Food verification is a vital and crucial part of your total food safety management approach. So, what are the 5 key food verification acts that every FDA regulated facility must perform? The truth is that these acts form the backbone of the FDA’s ability to protect the public from tainted or harmful foods. Learn in this article the top 5 food verification acts that are absolutely a must for any food verification program. By the time you’ve finished reading this article, you’ll know precisely how to make your facility achieve these goals.
The first act has to do with the labeling of food products. Labeling is one of the most important factors when it comes to FDA regulation. Only FDA-regulated food verification companies can mark a food product as” edible”, “frigerated/refrigerated” and “clear”. In other words, only they can tell the difference between hot and cold food products and whether or not a food item is appropriate for consumption.
There are many food verification companies that provide certificates of analysis that include the percentage of nutrients contained in the product. These certificates allow a facility to provide a determination of the nutrient content of various food products. A facility may also use the percentage of protein in a food product as a basis for a determination of the quality and purity of a product. Therefore, if a facility uses a percentage of protein as the basis for its grading, it’s doing exactly what it says: it’s grading a product based on its protein content.
Another important ingredient of food verification is that of the testing laboratories. If a food facility doesn’t test its products in a proper approved testing laboratory, then it isn’t meeting its own verification schedule or the requirements of the FDA. Different facilities conduct different food verification activities. Some of them may even employ several personnel to conduct different activities. The result is that it’s difficult to sort out which facilities are truly capable of handling food verification activities and which aren’t.
The result of this complexity is that it’s frequently difficult for facility managers to decide which lab to choose for food testing. Facility managers want to choose a lab that produces a high level of accuracy and reliability. Yet food grade testing laboratories that produce an acceptable level of accuracy and reliability sometimes cost more than facility management anticipates. To make matters worse, in many instances food certification isn’t even worth the money spent on the lab’s services. That’s because the food products that need verification can be bought from a wholesale warehouse facility at the same wholesale rate.
What does this mean for facility managers? It means that you make the final decision of what lab to use – and it should be the one that offers you the most value. Otherwise, it won’t make any sense to pay more for food grade products when you can buy them wholesale for much less. In other words, don’t get fooled by lab testing laboratories that claim to be food grade just because they are being billed as food testing laboratories.
The bottom line is that when it comes to food safety and inspection, you make the final purchase based on what you want and need. Labeling and packaging play a big role in determining the final price, but that’s not the only factor that impacts the quality of the final product. So, before you shop for food products from food verification companies and suppliers, spend some time looking beyond labels and packaging to see what they have to offer.
One of the most important decisions facility managers and owners face is whether or not to contract with food verification companies and suppliers. Before you make the final decision, consider all of the options available to you. While food products can’t be guaranteed to pass safety inspection and testing, you can be confident that your facility is getting the best value for your money. Food certifying labs can provide comprehensive reports on the manufacturing process, as well as providing detailed information about each food product.
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