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Food safety and
quality acronym

glossary

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BY JOEL DINSDALE
QUALITY ASSURANCE
COORDINATOR,
VEGETABLESWA

The industry is full of acronyms and jargon that can be at times, confusing. I’m told that sometimes it feels like you are listening to a foreign language being spoken if you are not across the ‘definition’. Fear not, I’ve created a list of common acronyms that are used commonly in the food safety/ quality context.

It is worth mentioning that the context is very important when it comes to applying the correct meaning to acronyms. Classic example: ‘PGA’ could mean Potato Growers Association (if you’re talking to a spud grower in WA); it could mean Pastoralists and Graziers Association (if you’re talking about stock in WA); or it could be a reference to the golf. Therefore, it pays to be sure of the context to apply the correct meaning.

The acronyms below are all related to food safety and quality:

A

APVMA — Australian Pesticide and Veterinary Medicines Authority

B

BRCGS — British Retailer Consortium Global Standard

BB — Best Before

Br — Brix

C

CAR — Corrective Action Record

Cd — Cadmium

CFU — Colony Forming Units

CP — Control Point

CCP — Critical Control Point

CL — Critical Limit

CoOL — Country of Origin Labelling

CA — Controlled Atmosphere

CB — Certification Body

CAPA — Corrective and Preventative Action

Cl — Chlorine

E

E. coli — Escherichia coli

ENV3 — Freshcare Environmental Edition 3

EHD — Earliest Harvest Date

ERL — Extraneous Residue Limit

EMP — Environmental Monitoring Program

F

FSQ4.2 — Freshcare Food Safety & Quality Edition 4.2

FSC2 — Freshcare Supply Chain Edition 2

FSC — Food Safety Culture

FSANZ — Food Standards Australia New Zealand

FiFo — First-in, First-out

FM — Fresh Market

G

GG — GlobalG.A.P.

GGN — GlobalG.A.P. Number

GFSI — Global Food Safety Initiative

GAP — Good Agricultural Practices

GMP — Good Manufacturing Practices

GMO — Genetically Modified Organism

H

HARPS — Harmonised Australian Retailer Produce Scheme

HACCP — Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points

HM — Heavy Metals

I

ISO — International Organization for Standardization

J

JASANZ — Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand

L

LM — Listeria monocytogenes

LoR — Limit of Reporting

M

MRL — Maximum Residue Limit

ML — Maximum Limit

N

NCR — Non-Conformance Record

NIP — Nutrition Information Panel

NATA — National Association of Testing Authorities

NPD — New Product Development

NMI — National Measurement Institute

N/A — Not Applicable

P

Pb — Lead

PRP — Prerequisite Program

pH — Potential of Hydrogen

Q

QA — Quality Assurance

QCP — Quality Control Point

QMS — Quality Management System

R

RA — Risk Assessment

RTO — Registered Training Organisation

RTE — Ready to Eat

S

SQF — Safe Quality Food

SQFI — Safe quality Food Institute

SDS — Safety Data Sheet

SKU — Stock Keeping Unit

T

TACCP — Threat Assessment and Critical Control Point

U

UV — Ultraviolet

UA — Unannounced Audit

V

VET — Vocational Education and Training

VACCP — Vulnerability Assessment Critical Control Point

W

WHP — Withholding Period

WHO — World Health Organisation

WIP — Work in Progress

MORE INFORMATION
Have I missed any? Do you have any questions relating to any of the acronyms? Contact Joel Dinsdale for support (joel.dinsdale@ vegetableswa.com.au).

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