Food Safety Program Development

    Need to meet a new customer requirement for food safety? Achieve certification to a GFSI standard? Update your program to new regulatory requirements? NSF works with clients across all sectors of the industry to meet their food safety program goals.

    Explore the areas below to see how we can help or contact us now to get started on a solution to your food safety and quality needs.

    For more information, contact nsfcanada@nsf.org or call 519-821-1246.

    Food Safety Program Consulting

    We can help take your Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) or Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) program to the next level. Our GAP assessments identify areas of focus. We can also ensure best allergen control practices are followed to support label claims.

    FSMA & SFCA Consulting

    Through compliance gap assessments, our experts can ensure your products and processes are meeting Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and Safe Food for Canadians Act (SFCA) requirements. We can assist with compliance program development by helping modify your processes and programs to ensure compliance.

    Food Fraud Consulting

    Food fraud – the deliberate adulteration, substitution, tampering or misrepresentation of food – has increased as a result of our complex global food supply chain and costs the food industry an estimated $49 billion worldwide each year. In recent years, high–profile and international fraud scandals have harmed and even killed many innocent people.

    Consumer confidence is of critical importance to the safety of the food supply chain. We perform food defense audits to ensure that processors are efficiently managing several critical areas including documentation, traceability, crisis management, staff training and building security.

    Food defense plans are increasingly required for food safety certification and vendor qualification, as well as by the Food Safety Modernization Act. FSMA requires facilities to identify and evaluate food hazards, including those introduced intentionally, and implement and document preventive controls to provide assurance that food is not adulterated.

    Audit Readiness

    We provide two types of audit readiness assessments:

    • Pre-audit gap assessments, which are a consultative readiness review
    • Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) and Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) assessments for all schemes at all levels

    We can also assist you with major retailer addendums through our experience in preparing for all retailer expectations.

    Import/Export Advice

    Our compliance consulting helps you to ensure your products meet import/export regulations. Our import/export specialists can assist with the paperwork when filing documentation. We can provide regulatory assistance, supporting you in discussions with the regulators.

    • Food Plant Design
    • Our sanitary design and layout assistance ensures:

    The plan is correct from the design phase.
    The design will meet regulatory standards.
    We can provide construction oversight support from design to build.

    Food Safety Program for Allied Trades

    We provide management and employee training on basic food safety theory and safe food handling practices. Our allied trade compliance program helps you demonstrate to food processors that staff can comply with food safety expectations. We also offer program certification through a third-party audit to verify compliance to food safety standards.

    Contracted Foodservice Assurance

    NSF provides services to organizations like stadiums, schools or corporate offices to assure food safety and quality of their contracted foodservice provider to help:

    • Ensure value of catered service
    • Reduce the number of complaints about food or service quality
    • Improve employee or visitor satisfaction rates
    • Improve the meal quality and make sure they meet the consumer needs and aspirations
    • Measure and improve the impact on consumers’ health
    • Guarantee that caterers respect the contractual specifications
    • Improve your brand image as you take better care of people
    • Optimize the procurement process for catering services

    Download the White Paper, Ensuring Food Quality and Safety in Your Contracted Foodservice Operation to learn more.

    Client Testimonials

    Peak Drive Beverages

    “Having worked with NSF on a broad array of projects I couldn’t recommend the company more highly. They have fast become my most trusted and mission-critical R&D partner. It’s a pleasure to interact with team members who all deliver excellent results in a highly collaborative manner.”
    – John McEachern, Founder & CEO, Peak Drive Beverages

    Beaudry & Cadrin

    “I wanted to thank you for your support and advice which lead to the success of our recent audit. Your explanations and advice helped us effectively and rapidly implement the program and kept us on the right track. There were a few outstanding issues to be resolved and these were pointed out to us during the readiness assessment, which allowed us to be 100% ready on the day of the audit. We will continue to work on maintaining these standards. We are proud of our achievement.”
    – Jonathan Disnard, Beaudry & Cadrin, Montreal

    Quality Natural Foods Limited

    “Our work with Mr. Irwin Pronk, NSF consultant, helped us achieve the FSSC 22000 standard in our first attempt and in a timely manner accomplishing our certification goal within 12 months. What we appreciated about Irwin was his ability to make a challenging process look easy. He built confidence in our team and the ability critically analyze each aspect of the FSSC 22000 program.”
    – Mahendra Mendon Manager, Quality Assurance

    Lakeview Vegetable Processing Inc.

    “I have had the pleasure of working with Dr. Ruby Lee on numerous occasions. Most recently to prepare for our initial SQF Level 2 desk and onsite audit. Dr. Ruby Lee is very detailed and thorough and ensures that you understand standards and expectations in order to be successful. Thanks to Dr. Ruby Lee’s knowledge, I was able to take her recommendations and knowledge to revise and rework our current food safety program and successfully prepare for both SQF Level 2 desk audit and onsite audit. I would highly recommend her to any company in preparing to meet new standards or writing any food safety program.”

    Brewers Association of Canada (BAC)

    “… NSF worked in a diligent and professional manner as it lead our efforts to successfully develop the BAC HACCP / Food Safety Tool Kit. The development process involved a series of activities including training, piloting and the tool kit development itself. Throughout the process, NSF proved itself to be extremely technically knowledgeable and very well organized. NSF communicated clearly and concisely with both BAC and the members of our technical committee. The final HACCP Food Safety Tool Kit is a culmination of NSF’s efforts and the efforts of several BAC members; it is a well made product that will serve the food safety needs of Canadian breweries.”

    Chantler Packaging

    “NSF gave Chantler a great deal of help in achieving Chantler’s food safety goals. NSF’s consultant provided advice, coaching and leadership to help us achieve our registration to ISO 22000 / PAS 223. I think the most impressive thing about the consultant was his ability to encourage our staff to take ownership of the project and develop their skills in leadership and project management. It turned the registration process from an exercise in paperwork designed to achieve a certification, to a process that built our staff’s skills and capacities. Our food safety registration is an achievement that Chantler is very proud of, and we greatly appreciate NSF’s role in the process.”

    Dominion Citrus

    “… NSF has proven the knowledge and skills of its team in every aspect of HACCP through consulting on required programs, implementing through customized training of our warehouse staff and evaluating our manufacturing practices as well as our facility. With NSF’s consulting services we feel comfortable we will achieve and maintain our HACCP accreditation successfully.”

    Eating New Creations Inc.

    “… NSF’s services assisted us in making the plant HACCP ready and being capable of passing a third-party audit by our customers. Our firm has always had a strong commitment to food safety so we anticipated a smooth process. Most times when you bring in consultants you are left at the end of the project trying to assess if you received value for the money. This was not the case with NSF. This process not only allowed us to pass our third-party audit but we believe it made us a better company. By systemizing the processes we now have much better controls on our production allowing us to function more efficiently. We have nothing but the highest of regard for NSF. They have assisted us in continuing our firm’s commitment to delivering the best to our customers.”

    F.G. Lister

    “… Acknowledge the outstanding service provided by NSF … with the HACCP program in place, we have met our customer requirements as well as expanded our business.”

    GH Manufacturing Inc.

    “… Throughout our work with NSF, we have received timely and detailed answers to our questions … We are very appreciative of the assistance and support provided by NSF and feel that our quality systems have been enhanced by implementing the HACCP program for our facility.”

    Horton Spice Mills Ltd.

    “… As HACCP Coordinator, I am very grateful for the help, guidance and patience from NSF… NSF’s understanding and innovative strategies are helping us to achieve our HACCP Accreditation.”