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The evolving landscape of food

certification

Challenges and

opportunities

Dr Thom KLEISS, Head

Nestlé Quality Audit

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Nestlé at a glance: Key figures

• CHF 108bn sales in 2009

• EBIT CHF15.7bn

• Over 280,000 employees

• 449 factories

• operations in 83 countries

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Sales by RegionPercentage of Total F&B Sales in 2009

Americas

44.3%

Asia, Oceania, Africa

19.9%

Europe

35.8%

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The evolving landscape of food

certification

Challenges and

opportunities

• Accreditation

• Certification

• Advantages

• Landscape

• Challenges

• Opportunities

Accreditation - Nestlé

• Nestlé Specialized Laboratories (approx. 30): ISO 17025

accreditation compulsory

• Nestlé Factory laboratories (approx. 400): move to ISO

17025 accreditation

• Business partners laboratories: encourage ISO 17025

accreditation

Advantages -benefits

• Business results!

• Global acceptance of analytical results

• Basics of management system in place

• Formal sign-off on management system - compliance

• Benefit of the outsider’s eye

• Mutual acceptance standards – mechanisms - terminology

• Avoid waste – fine tune - Nestlé & partners

• Consumer and customer - stakeholder communication

• Preferred partnerships

Food certification landscape

Food certification landscape (cont’d)

• USA large retailers certification initiatives

• Global acceptance of ISO 22000 and PAS 220 – FSSC 22000

• Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) – equivalent standards

• Proprietary audit standards on their way out (lesson: ‘Peanut

Cooperation of America’)

• Customer internal supplier standards focus on high risk – low

risk can be handled by certification - less work – win/win for both

Nestlé and supplier

Potential hazards of the material

Nestlé HACCP hazard assessment

Significant

hazard?

YES

Who

controls?Vendor Nestlé

NO

HIGH RISK Vendor LOW RISK Vendor

External certification

Approved CBs – GFSI

PLUS: Nestlé signs off

on control measures

Nestlé

example

External certification

Approved CBs – GFSI

Challenges

• Too many standards under development (GFSI benchmark)

• Some industry players going back fully to own (customer)

standards

• Quality (and quantity…) of Certification Bodies – evolving role

of Accreditation rules and Bodies

• Value of certification – ‘guarantee’

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Opportunities

• Develop food industry consensus on certification standards,

including the right accreditation – fair choice but with limits

• Accreditation bodies take more ownership of quality of certification

bodies (now often: standard owners)

• Industry players partner up with Certification Bodies – make it work

• Certification industry needs to consolidate on scale and quality (of

audits – auditors)

Key messages

• Accreditation and certification are here to stay – we need it -

they help in the basics – compliance!

• Accreditation and certification show results – for companies –

for trade – for customer and consumer

• Credibility of programs requires industry consensus - quality

assurance – consolidation – transparency - continuous

improvement

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