Every restaurant needs food safety certification, obviously, but what does that necessarily entail? Is it as simple as knowing the facts, like that the incubation period for E. coli is between one and ten days? Or is it something much more involved such as the standard operating procedure for machinery in addition to the correct methods of disease prevention?

The answer is yes, food safety certification is a very involved process. The standards are set high, and reach out to every single piece of the process in the food industry.

There are more than 19 thousand International Standards, and some 1 thousand are dedicated to food. These standards encompass agricultural machinery, logistics, transportation, manufacturing, labelling, packaging and storage. These standards also reach out to other areas that require regulation. For example, ISO 50001 is designed with the intent to help companies utilize and enhance their usage of energy consuming assets.

You can receive the proper ISO training for each standard of operations. For example, there is haccp certification training, or Iso 9001 training. These food safety certification programs are meant to meliorate the process of safety management.

These standards, though they might seem tedious, are a great thing for companies. If a customer knows that a restaurant or commercial grocer is within international regulations, they feel more comfortable shopping there, which means that they are also more likely to return to a place with proper food safety certification. Companies that have the incorporation of ISO 14001 can seize that competitive advantage in comparison to companies who do not adopt such standards.

What are your thoughts on safety regulations and food safety certification? Do you think we need tighter regulation or do you think that they are too much of a hassle?