Topaz
Since January 2006 Legislation was passed for all food business operators to comply with Regulation (EC) No.852/2004 part of which states that microbiological criteria for foodstuffs, sampling and analysis must comply.
Complete Laboratory Solutions have been working with Topaz (formerly Statoil) since 2003. CLS on behalf of Topaz conduct regular microbiological monitoring of the products on offer in their retail sites to ensure high standards of food preparation and storage are maintained and also to ensure that Topaz is synonymous with quality safe food. CLS worked with Topaz to design a programme which would support their HACCP programme in their company run sites.
The programme includes sampling and analysis of water, surface swabs, personnel swabs and food products, ranging from the core ingredients to ready to eat foods. The samples are collected in temperature controlled storage units, analysed in CLS’s INAB accredited laboratory at Ros Muc, Co. Galway and the confidential reports are issued accordingly.
CLS keeps each Topaz store informed on the status of its samples by using a “traffic light” method of reporting results. This system highlights when a result is above the recommended limits (red), approaching the recommended limits (orange) or when it is within the recommended limits (green)