Food safety and
quality acronym
glossary
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).
vegetablesWA
vegetablesWA