Food is what everybody consumes everyday and it comes as no surprise that 
the major diseases in the world are spread through food via bacteria and other viruses. So to prevent these food borne diseases, all the countries of the world and world organizations like World Health Organization have set up a standard via Food certifications to ensure that hygienic, high quality food is available in the market for the consumer. Each country has its own standard certification programs. On a worldwide level ISO has come up is ISO 22000 standard for food safety. There are other private organizations as well which give a Food safety certification based on their standard.
ITS Guidelines
WHO has set of five standards for food safety.
- Food devoid of disease causing pathogens
- Cooked and Raw food to be separated to avoid contamination of cooked food.
- Cooking food at right temperature and correct length of time to kill all the germs.
- Appropriate storage of the food
- Usage of clean water and clean cooking materials.
HACCP Guidelines
HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control points) is another standard which follows systematic checks during manufacture of the food product to ensure that the food product is safe to consume after the production. The HACCP guidelines are used at various stages of food manufacture like
- Food production
- Preparation
- Packaging
- Distribution
There are seven principles which the HACCP follows
- Conduct Hazard Analysis: Look for all the hazards which may contaminate the food (biological, chemical or physical hazards).
- Knowing of the critical points after which the food is at maximum risk of contamination.
- Establishment of critical limits of the critical point
- Establish monitoring points
- Establish corrective methods.
- Establish process to ensure HACCP is being implemented correctly.
- Establish proper recording of the hazard analysis and at every stage of the manufacture.
Other Countries and Their Standards
Other countries of the world, themselves, have set up their food safety standards, for instance Australia and New Zealand follow “Food Standards Australia New Zealand” to make sure food consumed by the people is safe enough. This is done by making their food staff well trained in “Food Handling”. Their standard takes care of
- expiry dates
- labelling
- packaging,
- hygienic process
- storage
- well trained staff
- protective clothes while cooking
and many more. Other countries also have standards similar to these. Countries like USA have FDA (Food and Drug Administration) to ensure Food Safety standard.
Food Handling Training
A well trained staff in food industry will go a long way in making sure that the food safety standards are met. Like Food safety certification, there are many organizations which give training in food handling. Each organization or course may have their own courses but the most of them will include these in the course.
- Knowledge about food borne diseases
- Hygiene and Sanitation
- Safe food handling
- Complete knowledge of HACCP standard.
- Understanding of different types of foods and their hazards
- Water and its effect on food.
Thus by acquiring the Food safety certificate and getting trained in food handling will ensure that our food product is safe to consume and improve the quality of life of people.