Tag Archives: certification bodies

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DNV Named Certification Body of the Year

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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On February 1, DNV received the BRCGS Certification Body of the Year award, which was announced during the Food Safety Europe conference in London. The BRCGS Certification Body of the Year award recognizes innovation and excellence in standards development, training and third-party certification for companies in the food and consumer products sectors. Only BRCGS 5-Star Certification Bodies are eligible for this award, which is a performance measure of competence and professionalism in delivery of BRCGS audits.

“We are very proud to receive this award and to be a 5-star certification body for the BRCGS food standards. This achievement is all owed to our technical team and auditors,” said Stefano Crea, Global Market & Industries Director in Business Assurance, DNV. “Standards and independent certification are increasingly essential for companies to ensure consumer safety and business continuity. In DNV we strongly believe it is our obligation to contribute to advance certification to help companies improve and build trust.”

BRCGS is a global brand that helps build confidence in the supply chain. Its global food safety standards, such as BRCGS Food and Packaging, are benchmarked by GFSI.

“I am delighted to announce that DNV as the winner of the Certification Body of the Year at this year’s Food Safety Europe Conference. We have enjoyed a long-standing relationship with DNV and rely on excellent partners to deliver our certification programs throughout the world. DNV is a five-star partner that strives to ensure that customers get the best value from our programs,” said Angela O’Donovan, Head of Standards BRCGS.

 

AFSAP, audits

AFSAP Second Annual Stakeholders Meeting to Be Held During Food Safety Supply Chain Conference

By Trish Wester
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AFSAP, audits

2018 Recap: As VQIP implementation began, confusion among the accreditation bodies (ABs) and certification bodies (CBs) was clearly evident, and options for explanations from FDA were limited. To facilitate information sharing, AFSAP hosted an open gathering of all interested parties to hear from FDA. The inaugural AFSAP Auditing Stakeholders meeting provided a unique opportunity for the auditing community at large to interact with FDA and expand their knowledge on the regulatory use of audits in FSMA. CB attendees gained valuable insight into their hybrid role as part Scheme Owner under the Third-Party Certification Program (TPP) and its operational challenges in the global community. After vigorous discussion, the development of a consensus program for FDA’s TPP audits emerged, although the definitive mechanism to achieve this objective was still to be determined. AFSAP established a membership category for CB’s, and has continued to pursue solutions to these and other audit related issues, but information sharing has been limited to members.

2019: Although progress has been made, there is still a need for information sharing among all interested parties. Once again, the 2nd Auditing Stakeholders Meeting will be co-located with the Food Safety Supply Chain Conference in Rockville, MD, May 29–30, 2019.

AFSAP extends a gracious thank you to them for supporting AFSAP’s mission and goals.

The 2019 Auditing Stakeholder meeting will build on the TPP knowledge base, incorporating other areas that overlap with auditing and auditor development in general. FDA has a new TPP management team participating this year, along with some familiar faces from 2018. Join AFSAP in welcoming them to our event!

We have an exciting agenda planned for this year that includes a members-only session, an at-large session, and updates from FDA’s new TPP team. Association announcements will be provided after the Association’s members meeting has concluded.

AFSAP Membership Meeting

  • Association updates; Accomplishments, Partnerships & Alliances, Plans and Activities
  • Committee Updates
    • The Auditor Development Committee/Chair introductions
  • AFSAP’s Voluntary Consensus Standard (VCS) for FDA’s 3rd Party Audit
  • VCS Board: Introductions and Nominations
    • The review and publication process for a VCS

Auditing Community Meeting Highlights

  • SGS’ Hank Karayan
    • The Accreditation Experience – Lessons Learned
  • Just the FAQ’s – Common questions and misconceptions
  • New! TPP Audit Templates and Auditor Trainings

Contact AFSAP for registration information: info@afsap.org

About AFSAP

The Association for Food Safety Auditing Professionals is a member driven association created to advance and support the professional development of food safety auditors globally. As a 501(c)(3) Trade Association, AFSAP provides a universal platform for individual auditors and the auditing community at large to harness their combined experience and knowledge into a powerful tool equal to the significant challenges that lie ahead. Working together, AFSAP members will have an unprecedented opportunity to engage regulatory agencies and external stakeholders with a unified voice, and collaborate on the development of creative solutions to the issues facing the food safety auditing industry.

About the Food Safety Supply Chain Conference

A food company’s supply chain can be the weakest link in their food safety program. Food ingredient adulteration, fraud, and counterfeiting negatively impacts everyone in the food supply chain. FDA has recognized the risk in the food supply chain. Sanitary transportation and the Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) are major components of FSMA. The Food Safety Supply Chain Conference addresses best practices, and new tools and technologies that can help food companies, including manufacturers, retailers and food service companies protect their brands and customers from food safety threats in their supply chain while being compliant with regulators.