Regulatory compliance is a critical issue for companies in the food industry. The global food market is heavily regulated, and both the manufacturer’s and the consumer’s national legislation needs to be complied with. Regulatory assessment is a fundamental tool to assure the effectiveness of the “regulatory compliance system” in place.

Purpose

Because of consumer concern about food safety and the food related environmental and social issues, the food industry sector is strongly regulated. Due to the global nature of the food market, companies belonging to the food chain are dealing with international and national legislation.

Regulatory compliance is therefore a major issue for food companies, and the assessment of the system in place to assure such compliance is strategic to establish its effectiveness as well as to improve it.

Benefits

A food company operating on the global market has to:

• Stay updated on relevant legislation in all countries it is operating.

• Assure that all parts of its operation are informed about relevant legislation.

• Assure proper translation from legal documents to product specification and labelling as well as process specifications.

• Develop systems and procedures to fulfil legal requirements.

Independent regulatory assessment provides company management with appropriate information concerning effectiveness and possible improvement areas.