Food Safety Glossary of Terms

The level of a food safety hazard not to be exceeded in the end product provided by the organization.

Approval by an accreditation body confirming the management systems and competence of a certification body to provide certification services against a specified Standard.

A measurable or observable specification for the monitoring of an Operational Prerequisite Programme (OPRP) as per ISO 22000. An action criterion is established to determine whether an OPRP remains in control. When the action criterion is met, the OPRP is operating in control, when the action criterion is not met the OPRP is not operating in control, this is unacceptable and action should be taken as prescribed in the Hazard Control Plan (HACCP/OPRP Plan).

The addition of an undeclared material into a food item for economic gain.

A company that facilitates trade between an organization and their raw material or packaging suppliers, but does not at any point own or take title to the goods.

A space which permits the passage of people and materials between one area and another with two doors in series which do not open simultaneously, and thus minimises the transfer of pests, dust, odours, or air from one area to the other.

A known component of food which causes physiological reactions due to an immunological response (e.g. nuts and others identified in legislation relevant to the country of production or sale).

Food causing an adverse reaction that is mediated by an immunological response.
Defined allergens are:

• Cereals containing gluten (i.e. wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, kamut or their hybridised strains) and products thereof
• Crustaceans and products thereof
• Eggs and products thereof
• Fish and products thereof
• Peanuts and products thereof
• Soybeans and products thereof
• Milk and products thereof (including lactose)
• Nuts i.e. Almond (Amygdalus communis L.), Hazelnut (Corylus avellana), Walnut (Juglans regia), Cashew (Anacardium occidentale), Pecan nut (Carya illinoiesis (Wangenh.) K. Koch), Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa), Pistachio nut (Pistacia vera), Macadamia nut and Queensland nut (Macadamia ternifolia) and products thereof
• Celery and products thereof
• Lupin and products thereof
• Molluscs and products thereof
• Mustard and products thereof
• Sesame seeds and products thereof
• Sulphur dioxide and sulphites at concentrations of more than 10 mg/kg or 10 mg/litre expressed as SO2.

Commission Directive 2007/68 EC of 27 November 2007 amending Annex III a to Directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards certain food ingredients.

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2007:310:0011:0014:EN:PDF

The eight foods identified by the law are

• Milk
• Eggs
• Fish (e.g., bass, flounder, cod)
• Crustacean shellfish (e.g., crab, lobster, shrimp)
• Tree nuts (e.g., almonds, walnuts, pecans)
• Peanuts
• Wheat
• Soybeans

These eight foods, and any ingredient that contains protein derived from one or more of them, are designated as “major food allergens' by FALCPA. To help Americans avoid the health risks posed by food allergens, FDA enforces the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 (the Act). The Act applies to the labeling of foods regulated by the FDA which includes all foods except poultry, most meats, certain egg products, and most alcoholic beverages which are regulated by other Federal agencies.

The Act requires that food labels must clearly identify the food source names of any ingredients that are one of the major food allergens or contain any protein derived from a major food allergen.

As a result, food labels help allergic consumers identify offending foods or ingredients so they can more easily avoid them. While more than 160 foods can cause allergic reactions in people with food allergies, the law identifies the eight most common allergenic foods. These foods account for 90 percent of food allergic reactions and are the food sources from which many other ingredients are derived.

https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/what-you-need-know-about-food-allergies

An ambient area designed, maintained and operating to a high hygienic standard where practices relating to personnel, ingredients, equipment, packaging and environment aim to minimise potential product contamination by pathogenic micro-organisms.

Products which are intended to be fed to non-food-producing animals.

An audit where the organization/site agrees the scheduled audit day in advance with the certification body.

Suppliers that have been assessed and approved by the organization based on risk assessment as capable of meeting the sites food safety requirements for materials and/or services supplied.

Person assigned by an Accreditation Body to perform an assessment of a Certification Body.

Products produced in accordance with a recognised product certification scheme, the status of which needs to be preserved through the production facility (An example schemes would be GlobalGAP or “Organic Certification” such as Soil Association Certification).

A rapid test for the cleanliness of surfaces based on ATP (adenosine triphosphate) – a substance used in energy transfer in cells and therefore detects the presence of biological material on a surface. The acceptable levels for a clean surface can be defined based on a short history of analysis. the test is It is based on the firefly's ATP luminescent reaction. The ATP collected from a surface reacts with Luciferin/Luciferase compounds present in the sample to create bioluminescence light. The amount of bioluminescence light is measured by the Luminometer and is expressed in Relative Light Units (RLU).

1.Systematic, independent and documented process for obtaining audit evidence and evaluating it objectively to determine the extent to which the audit criteria are fulfilled. An audit can be an internal audit (first-party) or an external audit (second party or third party), and it can be a combined audit (combining two or more disciplines).

2. A systematic examination to measure compliance of practices with a predetermined system, and whether the system is implemented effectively and is suitable to achieve objectives.

3.A systematic and independent examination of a site’s food safety system by a qualified food safety auditor to determine whether food safety, systems, hygiene and management activities are undertaken in accordance with that system documentation and comply with the requirements of the food safety standard.

A list of requirements available for use by an auditor when conducting an audit.

A person employed or contracted by a licensed certification body to audit a site’s food safety management system.

A person possessing the appropriate competence and skills to carry out an audit.