Certification - Food
What is GMP?
GMP or Good Manufacturing Practices is a pre-requisite program (PRP) for Food Safety Management System. It outlines the minimum common hygiene and processing requirements applicable to all food processing establishments and intended as the foundation towards achieving higher food safety management systems like HACCP and ISO 22000. They ensure that ingredients, products, and packaging materials are handled safely and that food products are processed in a suitable environment.
GMP standard in Malaysia is the Malaysian Standard, MS 1514. Any company involved in the manufacturing and processing of food products can use GMP to minimize food safety hazards in their product.
Good manufacturing practices (GMP) includes many basic operational conditions and procedures that are required to be met by the food businesses. These can include the following:
- The correct construction and layout of the food premises.
- The condition of the external environment of the food premises.
- The adequate maintenance of equipment and utensils used within the food business.
- The use of suitable chemicals within and around the food premises including cleaning chemicals, pest control chemicals and machine lubricants.
- The identification and storage of waste within and by the food business.
- The cleanliness of the food premises, equipment, utensils, floors, walls and ceilings.
- An effective pest control program implemented within the food premises and surrounds.
- The avoidance of foreign matter within the finished product. Sources of foreign matter can include wood, glass, metal, plastic, pests, paper, string, tape.
- Benefits of GMP
- Current version of the GMP
Benefits of GMP
The main benefits of GMP certification are:
- Cost savings from lower food wastage and rejects
- Ensuring your basic food safety requirements are fulfilled and product quality is maintained
- Facilitates the ability to improve for better business performance
- Demonstrate your commitment to produce safe and healthy products
- Provide confidence to stakeholders on the manufacturing facility processes
- Ensuring compliance to applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.
Current version of the GMP:
The current GMP certification in Malaysia is the MS 1514:2022 certification which was published on 1st June 2022. The MS 1514:2022 consists of the GMP guidelines for setting the operational requirements for food businesses setting the foundation for achieving higher food safety standards such as HACCP and ISO 22000. The MS 1514:2022 consists of fourteen sections. The first three sections represent the scope of the standard, its normative references as well as the terms and definitions, and the other eleven sections contain the requirements for the MS 1514:2022. The remaining eleven sections are as follows:
Section 4: Design & facilities – This section specifies the requirements for the food manufacturing plant design and facilities. This section specifies the location at which a food establishment needs to be located, the plant internal layout and design including internal structures and fittings. Requirements for equipment as well as facilities which include water supply, drainage, waste disposal, cleaning facilities, personal hygiene facilities, air quality and ventilation facilities as well as lighting and storage facilities.
Section 5: Control of operation – This section specifies the requirements for the operation of food establishments by putting in place food hazard controls as well as hygiene control systems. It also ensures control on materials used for food manufacturing which includes raw materials and packaging materials to ensure the proper segregation of non-conforming materials as well as ensuring the control of water used in the food processing.
Section 6: Maintenance, cleaning and sanitisation – This section specifies the requirements for maintenance of facilities in food establishments which also includes cleaning and sanitation of facilities, establishing pest control programmes, maintenance of equipment as well as management of waste.
Section 7: Personal hygiene – The section specifies requirement for ensuring personal hygiene which includes monitoring personnel health status including illnesses and injuries, establishing & monitoring requirements for personal cleanliness and behaviour as well as ensuring control of visitors.
Section 8: Training – The section specifies requirements for ensuring competence and knowledge of personnel in food establishments. This includes ensuring personnel awareness and assigning responsibilities, requirements for management and supervision of personnel in food establishments as well as establishing training programmes.
Section 9: Product information & traceability – The section specifies requirements for establishing product information and labelling, ensuring product traceability throughout the production and shelf-life by lot or batch identification practices as well as requirements for product recall.
Section 10: Transportation – This section outlines the requirements for the safe and effective transportation of food products.
Section 11: Internal inspection – The section outlines the requirements for internal inspection which comprises of self-inspection (inspection of facilities, processing lines and food handlers) and internal audit (audit conducted based of MS 1514 requirements).
Section 12: Management review – The section specifies the requirements for performing management reviews to review the continued suitability & effectiveness of the established GMP.
Section 13: Documentation & records – The section outlines the requirements for the control of documents and records which includes development, distribution, storage, retention and destruction of documents and records.
Section 14: Legal requirements – The final section specifies the requirements for the compliance of food establishments with current and applicable statutory & regulatory requirements in force in Malaysia.