Consult for questions on FOOD SAFETY/QUALITY Q-POINT

Q-Point is an independent Dutch consultancy firm working for the Dutch and international public and private sector. Q-Point is specialised in consultancy projects for agro-food businesses (from producer to retailer), donors and public institutions in various agro and food markets and cosmetics.

Matters in which Q-Point has broad experience, are:

• Food safety

• Traceability

• Integrated quality management

• Good hygiene and manufacturing practices

• Value chain management & analysis

• Market/business development (e.g. development, coordination and project management of international value chain projects)

The Q-Point consultants have extensive experience in working with consortium constructions and leading multidisciplinary international teams of experts including local expertise and have expertise in applicable methodologies for collecting quantitative and qualitative data in the agro-food sector in the Netherlands, EMEA and Asia, in managing combined expertise of Dutch (Q-Point) and local experts. In international capacity building projects, Q-Point has worked on the organisation and implementation of incubation centres, entrepreneurship workshops, business plan writing workshops and leadership training courses.

What is mandatory information that I have to put on the label of a food product?

• The name of the food;

• The list of ingredients;

• Any ingredient or processing aid listed in Annex II or derived from a substance or product listed in Annex II causing allergies or intolerances;

• The quantity of certain ingredients or categories of ingredients;

• The net quantity of the food;

• The date of minimum durability or the ‘use by’ date;

• Any special storage conditions and/or conditions of use;

• The name or business name and address of the food business operator referred to in Article 8(1);

• Instructions for use where it would be difficult to make appropriate use of the food in the absence of such instructions;

• A nutrition declaration.

What do I have to organise to comply with the legislation and regulations in the food industry in the Netherlands?

• You must have implemented a HACCP system (perform a risk analysis and act accordingly on the analysed risks)

• You must have a traceability system for all products (both your end product and packaging material)

• You must manage your suppliers (via agreements and with minimum requirements on safety)

• You must have a recall procedure in place in case the product has to be withdrawn from the market when there is an indication that it is unsafe (who should you contact and what procedure should you follow?)

Is certification obligatory for my company?

No, this depends on what your client requires from you. In most cases, a retail organisation will request a GFSI-acknowledged food quality system from you. ISO systems can help you with your general company management.

What are the most common international food quality systems?   

• BRC

• IFS

• FSSC 22000

• GLOBALG.A.P.

Note that each food quality system has various standards designed for your role in the supply chain: as a farmer, a producer, a broker, logistics etc.

Pricing

Intake and short questions (less than 1 hour) are free of charge. A concise consultancy trajectory of 2 to 3 sessions for a fixed price of € 500,00.