Jump to content

  • Quick Navigation
Photo

Food Safety - More than Passing an Audit?

Share this

  • You cannot start a new topic
  • Please log in to reply
5 replies to this topic

MWidra

    Grade - PIFSQN

  • IFSQN Principal
  • 778 posts
  • 314 thanks
143
Excellent

  • United States
    United States
  • Gender:Female
  • Location:On the Beautiful Eastern Shore of MD
  • Interests:My Dogs (Beagles),Gardening, SciFi, Video Games (WoW, D3, HoS, PvZ), Classical Music, Legal Stuff, Science Stuff. I'm a Geeky Nerd.

Posted 30 March 2015 - 12:57 PM

Thought provoking article on where our focus should be; having safe food or passing an audit.

 

It also includes a basic process on how to do a risk assessment.

 

http://www.foodsafet...d/#.VRlCxk0tH3g

 

Martha


"...everything can be taken from a man but one thing:  the last of the human freedoms--to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."  Viktor E. Frankl

 

"Life's like a movie, write your own ending."  The Muppets


Thanked by 1 Member:

Simon

    IFSQN...it's My Life

  • IFSQN Admin
  • 12,826 posts
  • 1363 thanks
880
Excellent

  • United Kingdom
    United Kingdom
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Manchester
  • Interests:Married to Michelle, Father of three boys (Oliver, Jacob and Louis). I enjoy cycling, walking and travelling, watching sport, especially football and Manchester United. Oh and I love food and beer and wine.

Posted 30 March 2015 - 01:42 PM

I agree that a robust risk assessment is necessary and should be carried out by a competent multi-disciplinary team, but that’s not an argument against audits.  3rd party audits like GFSI mandate the foundations (prerequisites)...great!  And they also require you to risk assess every food safety aspect of your unique business...super! :wtg: 


Get FREE bitesize education with IFSQN webinar recordings.
 
Download this handy excel for desktop access to over 180 Food Safety Friday's webinar recordings.
https://www.ifsqn.com/fsf/Free%20Food%20Safety%20Videos.xlsx

 
Check out IFSQN’s extensive library of FREE food safety videos
https://www.ifsqn.com/food_safety_videos.html


Thanked by 1 Member:

avy100

    Grade - Active

  • IFSQN Associate
  • 23 posts
  • 1 thanks
1
Neutral

Posted 30 March 2015 - 05:42 PM

Great article.  Thanks for sharing.

 

Often times the focus is too much on passing the audit rather than continuously improving the food safety system and ensuring that the product is safe for consumption.

 

The focus should be on on creating a culture of food safety.



Charles.C

    Grade - FIFSQN

  • IFSQN Moderator
  • 20,542 posts
  • 5662 thanks
1,544
Excellent

  • Earth
    Earth
  • Gender:Male
  • Interests:SF
    TV
    Movies

Posted 30 March 2015 - 07:21 PM

I  wonder if this publication has utilised a viewpoint (originally submitted?) on a specific segment of the food chain so as to create a convenient Generalized Article ? The article is curiously lacking in respect to the mention of any specific FS programs at the focus of the expressed criticisms (I assume it was not FSMA).

 

From a general POV, I found some of the FS statements a little strange –

 

Minimally, food safety audits are a mechanism to demonstrate to yourself, senior management, and customers that you are following your food safety program, and that you can verify it through your audit that day

.

 

And the conclusion -

 

In fact, the best kind of audit would be one that verifies the farm or packing facility or processing plant is operating in accord with the operations-written, hazard-based food safety plan. Too bad we can’t start over and place hazard analysis first and properly use audits to verify their veracity

 

The author seems to be unaware of the objective of, for example, GFSI benchmarked FS Standards. And the objective of audits associated with the implementation of such Standards.

 

I agree that the use of a score-based system to determine Pass/Fail for  FS audits is debatable. But that is a different question.


Kind Regards,

 

Charles.C


Tony-C

    Grade - FIFSQN

  • IFSQN Fellow
  • 4,223 posts
  • 1288 thanks
608
Excellent

  • United Kingdom
    United Kingdom
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:World
  • Interests:My main interests are sports particularly football, pool, scuba diving, skiing and ten pin bowling.

Posted 01 April 2015 - 05:41 AM

Thought provoking article on where our focus should be; having safe food or passing an audit.

 

It also includes a basic process on how to do a risk assessment.

 

http://www.foodsafet...d/#.VRlCxk0tH3g

 

Martha

 

Thank you Martha, thought provoking yes but ................

 

Having safe food should be a given

 

'Food safety audits don’t really make food safer' - I would strongly disagree, if all those involved in the food chain had a recognized food safety certification then I believe food would generally be safer.

How did passing an audit become a substitute for actually building a risk-based food safety program? - It isn't a substitute, all recognised standards require hazard analysis, HACCP plans and food safety fundamentals.

'Realistically, taking an audit is like taking an exam when you know when the exam will be scheduled, you already know all the questions that will be on the exam, and you already have all the answers, too.' - Maybe, you should have all the answers but you will need to demonstrate those answers and unannounced audits are ever increasing so maybe a bit out of touch.

 

I don't really see an alternative offered to 'Food Safety Audits' maybe the author is of the belief that there is too much attention on passing the audit and not enough focus on putting 'hazard analysis first'.

 

Regards,

 

Tony
 



JKRed

    Grade - MIFSQN

  • IFSQN Member
  • 56 posts
  • 3 thanks
4
Neutral

  • United States
    United States
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Western New York

Posted 02 April 2015 - 05:57 PM

"Great article. Thanks for sharing. Often times the focus is too much on passing the audit rather than continuously improving the food safety system and ensuring that the product is safe for consumption. The focus should be on on creating a culture of food safety. *- avy100"

 

Ditto!


Swimming In An Alphabet Soup of SQF Acronyms, Code, & Clauses!
 

"You do SQF Level 2 because your customers demand it. You do SQF Level 3 for yourselves, because you see the value in improving your systems and extending the philosophy and practices in SQF to other aspects of your business, beyond Food Safety." Anonymous




Share this


0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users