementation of HACCP plans

HACCP is a very important food management programme and food processing companies are, in accordance with official requirements on food safety and other health aspects of the production and distribution of food,  required to set up an internal control system based on the HACCP methodology.   VSO offers assistance to producers in setting up HACCP manuals and documented internal controls.

For further information, please contact Birna Guðbjörnsdóttir