The Laws And Agencies Relating To Food Safety And Sanitation

Topic Outline

✓ International Laws
✓ . Occupation Safety and Health Act
✓ . Employees’ Right to Know Act
✓ . Sanitation Code of the Philippines
✓ . Food and Drug Administration

International Laws

The Law is a complex subject and most acts and regulations affecting the food
industry are difficult to Comprehend. However, ignorance of the law is no defense in the
event of a prosecution, and all food handlers should make special efforts to understand the
legislation that affects their business and themselves.

Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)

This is the principal Act concerned with protecting the health and safety of employees and
members of the public.

Every employer has a legal obligation to ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, the
health, Safety, and welfare of employees, Safe systems of work must be devised and
supervision and training given to all staff, for example, before staff are allowed to operate or
clean dangerous machines, such as gravity feed slicers.

Employees must ensure that their acts or omissions do not adversely affect other persons.

Employees ’ Right-to-know act

The regulations in this act provide a legal framework for the control of substances
hazardous to health. They apply to all type of business including food businesses. The
essential measures that employer ( and sometimes employees ) have to take to ensure
people are protected from the hazardous substances they may encounter are stipulated.
Hazardous substances include those that are Toxic, Harmful, Irritant, or Corrosive.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Department of Health,

Department of Sanitation, and Department of Labor are Responsible for issuing and
enforcing regulations covering workplace safety.

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Sanitation Code of the Philippines

The Presidential Decree 856: Sanitation Code of Philippines requires all food establishments
to secure sanitary permits from the local health office. It specifies that health certificate will
be issued only to persons who have passed the physical and medical examinations and have
been administered immunization. The Code also Specifies the structural requirements for
food establishments, the vermin-control measures to be undertaken, and the proper disposal
of refuse.

Regulatory Agency

The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) is the key regulatory agency of the Department
of Health, Philippines with major responsibilities in ensuring safety, efficacy, and quality of
food products, drugs, vaccines, and biological, in vitro, diagnostic reagents, medical devices,
cosmetics, and household hazardous substances.

FDA was created to enforce food safety and security law.

” It is the policy of the state to ensure safe and good quality food, drug and cosmetic and
regulate the production, sale and traffic of the same protect the health of the consumer.”

FDA’S mandate

“to protect consumers from adulterated or unsafe product with false, deceptive and
misleading information, The enforcement activities have been focused on four strategies,
namely;

(1) licensing and inspections of food establishments;

(2) product registration;

(3) Monitoring of trade outlets;

(4) monitoring of product advertisements and process

The following are the routine functions of FDA related to Food:

• Inspection and licensing of establishment in accordance with Good Manufacturing

Practices of regulated establishments such as manufacturers, packers/re-packers,
Distributor, importers, exporters, wholesale, outlets, groceries, supermarkets, other
commercial outlets.

• Evaluation and registration of regulated products based on set standards of safety,

efficacy, purity, and quality of regulated product, processed foods (imported and local),
advertised local products and processed food products intended for export.

• Market monitoring of products for adulterated products, expired and unregistered

products.

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 • Laboratory analysis of regulated of products such as collected samples from routine
monitoring, products which are subject of complaints from consumers, products for
registration and donated product.

• Evaluation and Monitoring of advertisements and promotions of tri-media such as

television, radio, print ads like newspaper and magazine.

• Policy Formulation, drafting of rules and regulations, administrative orders and

standards, issuance of bureau circulars/bureau memoranda and guidelines.

• Public Assistance and Information such as rendering the following services; product
information , health advisories, and consumer assistance for complaints, and client
assistance for consultancy , seminars and trainings.

• Legal functions such as disposition of consumer complaints re : adulterated food,

misbranded food products, advertisement and promotional regulations.

• Administrative functions for Human resource development: enhancement of skills and

knowledge of personnel through training.

• Special functions related to food such as implementation of food fortification

programs, salt iodization, and milk code.

The Philippine Food Processing Industry

The food processing industry is an important sector of the Philippine economy. It is composed of
establishments engaged in the processing/manufacturing and distribution of food and food products.

The Major processed food sectors include the following :

• Fruits and vegetables

• Fish and marine products
• Meat and poultry products
• Flour and bakery products
• Beverage and confectionery
• Dairy Foods
• Food condiments and seasonings
• Food supplements
• Snack foods
• Fats and oils

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DFA is carrying out its regulatory functions and has been in coordination with the food processors.

Among the activities that DFA undertake are the following;

• Establish partnership with other government agencies to help food processor meet
international market requirements and develop/update standard in line with Codex

• Provide information relevant to regulatory requirements both local and international

Control Measures to Address Safety and Quality in the Processed Food Industry

1. Hygienic Safety Manufacturing Practices (GMP)

GMP covers the fundamental principles, Procedures, and means needed to design a suitable
environment for the production of acceptable quality.

GMP Codes and the hygienic requirements they contain are the relevant conditions for the hygienic
Manufacture of foods. GMP is a basic requirement By DFA before a license to Operate (LTO) is
given to establishments which manufacture processed foods.

Food processors are required to comply with A.O 208 established standard operating procedures.
• Building and Grounds
• Equipment and Other Facilities
• Sanitary Facilities and control
• Sanitary operations
• Processes and control
• Personnel- training and development

2. Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points ( HACCP)

HACCP is a system of food safety control based on a systematic approach to the identification and
assessment of hazard with food operations and the definition of means for their control
(Bryan,1988).

HACCP is Also becoming increasingly important for all food businesses as an effective means of
ensuring food safety. HACCP identifies before they occur, and establish mechanisms for their control
at the stages in production critical to ensuring the safety of Food. The control is proactive.

The chief advantages of HACCP is that it is proactive - it aims to prevent problems from occurring
HACCP is a trial rather than relying mainly on end product testing.

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 3.Safety and Quality Standard

Food processors also adopt standards of quality for processed foods. FDA has standards, for some of
the processed products. In the absence of the Particular standard, food processors use the codex
and US CFR for reference .

With the entry of the Philippines into the general Agreement of tariff and trade, setting of standards
is geared towards making Philippine product standards equivalent to those of the Codex Alimentarius
Commission (CODEX) since Sanitary and Phyto-sanitary (SPS) Agreement considers Codex standards
as one of the international reference for food safety standards

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