NSF International has announced in a news statement the opening of an office in Costa Rica to provide food safety auditing, certification, consulting and training services to growers, manufacturers, suppliers, and retailers.
Strategically located in the capital San José, NSF Costa Rica will help businesses meet new global food safety regulatory requirements, food safety certification services and sustainability solutions, the company said.
Food exports from Latin America and the Caribbean account for US$66bn or 12 per cent of the world’s total food trade – a figure which could increase rapidly over the coming decades if food safety and quality standards are improved, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
“With offices throughout North and South America, Europe and the Asia Pacific and now Central America, we are well positioned to help international clients as they source food products from Latin America,” said Tom Chestnut, NSF International vice-president of food safety and quality.
“We look forward to expanding our services in this area to the produce, organic, seafood, manufacturing, distribution and retail sectors.”
Included among NSF International’s services is certification to the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI)-benchmarked standards, including British Retail Consortium (BRC), Safe Quality Food (SQF), GlobalGAP (Good Agricultural Practices), International Food Standard (IFS) and Food Safety System Certification (FSSC).
NSF’s sustainability services, such as greenhouse gas verification, carbon footprinting and environmental management systems registration, will also be offered.
“Our NSF Costa Rica office will enable NSF to better serve the growing number of processors and manufacturers in Latin America who are exporting their products to the United States,” added Kevan P. Lawlor, NSF International president and CEO.
“The new office will also help businesses in Central America and the Caribbean meet the increasing demand for food safety and certification services in this region.”
NSF International has also obtained ISO 22000 accreditation from the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB).
The accreditation enables the group to register food safety management systems for companies worldwide.
