The site’s premises at its street address. The production, manufacturing, or storage area where a product is produced, processed, packaged, and/or stored, and includes the processes, equipment, environment, materials, and personnel involved. The facility must be managed and supervised under the same operational management. The facility is the site audited during a site audit.

Factory inspections are carried out by any appropriate person to check conformity with good practices including hygiene, pest control, product control, fabrication and prevention of foreign material hazards.

Any single or multiple materials, whether processed, semi-processed, or raw, which is intended to be fed directly to food-producing animals.

The principles and practices applied to feed production and manufacturing to ensure that feed does not cause harm to animals or humans.

A systematic representation of the sequence of steps or operations and interactions of the steps in the process of production or manufacture of a particular food item.

1. Any substance, usually of animal or plant origin, intentionally consumed by humans, whether processed, partially processed or unprocessed. May include water, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, materials included in a processed food product and any other substance identified by regulation (legislation) as a food.

2. Substance (ingredient), usually of animal or plant origin, whether processed, semi-processed or raw, which is intended for consumption, and includes drink, chewing gum and any substance which has been used in the manufacture, preparation or treatment of “food” but does not include cosmetics or tobacco or substances (ingredients) used only as drugs.

• food is intended for consumption by humans and animals, and includes feed and animal food;
• feed is intended to be fed to food-producing animals;
• animal food is intended to be fed to non-food-producing animals, such as pets.

A substance not normally consumed as a food by itself and not normally used as a typical ingredient of the food, the intentional addition of which to food is for a technological (including organoleptic) purpose to enhance the characteristics of such foods. Food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavor or enhance its taste, appearance, or other qualities. The term does not include substances added to food for maintaining or improving nutritional qualities.

Food authenticity is ensuring that food or raw materials purchased and offered for sale are of the nature, quality, and substance expected.

The sequence of the stages in food production, processing, distribution, storage and handling of food and its ingredients, from primary production to consumption.

Procedures adopted to assure the safety of materials and products from malicious contamination or theft.

Activities associated with protecting the nation’s food supply from deliberate or intentional acts of contamination or tampering. As defined by the US Food and Drug Administration: Food defense is the protection of food products from contamination or adulteration intended to cause public health harm or economic disruption.

Fraudulent and intentional substitution, dilution or addition to a product or raw material, or misrepresentation of the product or material, for the purpose of financial gain, by increasing the apparent value of the product or reducing the cost of its production.

Anyone who handles or prepares food.

Conditions and measures necessary for the production, processing, storage, and distribution of food designed to ensure a safe, sound, wholesome product fit for human consumption.

The finished article used to package food.

Usually based on the CODEX HACCP method but for quality instead of food safety, food quality plans include process controls at quality points in production to monitor product quality, identify deviations from control parameters and define corrections necessary to keep the process under control.

Food ingredients, additives, and processing aids used in the manufacture of a product.

Assurance that food will not cause harm to the consumer when it is prepared and/or eaten according to its intended use.

A biological, chemical, physical or radiological agent in food with the potential to cause an adverse health effect.

The maximum frequency and/or concentration of a hazard in a food at the time of consumption that provides or contributes to the appropriate level of protection (ALOP).

A plan prepared based on the CODEX HACCP method, including process controls at control points in production to monitor product safety, identify deviations from control parameters and define corrections necessary to keep the process under control.

A specific sector of the food or feed industry, or the provision of related food safety services.

Procedures adopted to assure the continued availability of raw materials and products.

An exhaustive description of the quantity and quality of raw materials to be used to process the products, as required in customer specifications.

A requirement of a Food Safety Management Standard/Scheme that must be established, maintained and monitored by the company as failure to meet the requirement could have serious repercussions on the legality or safety of the product supplied.