American Council for Food Safety & Quality

Stepping-up Your Food Safety Programs is as Easy as 1-2-3

It goes without saying that it’s important to provide a safe and secure environment in any food industry. Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP), program enhancement, and auditing and certifying your food safety system are three steps to help ensure your food safety program.

Step 1: HACCP

Regardless of the maturity of your food safety systems, continuous improvement should be part of your vocabulary. It’s not enough to do the right things; you need to document doing them. Many times this begins with documenting operating procedures and policies, training on procedures and policies, cleaning and sanitation activities, monitoring device verification checks, just to name a few.

Imagine an umbrella as a way to think of your food safety program. The handle of the umbrella is the handle which connects to the spokes that in turn support the fabric of the umbrella. HACCP is the foundation. The strength comes from it. The spokes are the prerequisite programs, connected to and supported by HACCP. The fabric is the protections HACCP and prerequisite programs can provide bring when maintained properly.

HACCP is based around seven established principles:

1. Conduct a hazard analysis.
2. Determine the critical control points (CCPs).
3. Establish critical limit(s).
4. Establish a system to monitor control of the CCP.
5. Establish the corrective action to be taken when monitoring indicates that a particular CCP is not under control.
6. Establish procedures for verification to confirm that the HACCP system is working effectively.
7. Establish documentation concerning all procedures and records appropriate to these principles and their application.

Ensuring these steps are put into effect each and every day is a lot of hard work and it’s important you get credit for it. Remember to have your HACCP plan verified annually.

The Food Safety Department has Basic HACCP, Advanced HACCP, HACCP Plan Verification Audits and consulting services available to members. Contact Kathryn @ kathrynh@agfoodsafety.org for more information.

Step 2: Food Safety Program Enhancement

Assuming that your HACCP and prerequisite programs are established and you’re doing a HACPP Verification Audit every 12 months, the next ‘step-up’ is compliance with a Food Safety Audit, which is more robust.

It’s important to choose your audit platform/system. This may include BRC, SQF, IFS, and GMA, just to name a few.

The majority of food safety audits require a designated employee to implement and maintain your food safety system. This employee must meet the following requirements:

1. Be a full time employee and hold a position of responsibility in relation to the management of your food safety system.
2. Have completed a HACCP training course and be able to implement and maintain HACCP based food safety plans.
3. Have an understanding of the Code(s) and the requirements to implement and maintain systems.

This is yet another time when the pieces of your food safety umbrella come into place. Your next step is to develop a robust food safety system.

Conduct a Gap Analysis (Self-Assessment)
A GAP analysis determines if there is any divergence between the current systems and procedures and those required to meet the requirements of the audit platform you have chosen.
Document Your System
Amend your current system to meet the requirements and implement any changes.
Implement Your System
Your system should cover the requirements of the Code and any extras that are beneficial to your operations.
Verify Your System
Verify that your system is capable of operating to meet your safety and quality needs.
Review and Make Changes
Review your system to ensure you are ready and make any necessary changes before arranging for a certification audit.

Step 3: Audit & Certification

The third and final step to improving your food safety system includes an audit and certification process. A licensed, accredited Certification Body (CB) must conduct a certification audit in order for you to gain certification. For example, if you chose the BRC system, review which CBs are on the BRC list. Certification Bodies such as SAI, National Britannia will then select auditors in your area, hopefully with experience with your commodity.

What is an audit?
An audit is an independent assessment of your food safety system to determine if you comply with the current standards.
How do I prepare for an audit?
Conduct an internal audit of your food safety system to check that your system is ready for the certification audit.
What does the audit process include?
Certification Audits can be viewed as having four parts:
- 1. The Document Review (desk audit): Prior to the on-site audit, the Certification Body reviews your system documentation to confirm that it complies with the requirements of the Code and notifies you of any areas that require improvement.
- 2. The Audit and Audit Review (on-site): Auditors use a checklist to guide them through the audit and create a record of the results. After reviewing information collected during the audit, and noting any deficiencies, the auditor will prepare for an exit meeting with management.
- 3. Exit Meeting: The auditor presents the findings of the audit to the producer at the exit meeting. The auditor will explain whether you need to make any improvements and whether they recommend certification or recertification. The producer is expected to take prompt action to correct any deficiencies.
- 4. Recertification and Surveillance Audits: These are similar to the Certification Audit without the desk audit (unless there have been major changes to your system). The auditor is required to prepare for these audits by reviewing past audit reports and corrective actions.
What should I know about certification?
If no critical or major non-conformities are found and the audit result indicates an acceptable rating, the auditor will recommend certification. In all cases the Certification Body Review Council makes the final decision and the certificate and audit report are issued. Lastly, re-certification audits are conducted annually and within 30 days of the audit anniversary date.

Staff Contact: Kathryn Heimann