Communications and Definitions of Key Terms

One of the most common causes of failure in food quality and safety monitoring is poor communications, either within an establishment or between different parts of the supply chain. We strongly recommend to SMEs in particular that they do not take the meanings of key words and phrases, espcially as used by their suppliers or customers, for granted. If in doubt, clarify.

At the heart of poor communications may be failures of definition: people may assume, for example, that they both mean the same thing by a term they both use, but in fact they do not. Or they may not be aware at all that terminology they take for granted is unknown, or meaningless, to a third party.

As a result, we have reproduced and commented a significant number of definitions, the operational consequences of which are carried across into the defintions used in our three main systems (AFSIS™, GenCon™ and WasteBusters™). 

See Terms on the tool bar for assistance with global standard definitions.

Globalisation and the New Challenges

London is among the most diverse cities in the world, and its food and drink reflects this diversity – to an ever increasing extent. But as globalisation of the food and drink industry develops to meet the demands of London’s many inhabitants and visitors, so concerns also grow about the way Londoners and the city’s millions of visitors relate to their food.

• Is our food safe and wholesome? [more]
• Can quality be maintained across so much diversity? [more]
• Have city dwellers become disconnected from the “farm to fork” production system? [more]
• Can we trace where our food comes from and what may have been done to it en route? [more]
• Are our food manufacturers and all the other stakeholders in the elaborate supply chain that guarantees London’s food security getting the support and understanding they need? [more]
• Are we producing too much waste, especially from food? Are the “food miles” that what we eat travels, and the “waste miles” that what we throw away also has to cover, excessive? [more]
• Are we aware enough of the individual and social health consequences of poor diet and nutrition? [more]