The food standards are laid down by various governments and international bodies for manufacturers/suppliers in the food industry to ensure that safe and quality foods are reaching the consumers. These consist of a set of criteria and specifications regarding various physical, chemical, and microbiological parameters such as raw materials used during manufacturing, chemical composition, color, permissible food additives, and maximum bacterial content, etc. that a particular food product must meet to ensure that consumers get safe food and value for money.
Published in Chapter:
Food Safety Audits: Ensuring Quality and Safe Food to Our Plate and Palate
Ruby Siwach (College of Dairy Science and Technology, Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, India)
Copyright: © 2022
|Pages: 25
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7415-7.ch001
Abstract
Food safety has gained global attention due to rising issues of food-borne illnesses, adulteration, and increased consumer awareness about food safety worldwide. It is a challenge for the governments and the food industry itself to maintain food safety throughout the food and supply chain. There are several systems and processes adopted by various countries to ensure food safety, and the food safety audits are one of the indispensable tools to achieve the goals of food quality and safety. Rising trends of consuming processed foods, eating out in restaurants and cafes, home deliveries of food from outside worldwide have made the auditing process very essential to ensure that the food products are being manufactured, stored, and sold in compliance with national and international standards. This chapter aims at providing an overview of the food audit processes, scope, importance, challenges, and future trends.