The Canadian Grain Commission has introduced two new voluntary programs designed to help grain companies improve their quality control systems.
Both programs make use of hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) processes to certify the companies’ grain quality and safety assurance.
“These programs will help to ensure the safety and dependability of Canadian grains internationally,” the commission said in a May 20 news release.
One of the programs is strictly HACCP, while the other combines HACCP with an existing CGC program covering identity preserved shipments known as CIPRS, which dates back to 2003.
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Laura Anderson, the CGC’s manager of process verification and accreditation, said the idea was to take the generic HACCP principles and apply them to the Canadian grain industry.
She noted most of the work done on HACCP has been in the food manufacturing sector, which has different issues and needs than the grain industry.
“There was a gap there,” she said. “We wanted to take the HACCP principles and make them more specific to the Canadian grain handling industry.”
Anderson said the commission consulted with the grain industry and conducted pilot projects with 20 companies. Three of those companies have been certified and four others have applied.
Under HACCP, a company’s inputs and processes are examined to identify potential food safety hazards, and control measures are implemented to deal with problems.
The Canadian identity preserved recognition system is designed to maintain a product’s unique traits or quality characteristics from producer to customer.
To gain certification under HACCP or CPRIS, a grain company is audited by a private sector firm accredited by the grain commission and using CGC standards.
Wade Sobkowich, executive director of the Western Grain Elevator Association, said his organization left it up to individual companies to make their views known to the commission.
The association sent a letter to the CGC, saying its main concern was that any new program be voluntary and not compete directly with existing private sector firms offering similar audit and certification services.
He added some WGEA members have ISO and HACCP programs already in place.
“We’re glad that it’s voluntary so there’s no duplication and people can decide how this fits in with their existing programs,” he said.
Anderson said only time will tell how the new programs are received by the industry.
The programs are operated on a cost recovery basis.
A third party auditor has to pay a one-time accreditation fee of $500, plus a $250 per person training fee. There is also an annual accreditation fee of $3,000, and every three years the accreditation is renewed for a fee of $1,000.
A participating grain company pays an initial certification fee of $500, and a re-certification fee of $500 every three years.
