Food and beverage manufacturers are increasingly recognising the value of Quality Management Systems (QMS) as a way to meet customer requirements and remain competitive. Companies who are thinking of going the QMS route have to define product quality and establish sensory specifications. While quality products may be defined as “free of taint” and “wholesome” during…
In the last 15 years, food safety regulations have become stricter. As a result, food and beverage companies now invest in food safety training and HACCP/PCQI certification courses to meet their legal responsibility. This has resulted in safer supply chains. Due to the complicated nature of food safety regulations, registering for the right food safety…
Before the year 2012, Canadian Food Regulations consisted of 14 separate sets of Acts and Regulations. Each food commodity had its set of rules which would sometimes be inconsistent across products. To modernize food safety regulations in Canada, the Safe Food for Canadians Act was passed into law in 2012 and improved Safe Food for…
Canada is a country known for its diversity. With a growing population of 38 million people from different ethnic backgrounds, Canada offers amazing cultures and foods. All this is possible thanks to the hundreds and thousands of food importers nationwide. As an entrepreneur, you may be interested in joining this growing industry and wonder how…
Health Canada has recently released The Listeria Policy (2023), a regulatory document that supersedes the previous policy from 2011. Prepared by Health Canada, in collaboration with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), the policy focuses on the safety of Ready-To-Eat foods (RTE) offered for consumption in Canada…
Meet the Sirocco Team The Sirocco team comprises talented food safety professionals who have known Karine for a long time. The Sirocco team boasts 50+ years of combined food safety expertise. Sean, Helen and Karine have ties with the University of British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada) where they completed graduate degrees in Food Science. Sofia and…
I have had the pleasure of working with Karine for over a year now. She helped our company pass our first SQF audit Ed. 8.1 with a score of 94. For our recertification audit, which was on SQF Ed. 9.0, Karine visited our site and performed a gap assessment. She was able to identify a…
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Food safety specialists working in the industry know that developing and maintaining a food safety management system requires a significant amount of administrative paperwork. With pressures to go paperless, coupled with increasing regulatory and industry requirements, more and more food manufacturers and importers are turning to food safety software to automate document and record control.…
Amid COVID-19, we have seen the global pandemic’s impact on our food supply. Empty shelves, excess /shortage of supplies all happened at the same time. The food prices index has risen significantly since the global pandemic1. The report “Household Organic Food Waste ‑ COVID‑19” by Dr. Charlebois et al. indicates that an average Canadian household…
Food Fraud Vulnerability Assessment & Mitigation Plan Does your company need to meet the requirements of GFSI certification schemes such as SQF or BRC? Fast track food safety compliance with us and meet audit requirements. We’ll debrief you on the technical side of food fraud vulnerability, guide you through your assessment, and walk you through…