WoolWorths holdings limited 2013 good BUsiness JoUrneY report

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Food Safety
Food safety is critical to the business and
mechanisms are in place to ensure that
consumers are offered product which
has undergone thorough testing and rigid
process control to ensure it is as safe as
possible. Processes include:
• the Woolworths-appointed independent
SANAS- (South African National
Accreditation System) accredited food
laboratory runs routine checks for any
potentially harmful micro-organisms and
pathogens. It also routinely monitors
pesticide residue levels on fresh produce
and heavy metal levels in fresh fish; and
• an independent auditing organisation,
International Britannia Limited (IBL),
conducts four hygiene audits a year
in each of our stores where food is
cooked to ensure that good foodhandling
routines are in place.
Woolworths has three standard steps
to prevent our products from potentially
being harmful due to contamination with
microbial pathogens, namely:
• factory hygiene procedures and
processes, e.g. separation of raw and
cooked products (high-/low-risk barriers);
• temperature controls; and
• product date marking.
And to verify the effectiveness of these
controls we:
• do hygiene audits and microbiological
testing;
• do temperature checks all along our
supply chain; and
• audit date controls in stores and verify
product shelf-life through testing.
Food poisoning is caused by specific
pathogenic micro-organisms (or the toxins
produced by these micro-organisms).
Each micro-organism has specific growing
requirements (e.g. water activity, pH,
temperature, etc.).
All factories producing products for
Woolworths are audited independently
by various inspection services and are
visited regularly by the Woolworths
technical team to ensure that the highest
standards are maintained.
As the safety of numerous products
depend on optimal storage temperatures
being maintained, Woolworths takes
great care to maintain a strict cold chain.
The cold chain is the whole process from
producer, via the Woolworths distribution
system and the Woolworths stores, to our
customers. It is essential that the correct
temperature is maintained throughout
this process. If the cold chain is somehow
broken (with temperatures exceeding the
specified range), it drastically shortens the
product life, and temperature-sensitive
products may potentially become harmful
due to the growth of microbial pathogens.
We also date mark products indicating
until when the product can safely be
consumed. Products labelled with a Use By
date, should be consumed on or before
the indicated date. Products labelled with
a Use By date may potentially become
harmful, and therefore should not be
consumed beyond the indicated date,
but destroyed. If products are suitable for
home freezing, they may be frozen prior
to the Use By date, for safe consumption
beyond the Use By date.
Woolworths has a robust product recall
process in place, whereby products
posing a safety risk are removed from the
shelf within two hours of the respective
executive being made aware of the risk.
Woolworths’ labelling policy ensures that
customers are given sufficient accurate
information to allow them to make
informed buying decisions. Woolworths
clothing is fully compliant with government
requirements in terms of labelling which,
in addition to listing the country of origin,
require details of fibre content and care
instructions plus the importer’s code for
imported lines or the manufacturer’s
taxpayer number for local goods.
All Woolworths food labels contain
detailed information on ingredients,
nutritional values and allergens.
Food safety is critical
to the business and
mechanisms are in
place to ensure that
consumers are offered
product which has
undergone thorough
testing and rigid
process control to
ensure it is as safe
as possible.
2013 GOOD BUSINESS JOURNEY / WHL 55