MSC Cruises has claimed to become the industry’s first major cruise operator to gain an ISO certificate for its food safety supply chain and cruise ship fleet.
The company announced its success on the WHO’s ‘World Food Safety Day 2021’ last Monday, following the granting of the ISO22000 food safety management system certification for 17 ships in its fleet for on board food safety.
“We’re extremely proud to be on top of the cruise industry’s league table for WHO’s World Food Safety Day with our fleet of ships and delighted that our entire food supply chain ‘from farm to fork’ has been certified,” said MSC Cruises’ Food and Beverage Division, Managing Director, Paolo Raia (pictured).
“We have demonstrated at MSC Cruises that our industry-leading health and safety protocol goes above and beyond what regulatory authorities demand, and it’s no different with food safety as we always strive to go one step further than what is required,” he added.
MSC’s two new vessels this year – ‘MSC Virtuosa’ and ‘MSC Seashore’ – are on track to be certified in the next few months, MSC added.
On board audits are undertaken by Bureau Veritas (BV). Thus far this year, BV has conducted 36 separate audit days and examined more than 5,000 food safety records on the ships.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, MSC Cruises supplied nearly 285 mill dishes and poured more than 125 mill drinks for its guests annually, according to MSC.
“A cruise ship needs to have a systematic, well-considered and planned approach in place to guarantee the food safety for guests and crew on board,” Raia said.
