Consulting and expert reports for food
When food is produced, processed and placed on the market, companies are constantly facing new challenges in terms of safety, hygiene and quality. WESSLING accompanies your processes with individual expert services - in connection with reliable sampling and precise analysis.
Expert services for food: We support you, with specific services from our highly qualified experts, in implementing the complex food law requirements that varied national, European and international laws, regulations, guidelines, and recommendations impose on you. Depending on your requirements, the individual service packages for food hygiene and safety can include marketability assessments, conformity tests or labelling and declaration tests.
In addition, our specialists prepare expert opinions, official cross-checks according to §43 LFGB and support you, if necessary, with targeted crisis management. We advise and train on GFSI standards such as IFS, BRC, FSSC 22000, HACCP and hygiene issues.
Expert services for food: services in detail
Expert services for food: services in detail
Food Labelling
Food Labelling - Declaration and Marketability Assessment, Listing Reports
Anyone who places food and other products on the market is subject to many national, European and international regulations. Our state-certified food chemists are recognized experts and are well versed in the complicated variety of laws, directives, regulations, guidelines, and recommendations. We will advise you competently and reliably in labeling or marketability issues.
Labeling test for international markets
In 2020, food with a value of 61.6 billion euros was exported from Germany. The main sales market for German food exports is the EU's domestic market, accounting for a good 70 percent. The most important trading partners are the Netherlands, France, Italy, Austria, the United Kingdom, and Poland. Sales markets in third countries are becoming increasingly important for export growth in the food industry. The most important markets outside the EU are China, the USA and Switzerland. (BVE-online, 2022). To ensure that food products can be successfully marketed abroad, the labeling must comply with the food regulations of the respective country.
When it comes to creating your food labeling, we are at your disposal with our entire expertise. This means that we can provide you, from a single source, with everything from technical advice on the creation of the label to translations and food law inspections for the countries of destination.
Translations and label checks
Due to the international positioning of our company, WESSLING has a broad international network at its disposal and offers you a comprehensive range of food law services throughout Europe and worldwide. Experienced specialists translate the labeling texts for you into the desired language and check them for conformity with the food law of the respective country of destination. WESSLING thus takes over the organizational effort for you that arises when checking the labeling for several countries of destination. We provide you with easy-to-understand and easy-to-implement correction proposals for your labeling. On request, we can also create your food labeling based on the product specification. Furthermore, WESSLING will be happy to support you in answering your food law questions or in translating product specifications - topics that you are sure to deal with more and more frequently in the context of the globalization of the food market.
Food Information Regulation
A milestone for the harmonization of food labeling in Europe is the Food Information Regulation (EC) 1169/2011, which regulates food labeling in all EU member states. Despite this simplification, this regulation also poses new challenges for you, as the interpretation and application of the detailed regulations varies in each EU country.
The WESSLING team will be happy to support you in revising and adapting your food labeling for the international market regarding these regulations.
We do label checks for the following countries
EU countries (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden)
Great Britain (UK), Switzerland, Norway, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania, Turkey
China (via WESSLING Shanghai), Japan, India
Australia, New Zealand
South and Central American countries (Brazil, Argentina, Mexico)
USA, Canada
Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan - South Africa - Israel
Other countries (Gulf States, Yemen, Hong Kong) on request
If you need a marking test or translation for other countries, just give us a call, we can offer more after consultation.
Of course, WESSLING also offers a wide range of chemical and microbiological testing and marketability testing for your products.
Expert services for food: services in detail
Official cross-check
Official cross-check according to Section 43 of the German Food and Feed Code (LFGB)
Benefit from our high number of specialists with approval as experts for analysing officially retained samples in the sense of Section 43 (1(2)) of the German Food and Feed Code (LFGB). This refers to chemical, chemical-physical, molecular biological and microbiological analyses of foods.
Our experts analyse and evaluate your cross-check or duplicate sample as quickly as possible, thus giving you confidence for your further procedure. Our objective is to ensure product safety and prevent possible damage to your brand by means of handling concepts.
Background: during official inspections of food producers or traders, food samples are taken and analysed in an official laboratory. The food inspector is obliged either to leave part of the sample behind on site or, if this is not possible, to take a second sample and hand it to the producer. In this way, foods or raw materials can be counter-checked in a private laboratory by the counter-check expert approved for this task.
Expert services for food: services in detail
Crisis management for the food industry
Crisis management for the food industry
We will support you if a crisis occurs within your company: if the results of your food samples ever reveal deviations in quality or safety, our competent experts are on hand to help you. They offer long-term experience in handling crisis situations, and provide you with neutral and independent advice so that you are able to act as quickly as possible.
Expert services for food: services in detail
Introduction and optimisation of QM systems for the food industry
Introduction and optimisation of QM systems for the food industry
Customers, food retailers and the authorities are making ever increasing requirements on food product safety and quality. Almost without exception, they are demanding certification recognised by the GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) from food producers.
IFS, BRC and FSSC 22000 – food safety standards
Food producers, logistics service providers and retailers all face the same challenge: they all require certification according to a GFSI standard. The IFS is a range of certification standards, the International Featured Standards. The original IFS Food is required by almost every food producer that supplies German retailers. The IFS Logistics (for transport and storage activities), the IFS Broker (for trading activities) and the IFS Cash & Carry (for wholesalers) have also become established alongside this.
The BRC standard was developed in 1998 by the British Retail Consortium and bears its name. Almost all retailers in the United Kingdom now demand certification as per the BRC from their suppliers – including those abroad.
The FSSC 22000, the abbreviation of Food Safety System Certification 22000, is based on the requirements of the ISO 22000 standard and was introduced for the first time in 2009. It is globally recognised as proof of a comprehensive food safety management system.
Our range of services:
- Help in developing, implementing and optimising your quality management system
- Development of practical solution approaches tailored to your company
- Checking and creation of the documents, records and risk analyses required for quality management, including an HACCP concept
- On-site services: performance of company inspections, internal audits or assessments
- Supplier audits, unannounced on request
- Accompaniment of external certification audits
- Planning and conducting in-house training courses for your team
Expert services for food: services in detail
HACCP concepts for the food industry
HACCP concepts for the food industry
HACCP – Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points. This concept is a self-check system for detecting and controlling health risks in food production.
We create your individual HACCP concept
An HACCP concept must fit the respective company. It has to pick up on the individual product and process risks in detail and evaluate them in a risk-oriented manner. Each HACCP concept therefore follows individual issues and guidelines. Together with you, our experts use this to develop the right solution for your company.
Our range of services:
- Development of the HACCP concept under consideration of the company-specific IFS, BRC or FSSC 22000 standards
- Support in creating and optimising all relevant contents and documents as per the Codex Alimentarius
- Risk assessment by our specialists
- Inspection of your company
- Accompaniment of the verification process
Expert services for food: services in detail
Audits for the food industry
Audits for the food industry
Your company is due for initial certification or re-certification? You want to determine and eliminate any weak points in advance? The independent checks performed by our specialists provide you with confidence for your external audit.
Our range of services:
- Flexible planning and execution of audits by our competent, experienced auditors
- Internal audits for the industry-specific IFS, BRC and FSSC 22000 standards or for DIN EN ISO 9001
- Execution of internal audits that are mandatory according to standards
- Neutral check of adherence to legal specifications
- Independent check of your in-house management system for the conformity you require
- Assessment of the effectiveness of your management system, also with the aid of company and hygiene inspections
- Development and implementation of an individual audit program for your company
- Announced or unannounced audits
- Revelation of possible optimisation potentials, recommendations for improvement measures, implementation planning together with you
- Performance of supplier audits
The utmost confidentiality regarding all audit results and our customers' know-how is a matter of course for us.
Your contact to expert services in the food sector
- Till Hasenzahl
- +49 2505 89-633
- food@wessling.de
„Thanks to my many years of experience, I know exactly what our customers need. Ensuring the safety and quality of their food is our common goal.“
