The SCV, which is the legal owner of Dutch HACCP, said it would instead focus on promoting its FSSC 22000 scheme as a global food safety certification system.
Since gaining GFSI recognition 18 months ago, FSSC 22000 has experienced robust industry take up.
The organisation’s board had decided against resubmitting Dutch HACCP to the GFSI because of the “new far reaching requirements” set out in body Guidance Document Sixth Edition.
“It was felt that it would be a duplication of time, money and effort to manage both schemes as global standards,” Hugo de Sitter, president of the board of experts Dutch HACCP told FoodProductionDaily.com. “It doesn’t make sense that the two systems owned by the same body should be in competition with each other.”
Back to basics
Dutch HACCP will continue to focus on small and medium sized firms, not the suppliers of retail organisations, added de Sitter.
This means the scheme will remain focused on food production only – and retains its status as a pure HACCP certification scheme based on the Codex Alimentarius principles, said the SCV. Certified production firms will comply with article 5 of EU Regulation 852/2004
It will therefore not include guidelines relating to the manufacture of packaging materials.
The HACCP scheme can serve as a starting point for organisation to become later certified against a GFSI recognised scheme, said the body.
“We wanted to keep the two systems separate”, said de Sitter. "However, looking at the demands of Dutch HACCP, we still believe it to be the strongest scheme, with inspections done every six months.”
The fifth version of the Dutch HACCP scheme - Requirements for a HACCP based Food Safety System - is currently under development and due to be released on 1 January 2012.
Dutch HACCP Option B certificates that are still in circulation in 2012 will be accepted as valid against the GFSI Guidance Document Fifth Edition during that year, said the GFSI
However any certificates issued after 1 January 2012 will not be considered to have been issued against a GFSI-recognised scheme.
“This will have a positive effect on the further harmonisation of food safety schemes, as the companies in the marketplace ultimately determine which schemes are most relevant to their businesses," said FSSC board chairman, Jürgen Matern.