In an Europe which has now had 10 years of stringent food safety legislation, food companies are seeking other ways to differentiate themselves, with many choosing sustainability as the way forward. Issues such as sustainable energy, water resources and food miles are all likely to be strategic drivers and a key customer requirement, globally.

Part of the driving force behind this will be consumers themselves, demanding to know where their food has come from, what animal welfare standards were followed, how the producer manages its environmental influence and what distance the food has travelled. This itself is further influenced by the global use of social media – these are issues that people will chat to each other about, globally, especially after issues such as the recent undeclared horse meat debacle and the dumping of thousands of pigs in a river in China that may have contaminated drinking water http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-21893733

MQM is now gearing up to offer consultative support towards gaining ISO 14001, the Environmental Standard, in the food industry, with compliance to this standard offering a solution to dealing with some of these issues and for differentiation within a market-place that will become increasingly concerned about environmental and sustainability issues. Keep an eye on our website and blogs for further information.

 

Unauthorised meat content BRC Global Standards Food Safety Europe 2013