That's a good start! Every company must register with the FASFC. The FASFC supervises all companies in the food chain.
Using the activity sheet, you can also see if all activities are covered in the codes indicated.

Every company is required to register with the FASFC, which monitors the food chain at all companies in the food sector.

First check with the FASFC what activity code is required (this code is three-part, Location, Activity, Product) and through the activity sheet, insight is gained about the activities allowed within this code.

Then in terms of food safety, all you need to do is apply all the rules in this code. This guide describes the guidelines around infrastructure, good hygiene practices and HACCP.

Very good! For all business processes involving food (including raw materials and intermediate products), food safety hazards should have been identified, control measures implemented and any critical control points (CCPs) identified.

This applies not only to activities such as transportation, goods receiving, production, packaging and storage. A hazard and risk analysis must also be prepared for the raw and auxiliary materials that are purchased. When you import finished products from outside the EU, you are considered a producer in terms of product liability and the HACCP obligation also applies to you. An HACCP study is also mandatory when you trade end products within the EU.

For all business processes involving food (including raw and semi-manufactured materials), food safety hazards should be identified, control measures implemented and any critical control points (CCPs) identified.

This applies not only to activities such as transportation, goods receiving, production, packaging and storage. A hazard and risk analysis must also be developed for the raw and auxiliary materials that are purchased. When you import finished products from outside the EU, you are considered a producer in terms of product liability and the HACCP obligation also applies to you. An HACCP study is also mandatory when you trade end products within the EU.

Doing HACCP yourself

If you need or want to set up an HACCP study yourself, it is best to do so using the HACCP method. This mainly includes the following steps:

• Inventory all potential food safety hazards that could occur in your process or may already be present in raw or auxiliary materials.
  As an aid to determine relevant hazards, legislation is consulted. For example, European legislation sets product standards for various hazards; examples are:
  Microbiological criteria ((EC) 2073/2005)
  Contaminants in food ((EC) 1881/2006)
• Estimate the probability of those hazards and, combined with severity, determine the risk.
• Identify measures needed to control hazards and identify critical control points (CCPs).
• For each CCP, indicate the critical limits.
• Establish how CCPs are monitored.
• For each CCP, record the corrective actions for when an error is noticed and a potentially unsafe product has been produced.
• Organize periodic verification (evaluation), to check if the process is producing the desired result: demonstrable food safety.
• Keep documentation (agreements and/or work instructions, collected in a handbook, for example) and records (recorded control results).

That's great!
Remember, too, that supplier performance should also be assessed regularly (e.g., annually).

Purchasing procedure: this should set out the requirements that you set for your suppliers and any service providers; obviously these are related to the risk that a purchased raw material or service carries. The raw material hazard analysis, part of the HACCP study, is therefore the basis.
Note that service providers can also influence food safety! Examples: pest control firm, cleaning firm, product analysis laboratory, laundry, waste company and technical maintenance technicians.

Very good!
An additional tip is to test out this traceability system and recall regularly, so you can trace products both ways.

In order to avoid having to think about how to carry out the recall at the time of an incident, it is necessary to have recorded this in a procedure and have the necessary documents printed out or already stored available. Also, the procedure will have to be tested regularly to be sure, that you can trace products in both directions.

Good job
Provide regular complaint analysis, to quickly identify and follow up on any "trends" (e.g., a repetition of the same complaint, from multiple customers).

Establish working methods so that tasks and responsibilities in your organization are clear to all employees (also useful for a very small company, to establish and remember a set way of working). Also consider regular complaint analysis to quickly identify and follow up on any "trends" (e.g., a repetition of the same complaint, from multiple customers).

Your product information on packaging (printing, labels) and also any product information on a website (web shop) must comply with the labeling requirements according to Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011.

Article 9 of this regulation lists the 12 mandatory particulars. These include information such as the name of the food, special storage conditions, list of ingredients, allergens and nutritional values.

Raw material/product specifications from your supplier are required to produce complete, legal product information.

It also specifies the minimum information that should appear on a wrap-around package (such as a packaging box).
Some companies may enjoy a relaxation on labeling information.

Then your company must set up a company control system (e-sign system). This is also controlled by the FPS Economy, Metrology Department.

Then you should always deliver at least the weight (or number) stated on the package. Of course, this will have to be checked regularly.

Moreover, it is important, that you be sure that the scale reads the correct weight. For this, calibration is necessary.

Remember to calibrate your measuring equipment. It is important to be sure that your equipment indicates the correct measurement value. For example, you must provide the consumer with the correct (agreed upon and stated on the package) weight. But also, for example, a thermometer must indicate the correct value to ensure that a heating or cooling operation is correct. There are also products where pH determines food safety. In that case, the pH meter must be calibrated.

The packaging material must be suitable for food packaging. No harmful substances may penetrate ("migrate") from the material into the product. Legislation applies to this. This legislation must be demonstrably complied with. This can be done through results of migration tests, a calculation in software or through so-called worst-case calculations. In some cases, such as plastic, a declaration of conformity is also required. If you do not change the packaging yourself, you can request the documents from the supplier.

Make sure your product falls within the range of suitability specified by the supplier. For example, some packaging materials are suitable for packaging dry powders. This does not mean that the packaging material is also suitable for packaging liquids. Suitability must be demonstrated by reported migration tests (mentioned in the statement).

Note: The legal requirements apply not only to packaging materials, but also to all materials in your process (equipment) that make contact with raw material, semi-finished or finished product.

You can recognize these products by the cup-fork icon:

Companies are increasingly opting for certain labels, such as vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, fair trade, Halal and Kosher, for reasons of sustainability, religious beliefs and/or health. However, these kinds of logos are not allowed on packaging just like that. For this, the relevant organization sets requirements for the product, the ingredients and often also for the production process.

In order for a product to be called "organic," there is even a legal requirement to obtain BIO certification.