Food safety and quality assurance

The relationship between the agricultural and food sectors has changed significantly in recent years, and continues to do so. Historically, farmers produced food raw materials, most of which was for local consumption or sold-on through marketing organisations, with little thought of the end use of the material. Similarly, the food industry brought their raw materials from an intermediary and had little direct contact with primary production. For both of these sectors these trading patterns are long gone. Farmers now have to be much more aware of market demands and the needs of their customers in terms of food safety, legality, quality and functionality of their products. Likewise food businesses now have to consider their raw materials not just in terms of food safety and quality, but in terms of how it is produced. Today, therefore, the food chain is much more highly integrated. Through closer relationships along the food chain - and through systems such as specifications, traceability, codes of practice, and food safety management - the food production process is becoming less the work of a series of independent businesses and more a concerted approach to ensure food safety, legality and quality. The emphasis is increasingly on prevention of problems, through appropriate management systems. This paper outlines some of the main risk areas and the control systems adopted within the food supply chain in the UK and Europe.