cGMP and HACCP: Get to know the HSN Certifications

The HACCP and cGMP seals that the HSN product range has certify the highest quality standards. Here we explain what they are.

HSN: Manufacturing with the highest quality certifications

HSN is a company established in Spain, marketing food supplements and preparations for sports nutrition and “healthy” dietetics under the framework of European regulations and in compliance with all national and international guidelines of the corresponding regulatory area of influence.

HSN Facilities

At HSN we not only market food supplements from our brands:

In 2017 we embarked on the exciting mission of creating our own factory, where we could have clinical and sports nutrition experts who could develop exclusive formulas and food supplements based on the highest quality raw materials on the market.

HSN Factory Visit.

In addition to a team of qualified technicians who would be able to perform the tasks of management, control, production and traceability of the development of these food supplements, guaranteeing an optimal result for each of the batches that leave our factory.

Discover HSN’s quality certifications!

What does cGMP mean?

Usually abbreviated to GMP, it stands for Good Manufacturing Practices.

The “c” abbreviates “Current”, which refers to the dynamic nature of the standards and the proactive behaviour of the entities that accredit them, in search of the best quality standards in the market.

cGMP is a certification that constitutes part of the quality control, which guarantees that products are developed and controlled consistently, based on the appropriate quality standard, according to their use and market requirements.

Adherence to GMP standards ensures the identity, strength, quality and purity of product development under the proper control of production operations, including:

HSN is GMP certified, meeting multiple criteria related to a large number of variables that condition the production process.

Development factory

Plant location requirements are established to avoid external contamination and ensure the control of the absence of any type of wildlife from the environment in the facilities, including in the air devices.

They validate the water supply system and its purification for all the steps related to the process.

Warehouse

The GMP certification contains rules relating to the maintenance and control of the storage area of raw materials, the reception of samples and final products.

In addition to strict authorisation control of exclusive access to professionals authorised by the company.

Product area

Control of the direction and sequencing of the stages of the production process.

Auxiliary areas

Isolation, purpose, access, and environmental maintenance of each of the rooms of the manufacturing chain.

Quality Control Area

With laboratories isolated from the manufacturing plant, with the capacity to perform physical-chemical, biological, microbiological and radioisotope analysis.

Adequate insulation of this area to avoid cross-contamination.

Personal

Qualified and experienced, trained under the specific guidelines of the company and the responsibility of their professional performance.

With a process supervised by duly qualified technical members.

Provision in an adequate number of personnel per surface area of the plant, according to the requirements.

With all raw materials properly labeled to avoid confusion in the development process, with a total control of the absence of pathogenic microorganisms (Salmonella, E. Coli, etc.).

Sanitation in the manufacturing process

All material must be clean following validated procedure records. The routine sanitation program should be supervised by trained technicians.

Raw material

There must have a complete inventory of the raw materials used in the manufacturing plant, as well as the dates and other data of registration of entry and exit of the first batch of the warehouse.

All raw materials must be at least slightly elevated and not in direct contact with the ground.

Equipment

Properly located, designed, built, adapted and maintained; to minimise the risk of error and allow effective cleaning and maintenance in order to prevent cross-contamination.

Scales and other measuring equipment in an appropriate range: accuracy and validity. They must be calibrated and checked by specialist technicians on a routine basis.

Documentation and registration

The essential element of the quality safety system.

Specifications of all materials, manufacturing and control methods need to be defined to ensure all personnel are aware of the manufacturing process and know the information needed to decide whether to put a batch into circulation or not.

The documentation must be approved, signed and dated by appropriate and authorised personnel.

Labelling and printed material

With colour, and in suitable materials. Registered by the quality control department and qualified professionals.

Quality guarantee

HSN quality.

In-house inspection and quality audit

GMP recommends having a team of quality control technicians implement quality self-control routines to ensure that at no point in the certification period are GMP standards lost.

The GMP accreditation entities themselves carry out audits and can request information the factory must have at any time.

Quality control system

The quality control must involve sample, specification, testing, documentation and product release procedures.

All quality control decisions must take into consideration the laboratory and its staff.

All batches of raw material and ready-to-sale product must be controlled by the quality control department. The quality control laboratory can be divided into chemical, instrumentation, microbiological and biological tests.

All instruments must be calibrated and testing procedures validated before being implemented in the control routines.

Specifications

For raw materials and packaging material, containers and closures.

Own-formula registers

Batch packing registrations

In addition to other more specific controls on the reception of raw materials, sampling, recalling of the certifying entity, incident management, storage and distribution.

HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points)

Bureau Veritas, the same certifying body that accredits HSN’s competencies in compliance with the standards required for obtaining the GMP certificate, certifies the HACCP/HACCP.

It is based on the management of the analysis and control of biological (microbes and toxins), chemical and physical risks of the manufacturing process, storage, distribution and use by the consumer.

To avoid any kind of adverse health effect.

HACCP:

1. Carries out risk analysis.
2. Determines critical control points.
3. Establishes monitoring procedures.

And it’s based on 7 principles to ensure this:

1. Carrying out a risk analysis

Risks in food industry (biological, physical, chemical, radiological, etc.) are items capable of causing illness in the consumer.

With HACCP, the risks in the production process are identified and evaluated.

A group of experts meet to assess potential risks of any kind and estimate both the likelihood of them occurring during the normal course of the production process and the extent of the damage if any.

2. Determining Critical Control Points

Any point or step in the entire manufacturing process (from receipt of the raw material, to the sale of the product to the consumer) where a control is applied to prevent, eliminate, or reduce a risk for food safety to an acceptable level is called a critical control point.

3. Setting critical limits

At each step identified within a Critical Control Point, the critical limits for the preventive measures associated with the critical control points must be established.

HSN orders.

4. Establishing monitoring procedures.

The monitoring procedures for each Critical Control Point must be established.

To “monitor” is to include a planned sequence of observations and/or measurements to identify whether a critical control point is under control.

It is characterised by 3 primary objectives:

1. Following process control.
2. Determining when a deviation exists
3. Providing written documentation for verification procedures.

5. Establishing corrective actions

Corrective actions should be developed for each process that has been identified with a Critical Control Point. Corrective actions are actions that must be taken in the face of deviations in the process, beyond the critical limits determined in principle 3.

6. Establishing the maintenance of records and documentary procedures.

Record-keeping procedures provide documentation throughout the HACCP process.

Record keeping includes:

7. Establishing verification procedures.

Verification procedures ensure that the HACCP system in place is working correctly and effectively.

HACCP is closely linked to GMP, as they share certain commonalities of their goals.

What are ISO standards?

There are many types of ISO standards, some of which are specific to certain sectors, while others ensure several criteria that determine global factors such as quality, the environment, occupational risks and safety at work, or social responsibility.

The ISO 22000 is the most specific certification for the food industry as it consists of a food safety management system, which is compatible with other certifications such as GMP and HACCP as it complements the criteria that regulate the establishment of these certifications.

Why do our SportSeries products feature certifications?

HSN is a company committed to quality.

We’ve used our quality control and traceability method for all the products developed in our manufacturing plant from the beginning, and we decided we wanted to certify them.

HSN warehouse.

In our analysis of the market demands, we considered the possibility of requesting the certificate of affiliation to the ISO 22000:2018 standards, but after assessing the cost/benefit of the accreditation of procedures that are already being carried out in the factory itself thanks to the implementation of the rules of the GMP and HACCP regulations, we realised it was best not to make the economic investment “just for the title”.

We are currently implementing a strict document control system, well above the specifications of cGMP certification, to obtain a renowned certificate in the food industry that consumers in the Spanish market demand a lot.

We are increasing our staff of technicians and experts in the quality control department, and making all the necessary investments to obtain a new certification that we consider distinctive and that adds value to our commitment to customers.