Sustainable Plastics - May/June 2022 - 27

quality control
Closures are submitted to stringent
quality control measures
Shared
responsibility
for quality
assurance
in food
packaging
Quality assurance is steadfast in the background of food and beverage packaging
production. Brands and consumers need to be able to rely on the packaging
producers to establish and protect the quality of the products they manufacture,
allowing the brands to concentrate on marketing and the consumer to focus on
enjoyment. By Emma-Jane Batey.
B
ut what are the quality-assurance
standards
that food and
beverage packaging
must adhere to, and how can
brands and consumers know
that these standards are consistently
being met? And why is
it important anyway?
The gold standard of food
safety is the globally recognised
FSSC 22000, a complete food
safety management system that
is based on the ISO 22000 and
ISO 22003 standards, with the
certification incorporating over
120 multinational bodies. Described
as 'a trusted brand assurance
platform to the consumer
goods industry' it goes considerably
beyond the ISO standards
('a relatively small step towards
FSSC 22000 certification'), with a
science-based focus on the continual
improvement of a certified
company's food safety management
system.
Global plastic packaging producer
Retal develops and manufactures
high-quality polyethylene
terephthalate packaging
solutions, including preforms,
closures, containers and films.
The company employs over
2,000 people across 19 production
sites and supplies customers
in 70 countries worldwide. As
evidenced by its ISO 9001, ISO
14001 and ISO 22000 accreditation,
Retal is strongly focused on
quality and flexibility. The company
has therefore also gone the
extra mile, by gaining the FSSC
22000 certification across its 19
production sites, as well as the
BRC food-contact packaging
accreditation, an international
standard from the BRC (formerly
British Retail Consortium) that
clarifies the required standards
of packaging and packaging
materials used in food-contact
applications.
Retal Quality Director Renata
Smataviciene shares how
this represents continued best
practice. " Quality assurance for
food and beverage packaging is
a continuous process of assessment
and improvement that impacts
across a number of areas
of our production. It starts from
the ground up; the facilities
themselves must be suitable,
and this takes time, investment
and careful consideration for
what equipment is installed and
how the facility operates. "
Continuous improvement
With the production facilities
correctly assessed in terms of
being able to produce packaging
of the food-contact standards
required by both the FSSC
and BRC requirements, the people
that use the facilities must
also be correctly educated and
trained to utilise the equipment.
Each new project and each new
product, including a change to
an existing product, requires
additional assessment. Smataviciene
explains, " Food safety is
based on risk calculation, evaluation
and continual assessment.
Education and ongoing training
is important because it is our
people that are actually using
the equipment; their feedback
is important, too, so we can
keep improving. It's very much a
step-by-step process that needs
a clear vision for the goals of
what is required. Then it's about
implementing a daily routine;
nothing is left to chance. Quality
assurance must be reliable and
transparent so everyone knows
what is expected of them and
their performance. "
Speaking of transparency,
food and beverage packaging
is driven by the look of the finished
packaging, particularly
where brands and ultimately
the consumer is concerned.
But achieving that transparency
is a key part of the manufacturing
process, as Smataviciene
shares. " We are here
to explain to our customers
that food safety delivers clear,
clean packaging that doesn't
continued on page 28
May/June 2022
27
Sustainable Plastics - May/June 2022

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