HAVING A HACCP CONTROL PLAN IN PLACE BY ALL FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS, BREWERIES, WATER AND ICE PRODUCERS A REQUIREMENT
The Food Safety Division of the Inspectorate VSA is responsible for assuring that food, water, ice and drinks that are prepared and sold in Sint Maarten are fit and wholesome for human consumption. Food for consumption which is not prepared, stored or served under hygienic conditions can cause severe gastrointestinal complaints and infections. The food industry is responsible for producing, preparing, serving and selling safe food, water, ice and drinks.
The objectives of the HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) Control plans are to safeguard the manufacturing, preparing, storage and selling of consumables and are part of the Food Safety supervision process. HACCP is a method where systematically every step in the food process is monitored in order to guarantee a safe final product. The requirement for having a HACCP control plan can be derived from the ?Commodities Ordinance? (Warenlandsverordening). The Food Safety division of the Inspectorate VSA is responsible for enforcing compliance with the Commodities Ordinance by conducting inspections and monitoring food products, water, ice and breweries under this legislation.
All restaurants, supermarkets, bakeries, catering companies, water production companies, ice producers and breweries are required to have a HACCP control plan in place. The Inspectorate VSA has included the required presence and use of the HACCP control plans in its inspections as of February 1st, 2021. Those who were not in compliance with the law were given 6 months to comply. As of February 14th, 2022 the Inspectorate will be controlling on a zero-tolerance basis.
For any question you may have please feel free to visit the Inspectorate at: W.G. Buncamper Road # 33 Vineyard Office Park above the tax office from Monday to Friday from 8:30 to 12:00 and from 13:30 to 16:00 or send an e-mail to inspectoratevsa.sxm@gmail.com.
