Short Description

The Private Certification Scheme “Safety on Shelf” was developed by TÜV AUSTRIA Hellas with the aim of confirming compliance with the necessary conditions for the safe consumption of fresh products available in bulk from Retail businesses.

Detailed Description

The Private Scheme “Safety on Shelf” certifies that a retail business:

• applies an appropriate monitoring mechanism,
• has installed the appropriate infrastructure,
• and has allocated the appropriate resources

to ensure that the fresh food which is sold in bulk maintains its level of safety, as confirmed by an independent control body at the units of its suppliers.

It therefore offers the possibility of certification and use of the internationally recognized label of the TÜV AUSTRIA Organization, to companies and groups of retail stores, which are interested in guaranteeing the provision of the appropriate conditions so that their fresh bulk products are safely available to their customers.

At the same time, the central administration is given the possibility of an internal audit regarding the operation of the stores, the training (and the general perception) of its staff regarding compliance with the hygiene and safety policy for food, as well as the effectiveness of the procedures for safeguarding this policy.

For this control, the “Safety on Shelf” Standard is based on four main management pillars:

• Hygiene of premises and staff
• Avoiding product contamination
• Cold chain maintenance
• Ensuring product traceability

Certification Process

The audit process is based on an innovative hybrid approach system, which includes:

• the initial evaluation of the central management system of the entire supply chain in which the company is involved,
• the collection of information remotely through the competent staff throughout the supply chain by completing specially designed Questionnaires (Checklists) at regular intervals,
• scheduled on-site audits every six months in a competent sample of 10% of the stores,
• unannounced visits in the middle of the semesters,
• “Mystery shopping” at any time deemed necessary,
• and targeted sampling for chemical / microbiological analyses.

Target Audience

The “Safety on Shelf” standard of TÜV AUSTRIA HELLAS can be successfully applied to a specific food business as well as to a network of retail stores which has fresh bulk – among others – products, and which maintains “Central Management”.

Benefits for Businesses

Through this method, continuous monitoring of the Supply Chain is ensured in accordance with the requirements of the four pillars of the Standard. In this way, the central administration is assisted in monitoring the effectiveness of the daily operation of the stores in relation to its Corporate Policy in respect to the safety of its customers.

In addition, the safety message to consumers gains credibility, with the use of the globally recognized label of the TÜV AUSTRIA Organization, which offers a feeling of confidence in the products available from the company.

The Certificate is valid for three years and is issued for the Central Offices including all stores.

The logos for the promotion of the certified products are provided by the TÜV AUSTRIA Organization accompanied by a QR code, which allows consumers to check the validity of the certification in real time through the Organization’s global platform “tami.at”