19 replies to this topic

[Someone]

Hi everyone,

 

I wanted to have some more information about the risk levels classification for these following coutries : France, United States, United Kingdom, Canada.

 

Do you know how they are classifiyng the risks management in their food industries ? Is it entirely by the type of the food ? Or do they have also an establishments classification (between sushi bar and hotel restaurant for example).

 

Thanks by advance for the answers !!

[Charles.C]

Hi everyone,

 

I wanted to have some more information about the risk levels classification for these following coutries : France, United States, United Kingdom, Canada.

 

Do you know how they are classifiyng the risks management in their food industries ? Is it entirely by the type of the food ? Or do they have also an establishments classification (between sushi bar and hotel restaurant for example).

 

Thanks by advance for the answers !!

 

There are potentially >1 Organisation/Country in some cases, eg USA probably.

 

In UK, afaik, Manufacturing Facilities are risk classified (from memory H/M/L or perhaps H/L) ) based on a mix of several factors, eg type of finished product (RTE etc) volume of production, etc. The result determines the official inspection frequency.

 

The other Countries mentioned no idea.

 

Enterprises like you mention no idea either.

 

Risk classifications of Foods, per se, vary widely in their method of categorisation.

[Lesley.Roberts]

I would think this would be related to what type of "risk" you are referring to?....I am assuming you are referring to "food safety" as the risk?..(not authenticity or continuity of supply)

 

Organisations within each country will vary widely in their ability to meet food safety standards - for instance the organisation in question could be a new build factory with BRC unannounced/ISO22000 accreditation or it could be a small organisation with a very old factory/facility & no accreditation that would struggle to meet SALSA standards.

 

For me the country of origin is more relevant when the subject is raw material sourcing, particularly within agriculture  as developing countries may not have the financial resource to meet GAP requirements but a developed country - eg. USA/Europe should not have difficulty in meeting these standards.

[Charles.C]

I would think this would be related to what type of "risk" you are referring to?....I am assuming you are referring to "food safety" as the risk?..(not authenticity or continuity of supply)

 

Organisations within each country will vary widely in their ability to meet food safety standards - for instance the organisation in question could be a new build factory with BRC unannounced/ISO22000 accreditation or it could be a small organisation with a very old factory/facility & no accreditation that would struggle to meet SALSA standards.

 

For me the country of origin is more relevant when the subject is raw material sourcing, particularly within agriculture  as developing countries may not have the financial resource to meet GAP requirements but a developed country - eg. USA/Europe should not have difficulty in meeting these standards.

 

Hi Lesley,

 

I'm assuming the OP meant Official Classification, ie not Private Codes. (If the latter, an Encyclopedia is possible).

 

I'm also assuming the OP meant manufactured  finished goods. Or perhaps semi-finished.

 

@ Someone ??? Please Clarify yr Query.

[Hreddy]

Dear Someone.   (Its good to mention at least your nick name instead of anonymous).

 

 

Here is link gives general and simple classification and criteria for the food preparation. Hope this helps.

 

 Link/share our site at www.kingcounty.gov/foodsafety/risk

 

Kind regards

H.Reddy

[Charles.C]

Dear Someone.   (Its good to mention at least your nick name instead of anonymous).

 

 

Here is link gives general and simple classification and criteria for the food preparation. Hope this helps.

 

 Link/share our site at www.kingcounty.gov/foodsafety/risk

 

Kind regards

H.Reddy

 

Hi Hreddy,

 

This would appear to be US State (subdivision of) related. Not Federal.

 

Appears not oriented to large scale manufacturing facilities.

 

Thks anyway.

 

@ Someone - awaiting yr clarification ???

[Hreddy]

Mr. Charles. your 100 ​%.

 

Kind regards

H. Reddy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Hreddy,

 

This would appear to be US State (subdivision of) related. Not Federal.

 

Appears not oriented to large scale manufacturing facilities.

 

Thks anyway.

 

@ Someone - awaiting yr clarification ???

[Someone]

Thank everyone for the answers.

 

I am indeed talking about manufactured products (finished). As for the regulation, i am exclusively talking about governmental ones.

[Scampi]

So you are asking HOW governments determine the risk rating of a particular TYPE of finished good?

[Someone]

Not necessarily of a particular type, but more for the classification to categorise these types.

Like determining different types of restaurants, and implementing a risk level system regarding to this classification.

[Charles.C]

Hi Someone -

 

This is a Summary of Procedure in UK -

 

Frequency of Inspection – Intervention Rating Scores

The Statutory Food Law Code of Practice sets out a scoring system for
determining the level of risk attached to each food manufacturing premises, and
therefore the minimum level of frequency of inspection. For the lowest risk sites
the possibility exists for the officer either to visit once every three years, or to put
in place an alternative enforcement plan, such as sending the business
questionnaires to complete and return. The scoring is based on criteria that
combine facts in respect of the business type, with considerations based on
professional judgment such as the business’ track-record in the view of the EHO,
and the attitude of the management towards issues of food safety. The broad
criteria are: -  
  the potential hazard: i.e. type of food and method of handling (e.g. certain
types of high-risk foods); method of processing (e.g. cooking from raw,
etc) and data on potential consumers at risk (e.g. scale of distribution and
number of customers);
  levels of (current) compliance; and
  confidence in management controls

 

 UK Regulation of Small Food Manufacturing Businesses,2013.pdf   230.06KB   19 downloads

 

The details /  Evaluation Form utilised are accessible (somewhere).

 

PS - EHO = Environmental Health Officer (I think)
 

[Scampi]

http://inspection.gc...4/1323140830752

 

The above link will take you to a listing of all Canadian provinces and their health units that are responsible for inspection and enforcing the requirements........restaurants are not federally regulated in Canada......each county has it's own public health office that is responsible for their area

 

 

ASAIN, in Canada there are not "risk ratings" based on the type of food served and frequency of inspections, rather, if you score low....you shall be subject to more frequent inspections.............in Ontario you need to be a certified Public Health Inspector in order to do the job (which is funny, cause anyone can practice HACCP) which comes with very specific training

[Charles.C]

addendum to Post 11

 

Details / Interpretation / Scoring of  Risk Rating scheme are afaik in attached document -

 

 Food Law UK.pdf   1.49MB   23 downloads

(see Pg 100 et seq)(multi-factor Procedure)(IIRC Australia has an analogous program but much more abbreviated)

[kfromNE]

For the US - according to the FDA Commissioner in a recent interview (about the government shutdown). "In an interview with the Post, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said .........facilities that are considered at a higher risk due to the handling of sensitive items such as seafood, vegetables, and soft cheese, or that have a history of problems."

 

In the USA like Canada like Scampi mentioned restaurants aren't regulated by the federal government but instead the states and counties.

 

Meat, poultry and eggs are regulated by USDA instead of the FDA. 

[kfromNE]

For the US - according to the FDA Commissioner in a recent interview (about the government shutdown). "In an interview with the Post, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said .........facilities that are considered at a higher risk due to the handling of sensitive items such as seafood, vegetables, and soft cheese, or that have a history of problems."

 

In the USA like Canada like Scampi mentioned restaurants aren't regulated by the federal government but instead the states and counties.

 

Meat, poultry and eggs are regulated by USDA instead of the FDA. 

 

From an article from Politico I read today that's more descriptive on what's considered high risk in the USA -

 

Several types of food fall under FDA's high-risk category, including seafood, soft cheeses, fresh fruits and vegetables, spices, shell eggs, infant formula and medical foods. A food facility can also be considered high-risk if it has a history of food safety problems. There are roughly 20,000 food facilities in the U.S. that have been deemed high-risk.

[Charles.C]

From an article from Politico I read today that's more descriptive on what's considered high risk in the USA -

 

Several types of food fall under FDA's high-risk category, including seafood, soft cheeses, fresh fruits and vegetables, spices, shell eggs, infant formula and medical foods. A food facility can also be considered high-risk if it has a history of food safety problems. There are roughly 20,000 food facilities in the U.S. that have been deemed high-risk.

 

Hi KfromIa,

 

Interested to see a link to Politico's comments.

 

IIRC, ca 2014, at the inception of FSMA,  FDA stated that they would issue a list of foods ranked by "risk". A  draft (multifactor) procedure was also published.

 

Afaik, the list has never appeared ?.

 

(This is not quite the same thing as risk-ranking food facilities of course).

 

PS - I believe there also exists a ("statistical") list of products ranked according to, I think, number of related/documented  health incidents.

[kfromNE]

Hi KfromIa,

 

Interested to see a link to Politico's comments.

 

IIRC, ca 2014, at the inception of FSMA,  FDA stated that they would issue a list of foods ranked by "risk". A  draft (multifactor) procedure was also published.

 

Afaik, the list has never appeared ?.

 

(This is not quite the same thing as risk-ranking food facilities of course).

 

PS - I believe there also exists a ("statistical") list of products ranked according to, I think, number of related/documented  health incidents.

 

The article from politico was from their daily email called morning agriculture - covers FDA and the USDA among other agriculture topics

 

https://www.politico...hutdown-1084170

[Scampi]

In Canada, CFIA has implemented a risk assessment tool for federal plants based on:

 

Type of raw materials and/or finished good

Process

History (if any) of compliance issues

http://www.inspectio...?wbdisable=true

 

Frequency of inspection (beginning today with implementation of the SFCR) will depend on your risk rating

 

We have been downgraded to to less frequent inspection based on above (oh yeah, and also because now everyone will need inspected and there are not enough inspectors to do the job)

[Charles.C]

The article from politico was from their daily email called morning agriculture - covers FDA and the USDA among other agriculture topics

 

https://www.politico...hutdown-1084170

 

Hi KfromLA,

 

Thks for link.

 

Seems to be partly speculative journalism since looks like FDA have probably not yet issued any official list high risk foods -

 

https://www.foodqual...s-as-high-risk/

https://www.thepacke...eing-considered

 

I'm guessing comments such as "seafood high risk" are based on statistical incident records which have tuna (esp mercury) and oysters (esp vibrio)  in top 10.

[kfromNE]

Hi KfromLA,

 

Thks for link.

 

Seems to be partly speculative journalism since looks like FDA have probably not yet issued any official list high risk foods -

 

https://www.foodqual...s-as-high-risk/

https://www.thepacke...eing-considered

 

I'm guessing comments such as "seafood high risk" are based on statistical incident records which have tuna (esp mercury) and oysters (esp vibrio)  in top 10.

 

I would suspect you're right. They're I believe based on a few factors like foods the FDA Commissioner mentioned, foods with high incidences of outbreaks and items for populations whose immune systems aren't as strong. A majority of the items are also foods known as TCS foods (Time Temperature Control for Safety) https://www.restaura...nizing-TCS-food. These food items are also taught by local health inspectors and food establishments to watch out for since they are foods that allow bacteria to grow easier than others.

 

Which brings up another interesting topic. On the state level, not only are high risk foods mentioned but also high risk populations. You'll see in the regulations for food establishments that serve a majority of high risk people, their rules are stricter. (Hospitals, nursing homes, day care centers).