The Legislative Environment

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• The Legislative Environment
• the new Official Food Safety Law

ADDO Research Station Open Day 22 June 2005
Programme Manager Food Safety Lindy Groenewald
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Content

• Consumer / trends
• What are the concerns?
• EU Food Law Regulatory Environment
• Putting EU Food Law into context
• Translation into SA Law
• Aspects of SA OFS Legislation
• Practical Examples

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• Consumer / Trends?

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Consumer Trends

• Higher Choice required
• Concern over Food Safety
• Move to support Environmental brands
• More cost conscious, High costs of compliance to
  various standards
• Convenience (ready to eat, pre-prepared)
• Food traded in global village through an
  increasingly complex supply chain with different
  regulatory and enforcement regimes
• Inconsistent enforcement of regulations within
  and between countries
• Harmonization / Integration and mutual
  recognition of one acceptable world standard
• Current legal requirements are the bare minimum
  in global trade - retailer standards far in
  excess of legal requirements

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• What are the concerns / challenges?

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Food Safety EU Concerns
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Food Safety US Concerns
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• EU Food Law

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EU food law

• 25 EU member states 450 Millions consumers with
  high food safety expectations
• EU producers - third country supplier to keep up
  with the pace of the EU to ensure market access
• Retailer requirements
• EU food law is becoming increasingly complex.
• Significant responsibilities for operators.

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Food safety regulatory environment

• General Food Law EU 178/2002 Jan 2006
• Article 18 Traceablity Jan 2005
• Hygiene Of Foodstuffs EU 852/2004 Jan 2006
• Official Controls Performed To Ensure The
  Verification Of Compliance With Feed And Food
  Law, Animal Health And Animal Welfare EU
  882/2004 Jan 2006
• Harmonisation Of EU MRLs Requirements EU
  414/90 - Ongoing 2008
• Standards Regarding Food Hygiene And Food
  Safety Of RegulatedAgricultural Food Products Of
  Plant Origin Intended For Export Promulgated 13
  May 2005 South Africa

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Regulation and control in EU

• Harmonization of MRLs in EU
• Review of levels new food safety understanding
• Imports must meet local production standards
• EU inspections or competent authority in third
  country PPECB
• Rapid alert system / Ban of imports

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The Rapid Alert System (RASSF)

• Launched in February 2002, for Food and Feed
• Obligatory notification of any direct or indirect
  risk to human or animal or to the environment
  communicated to Commision transmit to members
  of network.
• EFSA technical / scientific information risk
  management
• Network consisting of
• National competent authorities (member states)
• The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)
• The European Commision
• Alert notifications (immediate action required)
  vs Information notifications (no need for action
  - product did not receive the market)

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• Total alert notifications 454

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• Putting EU Law into perspective

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Food safety regulatory environment
Continued Exports
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Putting it into context

• Food safety, quality health

Food safety Physical (Insects) Biological
(Hygiene) Chemical (Residues) Quality Health
(Phyto-sanitary)
Principle
178/2002
R908
APS/OFS
R918
852/2004
Guideline
414/1990
FCD
APS/OFS
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Current mandates

• Department of Health
• - Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act
• food safety standards (pesticides,
• heavy metals, noxious seeds, toxins etc.)
• HACCP enabling legislation (R 908/2003)
• - Health Act
• R918/1999 Hygiene regulations
• Three levels of government (National-policy,
  Provincial and local authorities - operational)
• No export certification mandate (issue of health
  certificates on request voluntary)
• Constitutional responsibility - municipal health
  services (including food control)

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Current mandates

• Department of Agriculture
• - Agricultural Product Standards Act 119 of
  1990
• National level of government policy and operation
  (not provincialised)
• Export certification mandate
• Government department responsible for food safety
  and quality assurance (competent authority) of
  agricultural products exported
• Amendment of APS Act 1998 to include management
  systems such as food safety. Regulation
  promulgated 13 May 2005.

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• Translation into SA Law

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SA Legislation

• Agricultural Product Standards (APS)Act 119 of
  1990
• Historically regulated exports for
• Quality Attributes
• Traceability (EC Req.-1 January 2005)
• Residue monitoring programme
• Aflatoxin on groundnuts
• Salmonella on Rooibos
• Physical hazards etc.
• Expansion includes
• Standards regarding Food Hygiene and Food Safety
  of Regulated Agricultural Food Products of Plant
  Origin intended for Export.
• Promulgated 13 May 2005.

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SA Legislation

• PPECB Act 9 of 1983
• Provides for control and management of the
  perishable products export process, i.e. cold
  chain processes. (RMTs, Containers,
  Container Depots, Vessels, Temperature
  Monitoring).
• Majority of food safety risks already covered
  within processes/certifications for containers,
  coldrooms etc.

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South African Export Legislation (Chemicals)

• Act 36 of 1947
• Crops or products exported meet the default
  export MRL or IT in the country of destination
• Records are kept of applications (pre- and
  post-harvest)
• Monitoring samples are drawn and tested
• Exporters and producers have the responsibility
  to
• comply with Act 36
• keep records of applications, provide on request
• verify MRLs with importer or agent in relevant
  country
• keep up with registrations and changes in SA and
  importing countries
• inform Directorate Plant Health and Quality of
  rejections due to residues

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Requirements according to APS Act 119,1990 (1)

• General Obligation
• Food business operators (FBOs) shall ensure
  that all stages of handling for which they are
  responsible, from and including primary
  production up to and including the export of food
  products are carried out in a hygienic way in
  accordance with the prescribed requirements of
  this Standard.
• FBOs producers, On/Off farm packhouses,
  transporters, stores, processing plants and cold
  stores, i.e. everyone in supply chain!

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Consumer
APS Act
Supermarket
Shipping
Holding Store
Hygiene Practices
GHP

HACCP
Container Depot
TRACEAB I L I T Y
Road Transport
Cold Store
Processing
Hygiene Practices
GMP
HACCP

Off farm Packhouse
On farm Packhouse
GMP

Hygiene Practices
Farm
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Requirements according to APS Act 119,1990 (1)

• EC Regulatory proposal requires a food safety
  system
• GAP, GMP, GDP, GHP
• Hygiene
• HACCP principles
• From FARM to FORK
• To be audited by EU Commission
• No commercial certification of GAP, GDP, GMP or
  HACCP required.
• HACCP principles required for off-farm FBOs i.e
  pack houses, processing, silos etc.
• Regulations relating to the application of the
  Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point System
  (HACCP system), No. R. 908 of 27 June 2003 in
  terms of the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and
  Disinfectants Act, 1972 (Act No. 54 of 1972)

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Scope of Act 119,1990

• Regulated Agricultural Products.
• Products of Plant Origin (EC food and feed).
• Fresh, frozen, processed fruit vegetables
• Rooibos Honeybush tea
• Grains, legumes, nuts
• Jams, jellies
• Dried fruit
• Terms of the APS Act (PPECB Mandate)
• Exports to all countries
• Spot checks by DoA (Department of Agriculture)
  (SAAFQIS)

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• Aspects of SA OFS System

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Implementation process
All FBOs to register with DoA
Entered on Database (DoA)
Checklists (Guidance documents, Compliance
criteria)
RISK PROFILE
Pilot GAP, On-farm PH, Off-farm PH, All WC
areas Roll-out Audit conducted according to risk
profile
Scheduling of Audits June End August 2005
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Registering as an FBO

• Registering with DoA
• Database based on location, product, type of
  operation
• Form and explanation available from
• www.nda.agric/docs/plantquality/default.htm
• Used as basis for scheduling audits

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Risk profile

• No third party commercial certification required,
  however commercial certification will be seen as
  LOW RISK and excluded from the initial roll-out.
• Audited on risk profile (except pilot June -
  August)
• i.e. High risk FBO product higher audit
  frequency
• High risk audited 1 x per year
• Medium risk audited 1 x 2 years
• Low risk audited 1 x 3 years
• Workgroup (industry specialists) created to draw
  up a Risk Profile
• Product
• Processes/FBOs
• Database of pilot-audit results-risk profile
  adjustments

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Development of checklists

• PPECB DoA developed initial checklists
• GAP (Farm), On-Farm packhouses, Off-Farm
  packhouses, Processing plants.
• Current revision March 2005 to include Compliance
  levels, compliance criteria and On-farm transport
  requirements.
• Addition of Traceability and Record-keeping
  requirements.
• Used by PPECB Inspectors Indication to
  producers, packers, manufacturers etc. as to what
  compliance is needed (self-audit).
• 100 compliance to MAJOR control points
• 90 compliance to MINOR control points
• Checklists in draft
• Cold Stores, Off-farm Transport, Silos.
• (currently available for comment on DoA website)
• Checklists to follow
• Warehousing, Container Depots, Terminals,
  Shipping and transport by sea and air.

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Compliance criteria industry guidance documents

• Compliance criteria specific to
• FBO (Food Business Operator, e.g. farm,
  packhouse, transporter, packhouse)
• Industry (E.g. Citrus, Canning)
• Will follow from data gathered during pilot
• Industries requiring HACCP type system (Off-farm
  packhouses and processing)
• Suggested HACCP plans per industry

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• Practical Examples
• GAP GMPs

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Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs)
Practices in the primary production areas (farms)
to reduce or eliminate food borne hazards
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Chemical Room
Spray programmes
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Compost / manure
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Equipment calibration
Irrigation water
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Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) (1)
Practices in packhouses to reduce or eliminate
food borne hazards
Signs
Sanitation
Worker Hygiene
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Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) (2)
Equipment maintenance Sanitation
Glass Control Protective Clothing
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Dont forget who you heard this from!!!