GFSI launches packaging safety think tank

The body said it had initiated the Packaging Technical Working Group in response to growing industry concern over the need to streamline and harmonise food safety requirements which are currently found in the “plethora of packaging standards existing today in the food industry”.​

Neil Marshall, director, global quality and food safety with The Coca-Cola Company hailed the new group, as he highlighted the need for an end-to-end supply chain approach for food safety.

Risks from packaging should be handled in the same way as those from processing techniques and ingredients, he said.

“One of the key pillars of our global food safety strategy is build upon requirements for our suppliers to be GFSI certified and so it is vitally important that packaging food safety risks are managed and mitigated using the same science based approach we use for ingredients and manufacturing processes within the supply chain,”​ added Marshall.

Broad mandate​

Working under a broad remit, the working group will review current best practice in packaging manufacture.

It will also define and develop the requirement criteria for food packaging safety in relation to the GFSI’s own benchmarking scheme as contained in the sixth version of its official Guidance Document.

The team of experts will lay out the auditor skills required to evaluate packaging schemes bidding for GFSI for recognition. The length of the audits will also be defined.

Its work will also provide technical recommendations and advice on issues relating to packaging in the food supply chain.

The working group will report on progress to the GFSI board of directors, with preliminary results expected later this year. These are expected to cover the scope of food safety requirements within packaging manufacturing schemes and will be put out for public consultation.

The GFSI is a non-profit making foundation that benchmarks existing food standards against food safety criteria. It was created under Belgium law in 2000 and is managed on a day-to-day basis by the Consumer Goods Forum.