Is this difficult or easy for you?

If you can only ask a manufacturer one question to assess the safety of that manufacturer’s products, what question will you ask?

Why only one ? Is this a crisis situation ? What about the workers ?

Rgds / Charles.C

Hello Charles C.
Limiting the question to one is intended to cause respondents to think of what they feel is most crucial. It is understood that selecting one from a host of possible questions may be difficult for some broad thinkers. It is also expected that different people will come up with profound or light-hearted questions and comments. Once some more questions have been contributed, these will be posted in the GCSE- Food & Health blog. Anyone interested will be able to view suggested questions from therespective contributors.

If you can only ask a manufacturer one question to assess the safety of that manufacturer’s products, what question will you ask?

I would ask "Whether you have food safety system manual? If yes please provide for review and asessment of your food safety system."

The reason behind selecting it a most important and most significant question is that by having such a manual one could have a full scoop of information about risk assessment methodologies, applied food safety controls, documentation system, availability of inspection and testing procedures and overview of traceability system etc. Not having a manual or having a copy-paste-style manual reveals the fact that manufacturer is not organized and not committed about fulfilling basic requirements of food safety management.

Regards:
Muhammad Zeeshan Zaki.

Zeeshan,

Thanks for your contribution. I am sure there are similar insightful thoughts that others will also be able to provide.

Letme know if you would like to read the submitted single questions to date. Iwill send the link to you in a PM.

I suspect the question may be different from the perspective of a consumer.

Yes of course. My question was with the perspective of an auditor or customer but it could be molded with perspective of a consumer. As a consumer I would ask about having any hygiene and food safety management system. The reflected confidence and information behind the reply against this question would definitely help to assess the safety of that manufacturer’s products.

Letme know if you would like to read the submitted single questions to date. Iwill send the link to you in a PM.

Members would be glad to see them on the forum's page.

Members would be glad to see them on the forum's page.

Indeed, all of the posts by IFSQN members to this forum are immediately visible here. However, the compiled list that I referred to is of single questions suggested by other contributors from other discussion forums that are outside of IFSQN.

Can you ever have a natural and educational discussion without promoting your website / thing? It becomes tedious.

Can you ever have a natural and educational discussion without promoting your website / thing? It becomes tedious.

This is precisely why I have not and will not post the link to the questions from the other forums here. Keeping to the main post as provided above should make for sufficiently natural, educational and website promotion-free discussion. It is only if anyone is interested in finding out what other people may have contributed elsewhere that they can specifically and voluntarily request this information. No website is being promoted and nothing is being sold.

My Question would be how do you ensure that your product meets food safety legislation ?
Ask for evidence of how this is reviewed and asessed.

IF they have accreditation to a recognised standard eg BRC, AIB ect. they will answer to that effect, and have certification, and audits to back that up.
IF they don't they still have to provide details of how they manage this essential requirement.
If they supply details of HACCP risk assessment , food safety controls, documentation system, inspection and testing procedures, traceability systems ect. ect. this indicates the manufacturer is aware of the basic requirements of food safety management.
This would be a manufacturer / supplier ( in my eyes ) that requires an audit.

IF they don't have any ,or only have some of the above - I would steer well clear and advise them what they need to do before you do business with them.

Shelley Heap
UK.

Do you have a certified HACCP plan?

If you can only ask a manufacturer one question to assess the safety of that manufacturer’s products, what question will you ask?