Food Safety Certification ‘A Logical Discipline’

In today's world standardization of system and product has gained very high importance and businesses are not only driven by fancy marketing regimes or aggressive sales but through customer confidence. Customer Confidence in your product is only possible through adopting and implementing a system through which the end product is of desired quality. 

One of the fastest growing industry is the food industry, not only in Pakistan but throughout the world with numerous brands emerging and being a household name as they provide the exact quality the customers require, in contrast even fresh fruits and vegetables are tagged under a brand these days and customers expect a particular kind of quality. To achieve this, suppliers take all methods to give their buyers the best in terms of how it looks and tastes. But this does not ensure that if that particular food item is not detrimental to health. 

In the more recent past, globalisation was often primarily focused on the economic side of the world, such as trade, foreign direct investment and international capital flows, more recently the term has been expanded to include a broader range of areas and activities such as culture, media, technology, socio-cultural, political, and even biological factors.

It’s the integration of economies, industries, markets, cultures and policy-making around the world. Now this increased the common man’s awareness in all aspects. 

Being a developing country Pakistan has many objectives to achieve in the field of food export. The perfect four season climate supports the best quality of food but a lot of attention needs to be given to food safety and regulation. Other countries who adapt the right practices in the food industry are more successful in securing international export consignments.

One of the major food item export of Pakistan are fruits which are only accepted now if they are packed safely in terms health and safety for end consumers and the fruit is undamaged.

Some of the Pakistani exporters still use the conventional practice of stacking the fruit in a crate and sending them to the buyers, which does not preserve the item and is detrimental to health eventually. One of the major reasons for a drop in exports is that, Global awareness has introduced Laws which are based on Moral values as well as ethics to safeguard the rights of the end consumers and Pakistan barely brings it to use. To make sure that an exporter has agreed and practiced the safe practice of growing, Packing and supplying, standards are introduced by an organization famously know an ISO (International Organization for standardization).

One of the most widely used standard to maintain quality has been ISO 9001 (Quality Management System). The guidelines makes sure that any business activity is conducted to be of the best quality in terms of the end product being of good quality. If the fruit packaging is done according to laws then there can be an opportunity for the Pakistani exporters to enter the international market even stronger than before. Another feature of ISO is its Food safety management system ISO 22000

ISO 22000 is an international standard that defines the requirements of a food safety management system covering all organizations in the food chain from “farm to fork”  The combination or the adaptation of these standards make food consumption more hygienic and a trust is developed between consumers and suppliers.

Food packaging has been a red flag for many activists and NGO’s as Chemicals with highly toxic properties may legally be used in the production of food contact materials, but not in other consumer products such as computers, textiles and paints even though exposure through food contact materials may be far more relevant," "From a consumer perspective, it is certainly undesirable and also unexpected to find chemicals of concern being intentionally used in food

More recently, the Pakistani mangoes and oranges made it back to the international market on a high after proper packaging and other safety measures were taken which included safer food preservatives. This was all possible with the help if internationally recognized certification awards that helps eliminate any presence of unhealthy food products that are deemed harmful from the growing stage to the final consumption stage.

One of the most adapted certification is the ‘Halal Food Certification’ as worldwide Muslim population has crossed 1.6 billion, the demand of producing and packaging of foods processed according to Islamic dietary laws using Halal chicken, mutton, beef and other ingredients is growing day & night. In order to fulfill the demand of global Muslim community, all consumables should be prepared, processed, packed, transported and stored in accordance with Islamic principles. According to Islamic dietary standards, food must not contain forbidden substances and ingredients such as pork meat, blood, alcohol, and other intoxicants.

The Halal food certification and logo not only guarantees Muslims what they are consuming or using food which is prepared according to the Islamic laws, but also encourages producers to promote business in the emerging markets. Over the past few years, the demand for Halal certified products has increased dramatically. In order to meet this demand, companies throughout the world are seeking authentic Halal certification to gain consumer confidence, expand their existing market and enhance sales strategies. 

Halal is a form of social obligation and it boosts customers’ trust and confidence in products while providing tremendous export opportunities to the owners of food and feed related supply-chains. As most of the companies working in Pakistan are not yet certified, those with Halal certification have a competitive advantage over others. Halal certification benefits producers and consumers both, as it not only covers religious food safety requirements but it also imposes strict hygiene practices which ultimately affects the profitability of the business. Undeniably the Halal aspect is now accepted as a quality system worldwide that appeals to both Muslims and Non-Muslims as well.

The Halal standard has been established in Pakistan to ensure full compliance to Islamic dietary laws. It covers not only the issues related to Slaughtering / Zibah, but also considers the issues related to Halal ingredients & GMPs (Good Manufacturing Practices). Halal is a compatible standard with the guideline of HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) along-with ISO 22001:2005 Food Safety Management System. The Halal symbol can open new marketing avenues never before accessed. The need to have confidence in the compliance to Islamic dietary laws is critical and therefore the Halal Certification along with Halal logo makes it an essential and creditable combination. 

Food business is the largest growing sector globally, and with growth comes greater expectations, to meet the standards required by organizations and consumers regarding health and hygiene of food items a guaranty or surety is demanded from the producers or suppliers. To answer this demand food related certifications is the best way to improve internal operations as well as convince the buyers. Similarly Pakistani businesses need to adapt certification in order to enter the global market and compete with other suppliers who abide by all the hygiene rules through the food safety management system certification.