Safety on the brain

England’s Process and Packaging Machinery Assn. (PPMA) is broadening its safety passport program to include not just food manufacturing but pharmaceutical, too.

The passports are granted to engineers who work for PPMA member companies. A series of training courses are required before engineers can qualify for passports, which are approved by England’s Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and the Safety Pass Alliance.

According to a news item in the February issue of England’s PACKAGING NEWS magazine, the safety passports are recognized by major manufacturers such as Nestle, Cadbury, Coors, Kellogg’s, and Coca Cola. An engineer holding a passport can enter these companies’ sites without having to go through time-consuming safety awareness inductions.

PPMA is now working with drug makers to develop a similar safety passport system for that sector, says PACKAGING NEWS.

Safety of another sort will be a focus at the upcoming Food Processing Machinery Expo, co-located with Pack Expo International November 7-11 in Chicago. FPM Expo will include for the first time a 10ꯠ-sq-foot Food Safety & Sanitation Pavilion featuring the newest developments in processing technology to meet the food safety and sanitation challenges faced by the food and beverage manufacturers. FOOD SAFETY magazine will sponsor three "Hot Topic" seminars on sanitary equipment and facility design and sanitation Monday through Wednesday of the show.

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