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Certification Connection
EAGLE's Client Newsletter | July 2024
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EAGLE Boot Camp 2024
EAGLE successfully conducted another enriching Boot Camp this year. We extend our gratitude to all participants for their attendance. We trust that your experience was both positive and engaging. This year also marks EAGLE's 30th anniversary, a milestone we proudly celebrated! Feel free to explore our Google Photo Albums, showcasing moments of learning and joy.
New EAGLE Employees
We would like to announce (8) new employees who joined EAGLE in Q1/Q2 2024:
- Allison McGee | Business Development Manager
- Megan Murphy | Business Development Manager
- Danielle Posillico | Financial Administrator
- Kyle Howe-Vachon | Food Certification Manager
- Tracy Miller | Certification Manager
- Korie Schneemann | Technical Admin Coordinator
- Janet Traxler | Director of HR & Finance
- Austin Rush | Food Certification Manager
36th IQNET General Assembly | Cascais, Portugal
Contributed by Colin Christmas | Managing Director
May 27-31, our Managing Director, Colin Christmas, attended the 36th IQNET General Assembly meeting in Cascais, Portugal, hosted by APCER. It was a packed agenda that included Peer Review, Constitution & Policies, Marketing & Development, and Harmonisation & Best Practices, wrapping up with the General Assembly. IQNET Association is a unique organization, with members represented from regions all over the world, where EAGLE is the proud US member. The meeting was a recognition of the true spirit of collaboration and dialogue around conformity assessment.
New Products and Programs
What's Incubating?
Contributed by Jessica Osborne | Chief Program Officer
As Chief Program Officer, one of my responsibilities is to investigate, watch, report, and support decision making around opportunities for new products, programs and initiatives. This section is my way to communicate these things to you in a broader sense and make a call to action for you to share with me what you see, know and hear. My hope is to create more transparency to you and to have more involvement from you, our clients, in what we have in the “incubator”.
I am not quite sure how to set this up so we learn as we go! But for this initial communication, I chose to break the information into two parts: New Products and Initiatives. Let’s start with New Products….
ISO Amendments Concerning Climate Change
Contributed by Ed Stephens | EAGLE Technical Manager
On February 22, 2024, a joint communique was issued by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) notifying interested parties of the joint release of Amendment 1 to Management System Standards. The amendment supports ISO's decision to add two new statements to a number of management systems.
SQF Assessment Database Fees | 2024 Update
Contributed by Lindsey Stafford | Director of Certification (FSMS)
SQF has adjusted its registration rates in order to align more suitably with the increasing rates set by GFSI. This decision is part of an ongoing commitment to maintaining the highest standards in food safety and ensuring compliance with industry regulations.
Risk Management | Peer Reviewed
Contributed by Colin Christmas | Managing Director
Dr. Georgi Popov, professor and chair of the Occupational Risk and Safety Sciences at the University of Central Missouri, presented at last year's Boot Camp and provided great insight into two areas of risk management (click below). Dr. Popov has authored numerous risk assessment-related articles in Professional Safety, International Scientific Publications, books, and other trade journals.
Standard Blogs
The future relationship between ISO 13485:2016 and 21 CFR 820 has recently been stated by The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Contributed by Jack Hamilton | Senior Business Development Manager
The FDA supports its longstanding interest in harmonizing with this International standard. They understand the current FDA regulations need to modernize to enhance their efficiency. On February 2, 2024, a new plan was shared by the FDA for harmonizing these two bodies of knowledge in this Final Rule, and have concluded to proceed with the harmonization effort.
Developing Effective Risk Assessments
Contributed by Kellie Worrell | Certification Manager
GLOBALG.A.P. c/o FoodPLUS GmbH has recently developed a series of excellent educational videos designed to help producers better understand this process, and the content applies more broadly to other audit types of certifications as well.
Costco Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) | Updated Requirements
Contributed by Ann-Marie Beall | EAGLE Food Auditor
Costco has recently updated its supplier audit requirements to align with the Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) as required by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). EAGLE has reviewed the requirements and is issuing this letter to clarify what Costco suppliers will need to do to be compliant with this new Costco requirement.
FREE Food Safety Culture Toolkit
Contributed by Colin Christmas | Managing Director
The Food Safety Culture Toolkit is an ever-expanding, multimedia resource created by The Alliance to Stop Foodborne Illness. It is completely FREE to access and is optimized for small- and medium-sized food companies, but can be used by any enterprise.
Contributed by Colin Christmas | Managing Director
State of the Nation 2024 Product Safety and Recall
In addition to cybersecurity and the use of AI, another trend we observed in 2023 that we expect to continue through 2024 is more regulation for online sellers and secondary markets. Online retailers and platforms are being held accountable for protecting consumers from fraudulent claims and dangerous products.
IAF Outlook | May 2024 Edition
International Accreditation Forum (IAF) Outlook is a news feed that provides you with the latest news in the fields of conformity assessment and accreditation from IAF members, regions and stakeholders.
IAF-ILAC Accreditation Matters
Food Sub-Series Podcasts | Now Published
Hosted by our Managing Director, Colin Christmas
Accreditation Matters is an IAF-ILAC podcast channel that discusses the importance of Quality Infrastructure for the three sustainable development pillars: people, planet, and prosperity.
Colin Christmas (IAF Working Group Food Co-Convener, IQNET representative) had the honor of hosting and speaking with subject matter experts in the field of conformity assessment that included representatives from ABs, CB associations, national standards bodies, food scheme owners, non-governmental organizations, intergovernmental organizations, and the public sector. This food sub-series of (4) podcast episodes has been recorded and is available to you.
The quality professional’s role has changed significantly during the past decades as the industry responds to lean, cost-cutting, and empowerment-minded leadership models. In the past, an independent quality verification would occur during production and services, including final checks before shipment.
Sedgwick Brand Protection
Q1 2024 Recall Index Report | US Edition
The Sedgwick Brand Protection Recall Index is published quarterly and shares key insights and guidance into the economic, regulatory, and legal developments shaping product safety across five key industries: Automotive, Consumer Products, Food and Drink, Pharmaceutical, and Medical Devices.
Volunteering Activities
EAGLE is thankful for opportunities to support charitable organizations in need of volunteers to help support their various programs and services.
One place we selected was Our Farm Sanctuary, located in Tipp City, Ohio. This center provides shelter, food, and adoption services for rescued and abandoned animals of all sizes, from pets to farm animals. Although some tasks were challenging, our time was rewarding, with a bit of fun at the end.
Another opportunity where some of EAGLE's staff served was at The Foodbank in Dayton. The Foodbank is the primary source of food for the hunger relief network in the Miami Valley. The only one of its kind in the area, it relieves hunger in the community through a network of partner agencies by acquiring and distributing food. It was a terrific time of fellowship and service to others!
2024 EAGLE Staff Appreciation Day
We celebrated our annual Staff Appreciation Day on February 29th at The Learning Kitchen in West Chester, Ohio. It was a fun day, allowing us to thank everyone in the company for the important part they play in making EAGLE so special. We learned that cooking can be easy and fun, and for some people, cooking was their favorite part but overall, dining and socializing made it a gratifying experience for all!
EAGLE Sponsored Training
Preventive Controls for Human Foods + Developing and Implementing HACCP Plans | Live Virtual
August 14-16, 2024 | 9AM-5PM ET Daily
This 3-day course includes the materials developed by the Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance (the curriculum recognized by the FDA) for the FSPCA Preventive Controls for Human Food Course. It also incorporates additional information for participants who have not had a HACCP course or need refresher HACCP training.
Implementing SQF Systems | Official, Licensed SQF Course | Live Virtual
September 5-6, 2024 | 9AM-5PM ET Daily
This class is based on SQF Code Edition 9. The instructor will tailor the class to participants’ specific needs. A combination of class and instructor interaction leads to sharing real-life experiences in a manner not possible with online training. We emphasize how compliance to the SQF Code can be achieved in a practical manner implemented in operations and documented to build trust in your products or services.
Desarrollo e Implementación de Planes HACCP (Español) | virtual en vivo
Developing and Implementing HACCP Plans (Spanish) | Live Virtual
September 17-18, 2024 | 9AM-5PM ET Daily
Curso introductorio que brinda capacitación en el desarrollo de un programa HACCP para todos tipos de instalaciones de procesamiento, excepto mariscos y jugos. El curso sigue las normas internacionales CODEX y NACMCF, está acreditado por la Alianza Internacional HACCP y cumple con los requisitos básicos de HACCP de los programas de la Iniciativa Global de Inocuidad Alimentaria (GFSI, por sus siglas en ingles). El curso incluye un examen y la obtención de un certificado con el sello de la Alianza Internacional de HACCP.
EAGLE Promoted Training
EAGLE is excited to share opportunities for Food Safety Training Classes with Superior Food Safety. All SQF classes are taught by an SQF Licensed Trainer and all FSPCA classes are taught by FSPCA Lead Instructors. All classes are Virtual-Online and On-Site.
EAGLE is partnered with Kelmac Group, offering various classroom-based training in the US, Canada, and Mexico. Also, virtual classes for Management System Standards (MSS) which include ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 13485, ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 27701, BRCGS, and FSSC 22000 Lead Auditor, Internal Auditor, and Fundamentals training.
