US Foods further solidified its position as a food safety leader by participating in the 2013 Global Food Safety Conference in Barcelona this week. Sponsored by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), the conference brought together more than 800 leading food safety specialists from more than 54 countries to advance food safety.
Jorge Hernandez, senior vice president of food safety and quality assurance for US Foods played a key part in a presentation devoted to the importance of certification of the food safety systems in the Storage and Distribution Sector of the food chain.
“As our food chain continues to become more global, it is essential that we’re all working from the same set of food safety standards, and that those standards are based on the latest best practices,” said Hernandez. “Food distributors are uniquely positioned to initiate change throughout the entire food chain. Our goal is to share information about effective solutions to current food safety problems.”
Hernandez co-chairs GFSI’s Storage and Distribution Working Group which is charged with the identification of the current best food safety practices in relation to Storage and Distribution and with establishing the criteria for auditing the performance of food safety systems within this segment of the food chain.
“The global food supply chain depends on logistics companies to not only transport food from one place to another, but to do so with safety and quality top of mind,” Hernandez said. “It is critical that logistics companies embrace certification based on GFSI recognized standards to ensure food safety and meet their customers’ demands.”
In 2012, US Foods said that it expects to be the first national foodservice distributor in the country to be certified in food safety and quality to the International Featured Standard (IFS), a globally recognized standard for safety and quality. To date, seven of its more than 60 distribution centers have been certified, with five more on track for certification this summer. All US Foods facilities are expected to be certified by 2014.
GFSI is an international organization committed to providing continuous improvement in food safety management systems to ensure confidence in the delivery of safe food to consumers worldwide.
About US Foods
US Foods, Inc. is a large foodservice distributor serving chefs and foodservice operators across the country. Its customers include independent and multi-unit restaurants, healthcare and hospitality entities, government and educational institutions. The company employs approximately 25,000 people in 61 locations nationwide. US Foods is headquartered in Rosemont, Ill.