Information platform on international standards for SMEs in the food sector

All food companies face the pressures of complying with National and European legislation as well as satisfying retailer food safety and quality standards. For small and medium enterprises (SMEs) this can be even more difficult as these food businesses may lack sufficient technical knowledge and resources. Staff at Ashtown Food Research Centre's Food Training & Technical Services Department are taking part in the INPLISTA project which is designed to assist SMEs in overcoming these difficulties.

INPLISTA will provide comprehensive information on globally adopted guidelines such as BRC-Food, IFS, Dutch HACCP and ISO22000. The project will enable SMEs to chose and implement the appropriate food safety system. The project, which has 16 partners from 14 countries involves development and delivery of seminars presenting general information on the standards as well as sector-specific seminars for meat processing, dairy, and fruit/vegetables and issue-specific seminars on allergen, GMOs and food traceability.

INPLISTA is co-ordinated by the ttz Bremerhaven and funded by the European Commission as part of the Sixth Framework Programme. For more information email: aine.sommerfield@teagasc.ie