Food Safety Programs For A Food Processor

Problem

A food processor specializing in pickles and peppers was seeking to supply a major restaurant chain with its products. The chain had strict requirements and would not award a contract to a supplier who did not have formal quality assurance programs in place and that was audited by a leading food safety auditing company of the buyer's choosing. The client knew they could not pass such an audit and could not develop and write the needed programs in house.

Consultant Method

This consultant obtained an audit report by the customer's auditing company to determine exactly what its requirements were. This consultant then spent two days at the plant assessing existing programs and the ability of the local management and supervision to carry out such programs. In most cases, this consultant had prior experience managing such programs. In a few cases, this consultant obtained and studied literature on the subject in order to develop a program customized for the client company.

Some of the topics included :

• Pest Control
• Allergen Control
• Change Management
• Document Control
• GMP's and Control of Glass
• Inspection of Incoming and Outgoing Carriers
• Raw Material Control
• Recall Procedure
• HACCP (A food safety system based on Hazard Analysis and preventive controls)

Consultant Results

In general, this consultant observed that the client had competent management and supervision, but a very lean staff with insufficient time and little expertise to develop and write the needed programs. In one week this consultant wrote and presented the programs needed to meet the customer's requirements. The new programs were implemented, the client passed the outside audit and was approved by their new customer. This consultant organized the new programs into a cohesive system that the client was able to continue updating to meet future needs.

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