Omega Foods HACCP Food Safety Accreditation – Certification
High quality is our key priority when sourcing, purchasing, storing, processing, and displaying products.
Where possible we source from South Australian and Australian producers and from personally selected, highly accredited suppliers overseas so that our brand and the brands we represent are of the highest quality in the market place.
These objectives have led us to maintain the Omega Foods HACCP Food Safety Accreditation accreditation for many years.
We are also a member of Countrywide Australia, the largest national group of independent wholesale food service distributors.
Why we maintain the Omega Foods HACCP Food Safety Accreditation
HACCP is an internationally recognised method of identifying and managing risk and, when central to an active food safety programme, can provide vendors, the public and government sector bodies with a high degree of comfort that food safety is being taken seriously and is well managed.
The concept is not new however. Researchers and suppliers to the NASA space programme developed the system to avoid the potentially disastrous consequences of failure above the earth’s atmosphere.
Today, many of the world’s best manufacturers and vendors use the HACCP system as a basis for their quality management programmes.
Through analysis of hazards and where they can occur, systems and procedures are then implemented to minimise the risk of failure. Critical control points are managed by appropriately trained in-house staff, providing for a truly hands-on quality management system at each and every operation.
The Omega Foods HACCP Food Safety Accreditation however does not just stop there.
To ensure ongoing compliance – sub-systems such as pest control, recall protocols, hygiene and sanitation have been developed and implemented.
Additionally, the issue of ensuring that suppliers and distributors are also safe has been addressed through development of ingredient specifications and a vendor quality assurance system.
HACCP Australia has provided us with a cost effective solutions to the often complex and onerous problems of food safety, taking responsibility for not only the development of a site specific system, but also for the implementation and ongoing maintenance of the methodology.
Omega Foods HACCP Food Safety Accreditation approach is executed along the following guidelines:
We undertook of a detailed needs analysis evaluating exactly what was required in order to ensure both compliance with regulations, and an enhanced quality assurance system.
This process provided for a consultative approach with management, staff, and suppliers – resulting in an accurately costed, specific set of solutions.
Development of site specific HACCP based Food Safety Programme, including sub-systems where required, such as pest control and recall protocols.
Implementation included the training of operators in both safe food handling techniques and the methodology in the food safety system.
Staff training was carried out in a simple and practical way, accommodating the needs of unskilled workers who may only have a rudimentary knowledge. Further training of managers, owners and others responsible for health and safety was conducted in greater depth according to the establishment and individual needs.
On-going maintenance of the system includes the option for HACCP to conduct site visits by a qualified technologist. During these visits, HACCP International personnel review the system and data collected via a mini-audit, providing immediate feedback to the individual operators.
Sanitation checks and equipment calibrations are other functions performed at the time. Visits will include training for new staff members at the site or upgrades and refresher courses for those longer-term members – as applicable.
Formal reporting on site and corporate levels to meet the business needs.
Other considerations to ensure ongoing compliance of Omega Foods HACCP Food Safety Accreditation
The installation of a Quality Assurance programme including development of purchasing specifications and approval and auditing of suppliers.
