US Foods Senior VP Presents at the 2013 Global Food Safety Conference

Barcelona, Spain

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By ANUK Staff

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3.11.13

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US Foods' Senior Vice President Jorge Hernandez tackled food safety issues at the recent 2013 Global Food Safety Conference in Barcelona. The conference brought together more than 800 leading food safety specialists from over 54 countries to advance food safety.

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The event was sponsored by the 2013 Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI).

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Hernandez played an integral role in a presentation devoted to the importance of certification of the food safety systems in the storage and distribution sector of the food chain.

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“As our food chain continues to become more global, it is essential that we’re all working from the same set of food safety standards, and that those standards are based on the latest best practices,” said Hernandez. “Food distributors are uniquely positioned to initiate change throughout the entire food chain. Our goal is to share information about effective solutions to current food safety problems.”

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Hernandez is a co-chair GFSI’s Storage and Distribution Working Group, an organization charged with the identification of the current best food safety practices in relation to storage and distribution. It also establishes criteria for auditing the performance of food safety systems within this segment of the food chain.

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“The global food supply chain depends on logistics companies to not only transport food from one place to another, but to do so with safety and quality top of mind,” Hernandez said. “It is critical that logistics companies embrace certification based on GFSI recognized standards to ensure food safety and meet their customers’ demands.”

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In 2012, US Foods said that it expects to be the first national foodservice distributor in the country to be certified in food safety and quality to the International Featured Standard (IFS), a globally recognized standard for safety and quality. To date, seven of its more than 60 distribution centers have been certified, with five more on track for certification this summer. All US Foods facilities are expected to be certified by 2014.

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GFSI is an international organization committed to providing continuous improvement in food safety management systems to ensure confidence in the delivery of safe food to consumers worldwide.US Foods

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