Food and feed safety

We fulfil a crucial role in providing agricultural commodities across the globe. As many of our products are ultimately used in the food or feed industry, we have an important responsibility to ensure that our products are safe.

Why this matters

Viterra supplies products which are used as food or feed, or in the production of food and feed products. We have an important responsibility to make sure the products we supply are safe for consumption by humans and animals and for their intended use, in line with evolving rules and standards. Food and feed safety is heavily regulated in many countries we operate in and we must comply with all regulatory frameworks. Our approach aims to ensure our products are safe and we satisfy all required legislation.

Failure to properly manage food and feed safety within our business may result in us supplying products which may be potentially unsafe and even have serious adverse health effects – and this affects everyone’s right to safe food. It could also expose Viterra to legal liabilities including fines.

Our approach

Our approach to food and feed safety includes wide-ranging quality management procedures so customers can confidently receive products from us knowing they are safe and suitable for their intended purpose. It is centred around the following:

Food and feed safety management systems and procedures

Throughout the business we have implemented food and feed safety systems which identify, classify and eliminate or mitigate food and feed safety hazards. These management systems meet or exceed requirements placed upon the business by regulators and certification bodies and are based on the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) methodology for identifying and mitigating food and feed safety risks.

Proactive monitoring

We think about any possible contaminants or hazards that may be present in our products, consider the likelihood of them being present and the severity of the risk they pose and then develop analysis plans to detect them prior to delivery to our customers. We use high-quality laboratories, both in-house and third party to carry out the monitoring.

Training

Supplying safe products is an important responsibility for all Viterra employees. We conduct regular training to emphasise the importance of food and feed safety and ensure everyone is sufficiently well-informed of possible risks as well as our procedures and rules.

Certification

We have achieved certification under numerous food and feed safety systems including GMP+, HACCP, IFS Food, ISO 22000:2018 and Food Safety Management Systems Certification (FSSC 22000). Third party annual audits ensure compliance with certification requirements.

Transparency

We are committed to communicating transparently with all relevant stakeholders including governments, suppliers, trade associations and customers with a view to improving our food and feed safety management systems and contribute to improving the industry approach to food and feed safety challenges.