Having our US facility 3rd-party audited for FSMA?
Greetings,
My boss, who has a rudimentary understanding of FSMA, asked me yesterday if there is anyone out there doing 3rd party audits for FSMA. I didn't understand what he was getting at, as the only 3rd-party auditing I knew of was for foreign suppliers, so I asked him what he was looking for. He thought that, if we had a 3rd-party audit, it would demonstrate to our customers that we are FSMA compliant, and that he could then tell them that we are 3rd-party audited, too. He thinks it will impress customers and give us an advantage over competitors.
I told him I'd check around and see if this is even a possibility...I mean, I'm sure we could find a consultant who is a FSMA expert who could come in and do an audit, but is it worth the money and time? My inclination is no...just curious what all of you think? For the record, we are not 3rd-party audited against any standard right now, but may be seeking SQF certification in the future.
Greetings,
My boss, who has a rudimentary understanding of FSMA, asked me yesterday if there is anyone out there doing 3rd party audits for FSMA. I didn't understand what he was getting at, as the only 3rd-party auditing I knew of was for foreign suppliers, so I asked him what he was looking for. He thought that, if we had a 3rd-party audit, it would demonstrate to our customers that we are FSMA compliant, and that he could then tell them that we are 3rd-party audited, too. He thinks it will impress customers and give us an advantage over competitors.
I told him I'd check around and see if this is even a possibility...I mean, I'm sure we could find a consultant who is a FSMA expert who could come in and do an audit, but is it worth the money and time? My inclination is no...just curious what all of you think? For the record, we are not 3rd-party audited against any standard right now, but may be seeking SQF certification in the future.
Sir,
AIB does audits for FSMA. We are currently in the middle of our SQF audit as i type this.
http://www.aibonline...lity-visit.aspx
Semper Fi....
Just get your SQF audit and demonstrate that it includes this clause:
2.4.1 Food Legislation (Mandatory) 2.4.1.1 The site shall ensure that, at the time of delivery to its customer, the food supplied shall comply with the legislation that applies to the food and its production in the country of use or sale. This includes compliance with legislative requirements applicable to maximum residue limits, food safety, packaging, product description, net weights, nutritional, allergen and additive labeling, labeling of identify preserved foods, any other criteria listed under food legislation, and to relevant established industry codes of practice.
It's weird to hear places ask/say they're "FSMA Compliant". If you're under the rule then it's now standard legislation. No different than saying you're "FDA Compliant!", not exactly something to brag about lol.
The consultant industry and CB's have done a great job of hyping FSMA to make it sound like a new level of certification, rather than just the basic food safety legislation. It's not voluntary, it's mandatory for you to have a license.
Pretty much all of your 3rd party auditors have incorporated FSMA into their audit standards.
I've used AIB, NSF, and Silliker (now Merieux) and know that they've updated their standards to align with FSMA requirements.
Your boss is spot on.
Increasingly customers of food companies are asking if their suppliers are FSMA compliant and they want proof.
Don't have a consultant come in and do an FSMA audit, go and call up a company like TUV USA or SGS, etc. to come and conduct an FSMA compliance audit.
As a consultant who sees 95% of our work in the SQF development arena I know that even if your company is SQF certified that doesn't mean that you are also FSMA compliant and I am not a hyper as we don't even do consulting on FSMA, but we are seeing certified companies thinking they are "covered" when they are not - it's a rude awakening when the FDA shows up (like they did to a prospective development client last week) and begins a 3-day audit on FSMA.
Thank you for the input, everyone...especially you, SQFconsultant! I had no idea this had gotten so big...I thought the only way to be audited for FSMA was when the FDA unexpectedly showed up at your door.
I will share this information with my boss!
Brian
We just completed our annual BRC audit, and included the voluntary "FSMA Readiness" module this year...not difficult at all to pass if you have good quality and food safety systems in place and it provides you with a certificate that you can then share with customers that inquire about whether or not you are FSMA compliant.