Mettler-Toledo India Releases New White Paper on Food Safety, Quality, GFSI and Industry Regulations

Online, March 12, 2012 (Newswire.com) - Mettler-Toledo India, a wholly subsidiary of Mettler-Toledo Inc. (NYSE: MTD), announced the publication of a new white paper on food safety and certification to provide a comprehensive guidance on relevant guidelines which are ideal for a given business under Indian regulatory frameworks. Food safety is increasingly top-of-mind for consumers, retailers and food manufacturers alike, with pressure mounting on suppliers to demonstrate the quality of their operations through certification. However, navigating and understanding the numerous global certification standards can be difficult, the new white paper entitled "Food Safety & Quality and the Trend Towards Certification" outlines an overview of the regulatory and consumer pressures behind increasing food safety certification, and explores the different standards currently available to food retailers and manufacturers.

When looking at certification, the white paper takes as its starting point the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) benchmarks, and then focuses on the four accepted standards most widely in use, which include the BRC Global Standard, FSSC 22000, International Featured Standard (IFS), and SQF 2000. Through detailing the requirements, reporting, procedures and audits that each certification entails, the white paper provides guidance for producers to find the standard that is the best fit for their market, needs and customer preferences. It also indicates parameters that can be used to evaluate the most appropriate certification standard to pursue.

The trend towards more stringent food safety and quality regulation will continue as consumer awareness increases, and certification will be increasingly important as producers seek to distinguish their products in competitive global markets. Mettler-Toledo's white paper points to the launch of the new Chinese food safety law, and the U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) as examples of recent legislation affecting certification processes and suggests that more and more manufacturers and suppliers will seek certification to stay ahead of the regulatory curve.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Siddharth Karchroo, Business Manager, Mettler-Toledo India said, "Food safety crises are continuing to increase public scrutiny of food producers; consequently consumers are demanding higher quality and safer food. Working with a well designed quality data management system, the right weighing technology and an appropriate product inspection program deliver higher food safety and process quality."

To download the white paper, please go to:
http://in.mt.com/in/en/home/supportive_content/White_Papers/ind-wp-fsq.html

About Mettler-Toledo India:

Mettler-Toledo India Pvt. Ltd., a wholly subsidiary of Mettler-Toledo Inc. (NYSE: MTD), started its operations in India in 1998. With its base in Mumbai and eleven branches across India, Mettler-Toledo India is a leading player catering to the demand of Indian industries for high-technology precision and analytical instruments used in various labs and automation processes.

Mettler-Toledo inc is a leading global supplier of precision instruments and is the world's largest manufacturer and marketer of weighing instruments for use in laboratory, industrial and food retailing applications. The Company also holds top-three market positions in several related analytical instruments markets and is a leading provider of automated chemistry systems used in drug and chemical compound discovery and development. In addition, the Mettler-Toledo is the world's largest manufacturer and marketer of metal detection systems used in production and packaging. Additional information about Mettler-Toledo can be found on its website www.mt.com