Bord Bia has developed a new Food Processor Standard (FPS) that requires processors to submit a three-to-five-year sustainability plan.
The new standard combines and replaces the Meat Processor Quality Assurance Standard (MPQAS) and the Prepared Fruit and Vegetable Standard (PFVS).
The standard is designed to ensure adherence to best practice in food processing from intake through to dispatch, and will become mandatory from November 15, this year, Bord Bia said.
However, processors can opt to be audited against the new standard from May 15, if they wish.
The standard is structured into five core modules to allow members to tailor the scope of their certification to match their operations:
- Module A is the minimum requirement for certification and covers food safety management and sustainability;
- Module B covers product quality and quality mark logo use;
- Module C covers all aspects of meat processing from the lairage to cutting and mincing;
- Module D applies only to fruit and vegetable processing;
- Module E lays out requirements for further processing such as pasteurisation, smoking, and fermentation.
Modules A and B are mandatory for any processor who wishes to use the Bord Bia logo on packs.
Speaking about the new standard, Alice McGlynn, Origin Green head of operations said:
“The new standard’s requirements are not vastly different from the previous schemes’ but there is greater emphasis on sustainability and food safety, and for meat processors, animal welfare.
“To achieve certification to the standard, businesses will be required to have an independently verified sustainability plan in place, such as with Origin Green membership. The sustainability plan submitted must set targets and track progress over time. Members must also provide evidence of an appropriate food safety culture, which is a requirement of a new EU food safety regulation.”
Bord Bia currently operates schemes for primary producers of beef, dairy, lamb, poultry, pig, egg, feed, and horticulture. All Bord Bia standards are accredited by the Irish National Accreditation Board (INAB) to ISO 17065.