ENFIT HQF certification for cleaning stations

With over 300,000 tons of raw materials, semi-finished goods and finished products travelling through Europe alone on a daily basis, the quality of food and feed safety during transportation has never been more critical. The ENFIT HQF standard applies to cleaning stations where containers holding raw material or food must be thoroughly cleaned after each transport. A valid ENFIT HQF certificate (High Quality Food Certificate) is awarded by an independent certification body and demonstrates the cleaning station meets the hygiene requirements for food transport containers. DNV GL is the exclusive certification body authorized to audit against the standard.

Benefits:

Companies implementing and seeking ENFIT certification gain the following benefits:

• Reduce the risk of contamination in the transportation of food, e.g. Salmonella, mycotoxins, dioxins and other harmful substances
• Ensure compliance with food hygiene and safety standards, regulation and legislation
• Improve food safety supply chain management
• Give stakeholder confidence from suppliers to transport operators,
• Minimise supply chain disruptions
• Reduce reputational risk and product recall

The standard:

The standard is designed to ensure cleaning and disinfecting of food containers and attachments have been carried out as part of a defined, consistent and verified process. The standard covers a three-stage inspection programme, including the existing management system, level of training and management of personnel, and successful implementation of food safety and transport hygiene guidelines and legal requirements. Cleaning stations seeking certification against the ENFIT HQF standard will need to comply with the following criteria:

• Cleaning station management
• Quality and cleaning safety management
• Resource management
• Service provision – general requirements of the cleaning station
• Cleaning stations and cleaning technology
• Measurements, analyses and improvements

How to get certified?

First obtain a copy of the guidelines to understand the requirements and gauge if your site is compliant, you can download the standard on ENFIT's website. When the site is deemed ready for the certification audit the audit will be performed by the ENFIT HQF exclusive certification partner DNV GL.

To learn more about the certification, please contact us.