Safe and Local Supplier Approval scheme (SALSA) has been confirmed as the most relevant food safety standard for micro and small food businesses in the UK.
An independent study, commissioned by SALSA, looked at the different food safety approval options available to fledgling and developing food businesses in the UK. It concluded that as SALSA offered a structured approach to mentoring and an array of support tools before and after certification, the supplier and buyer businesses benefited from sustainable food safety improvements.
The study also compared the content of standards, the costs of certification and the scope and scale of the requirements appropriate for different levels of product or consumer risk. In each area, SALSA was found to deliver the needs of buyers, enforcement authorities and the producers themselves.
Some of the reports key findings included:
• SALSA found to be entirely appropriate as a ’due-diligence’ defence tool for both supplier and buyer.
• Auditors and mentors accredited to SALSA and registered with the IFST Professional Food Auditors & Mentors scheme
• Focus on improving standards of compliance as well as an understanding of the requirements for producing safe food.
Ruth Mason, food chain adviser at the NFU, said: "It’s pleasing to see that SALSA has naturally become the certification scheme of choice for many national and regional buyers. It’s now recognised by the likes of Waitrose, leading contract caterer Elior, wholesale food supplier 3663, and Center Parcs which is fully supporting and using the scheme.
"Despite the current economic climate, demand for locally or regionally sourced products has been on the increase and many regional and national food companies now see local and regional sourcing as a major priority. In the past four years, more and more retailers, foodservice and catering businesses, involved in local or regional food sourcing, have been joining SALSA which has had considerable success in helping to win a number of lucrative contracts."
The SALSA scheme, launched in 2007, is an independent guarantee for buyers that the producers have met industry approved standards of food safety, legality and quality
