SQF niche and FSMA gaps for use in employee training
I'm putting together a general SQF and regulatory training, and I'm hoping to easily get employees to understand SQF specifically and how FSMA relates.
What drives demand for SQF vs. other GFSI recognized bodies?
Is there list that covers the gaps between SQF certification and FSMA compliance?
What are some common questions you've had auditors ask employees that you feel could have been answered better?
Thanks for your input!
What drives demand for SQF vs. other GFSI recognized bodies?
A mix of regional and customer preference - SQF seems to be significantly more prevalent in the US, but that may be because the US retailers / major brands have a preference for SQF. In the UK we see the same effect with BRC.
What are some common questions you've had auditors ask employees that you feel could have been answered better?
Honestly the biggest issue we have, even with well trained employees, is the "I'm going to panic because the auditor is asking me a question" problem - I've seen people instantly forget things that they know well enough to recite / do in their sleep.
I guess it's a bit like the panic that afflicts a lot of people when they sit and exam in school.
Is there list that covers the gaps between SQF certification and FSMA compliance?
I'm not intricately familiar with SQF, but is there not a requirement for compliance with local regulations (e.g. FSMA in the US) inherent in the standard?
I'm putting together a general SQF and regulatory training, and I'm hoping to easily get employees to understand SQF specifically and how FSMA relates.
What drives demand for SQF vs. other GFSI recognized bodies?
Is there list that covers the gaps between SQF certification and FSMA compliance?
What are some common questions you've had auditors ask employees that you feel could have been answered better?
Thanks for your input!
IIRC Acheson have published a comparison such as you mention and which is posted on this forum (somewhere).
IIRC SQF equalled or exceeded all (or perhaps nearly all) the fizz requirements. :smile:
I'm not intricately familiar with SQF, but is there not a requirement for compliance with local regulations (e.g. FSMA in the US) inherent in the standard?
Yes. So the whole "gap analysis" between the two is kind of silly. However, SQF auditors are not good at evaluating regulatory requirements, the audits pretty much stick to the SQF code.
1.) In my very limited experience Wal Mart requires SQF for certain things, so if you want to do business at Wally World (in the USA) BRC isn't going to be useful.
2.) There are checklists all over the internet comparing the two, didn't have to change much of anything here, mostly just the wording of my hazard analysis.
3.) My last Auditor (who trains many others) always asks three questions to production personnel. 1.) What is SQF [(Safety Quality Food, simple)] 2.) Who is the SQF Practitioner? [(Me)] 3.) Why do SQF? [(For food safety, and to get more customers)]. Our first year my employees were about 50% on those questions. Last year the first girl he asked was so damn confident in her answers he didn't bother to talk to anyone else!
Most of my auditors have asked about deviations and corrective actions to employees, not anymore about SQF definition etc. Like - what will they do when they see something unusual or if something goes wrong?, what happens to the food when falls on the floor? etc etc. more of situational questions, which i like better because, its not something an employee will need to memorize but actions which actually have impact on food safety.
1.) In my very limited experience Wal Mart requires SQF for certain things, so if you want to do business at Wally World (in the USA) BRC isn't going to be useful.
2.) There are checklists all over the internet comparing the two, didn't have to change much of anything here, mostly just the wording of my hazard analysis.
3.) My last Auditor (who trains many others) always asks three questions to production personnel. 1.) What is SQF [(Safety Quality Food, simple)] 2.) Who is the SQF Practitioner? [(Me)] 3.) Why do SQF? [(For food safety, and to get more customers)]. Our first year my employees were about 50% on those questions. Last year the first girl he asked was so damn confident in her answers he didn't bother to talk to anyone else!
We were BRC certified and did work with Walmart on occasions (thankfully not a full-time customer). They seemed to be fine with our BRC Certificate. I actually can't think of a time where any of our customers, major or not, insisted upon any preference between the GFSI standards. If they had, I would have said :yeahrite: .