Re: Auditing Quality Systems

From: Roy Palmer (palmerroy@hotmail.com)
Date: Sat Aug 11 2007 - 16:59:55 PDT

  • Next message: Francisco Blaha: "Re: Auditing Quality Systems"

    Hi all
    We have just had some discussions regarding Certification Standards at the
    WAS-APC Conference in Hanoi
    The difficulty today is that we have many drivers who wish to impose their
    'standards' on the seafood industry - many of these are the large buyer
    groups and now we are getting lots of 'add-ons' by NGO's
    With the extra requirements coming from importing countries we have moved
    far beyond food safety
    The tasks for the export processors/producers is getting tougher and
    tougher. The additional costs of meeting then proving you are meeting these
    standards is not nocessarily achieving any extra margin - it is an expected
    cost of business and thus the burden falls on the supplier side as against
    the buyer side
    Human nature, being what it is, looks at other ways to create a margin -
    potentially this leads us to issues such as short wts, incorrect counts etc
    etc

    If a Certification Standard is worthy then why wouldnt it come with a
    Benefit Cost Analysis so that it is clear and transparent that it is adding
    value to the whole process and not just an impost on the producer?

    I was aghast to hear that one NGO had imposed a new impost on a current
    standard and only after it had been put in place was it being checked to see
    if it was viable and they had asked the auditing company whether it was
    'do-able' - a little like inviting the 'fox into the hen house'. No offence
    to anyone here but this should be a totally independent process if it is a
    genuine issue

    Look forward to discussing this whole subject with people at the World
    Seafood Congress in Dublin end September

    Regards
    Roy Palmer

    ----- Original Message -----
    From: "Chingling Tanco" <crt@mida-group.com>
    To: "Vanessa Broadnax" <vanessa@baldorfood.com>;
    <criticalcontrolpoints@yahoo.com>; <seafood@ucdavis.edu>
    Sent: Sunday, August 12, 2007 1:30 AM
    Subject: Re: Auditing Quality Systems

    >I agree it's getting crazy - in Europe for example - the UK wants the BRC
    > (British Retail Consortium) standard while France and Germany want the IFS
    > International Food Standard system and they are almost the same but called
    > different names. Suggestion for those plants going for BRC
    > certification -
    > ask for IFS certification to be done at the same time as this shouldn't
    > cost
    > you much more.
    >
    > Chingling Tanco
    > Mida Trade
    > Manila, Philippines
    >
    >
    >> From: Vanessa Broadnax <vanessa@baldorfood.com>
    >> Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2007 20:12:01 -0400
    >> To: <criticalcontrolpoints@yahoo.com>, <seafood@ucdavis.edu>
    >> Conversation: Auditing Quality Systems
    >> Subject: Re: Auditing Quality Systems
    >>
    >> Sometimes more is good. We need to keep food safety in the forefront. We
    >> can
    >> not afford not to look at different points of view. Different views keeps
    >> us
    >> on our toes. We must manage our time and efforts wisely.
    >>
    >> ----- Original Message -----
    >> From: owner-seafood@ucdavis.edu <owner-seafood@ucdavis.edu>
    >> To: seafood@ucdavis.edu <seafood@ucdavis.edu>
    >> Sent: Thu Aug 09 19:57:07 2007
    >> Subject: Auditing Quality Systems
    >>
    >> I seem to spend a lot of time being accredited to one quality system or
    >> another and then meeting with Processors who complain that there are so
    >> many
    >> systems that they have to become documenters for each system with
    >> differing
    >> needs.
    >>
    >> Any comments on relative merits of the differing systems ?
    >> (without especially trashing systems by name)
    >>
    >> My two cents, for what it is worth, is that ISO 22000 will probably
    >> replace
    >> everything else eventually. ( it has HACCP components so is on-topic)
    >>
    >> Other views anyone?
    >>
    >>
    >
    >



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