Packaging
The manufacture of safe packaging and packaging materials is a critical part of ensuring the food supply chain’s integrity and safety. Packaging for food and feed has many essential functions, ranging from protecting its contents against contamination or damage, leakage or loss, to providing a medium for product marketing and a location for obligatory product information.
Packaging can present its own risks if inappropriate or unsanitary components are used. If this happens, the result may be product contamination from toxins, chemical migration, or breakages from the use of fragile glass or hard plastics.
The sector is bound by many regulations, and a variety of elements must be considered in the production and function of food packaging. Added to this is the broad range of component materials, including glass, plastic, metal, and paper, all of which have their inherent risks.
“As a leader in the Packaging Industry, Graham Packaging Company selected the FSSC 22000 Certification system to complement our existing ISO based Quality Management System and provide a Food Safety Management element. This allows Graham Packaging Company to validate that our operations are not just compliant with, and exceeding recognized food safety standards, but also further build confidence with our customer base that our operations protect both their interests and the interests of the consumer.”Graham Packaging Company
FSSC 22000 provides a certification Scheme that incorporates an in-depth hazard analysis in a robust Food Safety Management System to control food safety hazards, minimize risks, and assist in ensuring the production and delivery of safe packaging and packaging materials across the world. The Scheme uses international standards: ISO 22000 for FSMS and ISO/TS 22002-4, the sector-specific Pre-Requisite Program (PRP) for food packaging and packaging material. The FSSC 22000 Additional Requirements for certification ensures consistent, high-quality audits, which are monitored by an integrity program to measure and maintain audit performance worldwide.
Scope
FSSC 22000 can be applied to organizations that manufacture primary and secondary food and feed packaging and/or intermediate components, including:
- Flexible and rigid plastics, such as foils, blisters, crates, and sachets
- Paper, such as cartons, boxes, and sacks
- Metal, such as cans, bottles, and boxes
- Glass, such as jars and bottles
- Shipping and transport containers, such as big bags, drums, and tanks