Brand is the first major cruise operator to be certified after Bureau Veritas audits 17 ships and supply chain
By
Rebecca Gibson |
MSC Cruises has become the first major cruise operator to have its entire food safety supply chain and fleet of ships certified for onboard food safety by the global International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
Inspection and certification services provider Bureau Veritas has carried out 36 separate audit days and examined more than 5,000 food safety records onboard 17 of MSC Cruises’ ships in 2021. All 17 ships have been granted ISO22000 food safety management system certification and the company’s two newest vessels – MSC Virtuosa and MSC Seashore – are expected to be certified in the next few months.
“Food safety is understandably taken for granted within day-to-day society and a cruise ship needs to have a systematic, well considered and planned approach in place to guarantee the food safety for guests and crew onboard,” said Paolo Raia, managing director of MSC Cruises’ food and beverage division. “With that in mind we’re extremely proud to be on top of the cruise industry’s league table for World Health Organization’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.
“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.”