When it comes to food packaging, food safety and quality are the top priorities. Even though there are sufficient food packaging regulations, standards and guidelines in place to protect consumers, there is still room to go above and beyond industry standards to improve food safety and quality. At GSC Packaging (www.gscpackaging.com), we are looking to the pharmaceutical industry for inspiration on raising the bar on food safety and quality.
The product safety and quality requirements for pharmaceutical packaging is often more stringent and extensive than requirements for food packaging. Pharmaceutical products that are improperly produced, mislabeled, incorrectly packaged or mishandled carry a high risk of causing harm to consumers, especially since many pharmaceutical products go directly to the bloodstream. Even though many of the pharmaceutical regulations, standards and guidelines are not imposed on the food packaging industry, food safety and quality can be improved by applying select pharmaceutical best practices to the food packaging industry.