World Accreditation Day 2020: Improving Food Safety

Accreditation: Improving Food Safety

Annually on June 9, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) will join accreditation organizations worldwide to recognize World Accreditation Day (WAD). Established by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperative (ILAC), WAD highlights the important role of accreditation around the globe.

The theme of the 2020 World Accreditation Day is “Accreditation: Improving Food Safety.”

This year’s theme focuses on how accreditation improves food safety, supporting the confidence of consumers, suppliers, purchasers, regulators, and specifiers in the quality and safety of food.

A joint statement by the chairs of the IAF and ILAC introduces the importance of accreditation in food safety. Accreditation helps assure competent and impartial inspection, certification, and testing services throughout the food supply chain. Accreditation supports the United Nations’ sustainable development goals, particularly good health and well-being.

IAF and ILAC produced a Word Accreditation Day 2020 video and a poster and brochure to highlight worldwide examples of the role accreditation plays in food safety. Additional examples and research are available on the Public Sector Assurance and Business Benefits websites.

Poster (web version)

Poster (print version)

Brochure (web version)

Brochure (print version)

The Quarantine Cookbook

In anticipation of World Accreditation Day, ANAB has published The Quarantine Cookbook. ANAB’s digital cookbook serves dual purposes, featuring favorite recipes contributed by ANAB and ANSI staff and providing information about how ANAB helps assure the safety of the food supply.

With widespread stay-at-home orders imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have turned to the kitchen as a source comfort and normalcy. But how do you know the food you buy is safe to consume?

The Quarantine Cookbook highlights a variety of ANAB accreditation programs related to food safety. These programs are based on international standards and industry-developed requirements and schemes that have a common goal of providing confidence in the quality and safety of food throughout the supply chain.

Among the organizations that play a role in assuring food safety are laboratories, product certifiers, personnel certifiers, and management systems certification bodies – and ANAB offers accreditation programs for all of them.

ANAB and Food Safety

ANAB has a host of accreditation programs relating to food safety, including programs for:

of interest