8 replies to this topic

[FoodSafetyAPP]

Hi all, I have recently accepted a new job and would really like some advice. I currently work at a 1 product, low risk, no CCP's, BRCGS certified site. I am moving to a business that produces several products, ready meals, cooked-chilled/frozen, for the public sector (hospitals, care homes etc.) I am preparing for crazy CCP's, haccp plans, procedures that I have no knowledge in. I believe this is a great opportunity for me, and I am confident in my learning ability, however I worry that I am going to be extremely out of my depth to start with. Can anybody advise me on where I can find information regarding cook/chill/frozen and different processes etc. so I can start learning and preparing? or any advice and tips for what to expect. Thanks in advance. This forum has helped me immensely at my current site so i'm positive i'll be on here a lot at my next position! 

[Evans X.]

Greetings,

 

I will make a differenet approach on the subject. For starters, take a deep breath !!! Yes, it's gonna be a bit hard to get accustomed to the new requirements/responsibilities but have in mind that if the company you are starting with is providing products to the mentioned "customers" then they should propably already have a robust and almost certainly certified management system, so nobody is gonna ask you to win the food safety Nobel prize on day one (to my knowledge to get contracts with public agencies it has a lot of requirements and almost always really exact and strict specifications and requirements on which you don't have much saying).

Having a BRCGS experience is good cause even if you didn't have a high risk complicated HACCP plan, at least you have a great idea of the management procedures.

In a crude round-up sense your main concern above all is maintaining the temp chain through all your processes (cooking-chill/frozen storage-chill/frozen transport). Of course there are other things too like a lot more raw materials/products to keep track with, propably other CCP like metal detector, a more complicated sampling plan and many more things.

But as I was advised when I started and found it useful, if you have the basic concepts of food safety then your first step is to read and understand their existing management system. Use it as a reference and find the keywords for your research and in time improve on it. I do not disregard finding information beforehand about what you are getting into, but the practical hands-on and walk through the processes will make it a lot easier for you to understand what you are researching for!

IMO you can begin with the cooking requirements (temp/time) to render a product safe, chill/freeze differences and how they affect the products, cooked meals specifications, requirements for the preparation processes as different raw materials induce different hazards (poultry, vegetables, pork, etc), raw material storages (ambient/chilled/frozen), good knowledge of the allergens. As it involves cooking meals be ready for a lot of raw materials and a lot of end products.

It's gonna be a great learning journey and what will spice things up in my experience is that you propably gonna have some troubleshooting when dealing with (hopefully not unknowledgable) people on the part of the customers.

 

Best of luck in your endeavor!

[pHruit]

Congratulations on the new job

I'm not sure there is much to add to Evans X's excellent post, but the chilled manufacturers with whom I've dealt in the UK often seen to make reference to the Chilled Food Association's guidelines. Their code of practice is a paid-for document and I've not seen a free version - it's on sale on their site at £50 if you're very keen! https://www.chilledf...-chilled-foods/

They have some free stuff too: https://www.chilledf...g/publications/

Also don't be afraid to ask lots of questions of your new team/boss/colleagues - they'll have lots of references and should appreciate the enthusiasm to learn

[Evans X.]

Thanks pHruit! Following up post #3 there is a free alternative in google, albeit a little old and can't confirm it's validity, but I guess the basics can't be that far off:

xxxxxxx

 

Also, there are some short guidelines from FAO (pages 15-18), see attached file!

 

 CXP_039e.pdf   63.44KB   12 downloads

Edited by Charles.C, 13 May 2021 - 09:02 AM.
link deleted

[Charles.C]

Thanks pHruit! Following up post #3 there is a free alternative in google, albeit a little old and can't confirm it's validity, but I guess the basics can't be that far off:

xxxxxxx

 

Also, there are some short guidelines from FAO (pages 15-18), see attached file!

 

CXP_039e.pdf

 

Hi Evans,

 

Regret yr linked item appears to be copyright. Most books are.

[Evans X.]

Oh, sorry!

 

Found it in the first page of google search and thought it was like an open source thing!

Will be more careful about it!

[Charles.C]

Oh, sorry!

 

Found it in the first page of google search and thought it was like an open source thing!

Will be more careful about it!

 

No problem. It's a well known and respected text.

[Charles.C]

I would add one more operational comment. No product types were mentioned in OP but It is likely that you will now experience audits which are considerably more "intrusive" for RTE high risk/care products as compared to relatively simple Low Risk scenarios. For example with respect to Validation of microbial elimination stages. I suggest you obtain the BRC publication focused on high risk/care processes if that Standard is also applicable to the intended Facility. IIRC, several of the free documents referred in Post 3 are co-"sponsored" by BRC/CFA..

[LEM]

First of all, congratulations on the new job!

Second, there is no need to panic; if you've already been offered the job, that means your employers see your potential and want to see if you can use your unique set of skills and bring fresh perspective to their business. So just relax, and treat everyday as a learning day in your new job. You'll be surprised how quickly you pick things up just in the first week alone.

 

I am moving to a business that produces several products, ready meals, cooked-chilled/frozen, for the public sector (hospitals, care homes etc.) I am preparing for crazy CCP's, haccp plans, procedures that I have no knowledge in.

Chilled/frozen foods are all about time/temperature control and ensuring you have a record of that throughout. Bottom line is: what controls do you have in place, and how can you prove your controls are effective/appropriate? Don't be afraid to say you aren't sure, or ask for help. This is a new site, new products and new process for you - make sure you take advantage, and learn as much as you can.

 

I'd suggest getting a hold of an interpretation guide to help you understand what is needed. Do you know what accreditations your site has? If so, you can request for any guides they may have so you can read up on the sections you're most unsure about.

If you're working with retailers, I'd suggest you ask for their code of practice guidelines too. BRCGS is great, but unfortunately some retailers are veeeeery nit-picky and they can trip you up. (It is my firm opinion that everyone should just follow BRC and cut off all these silly retailer COPs, but that's just my opinion :D).

 

Hopefully this helps? I'm sure you'll be fine; new jobs are fun and exciting, so think of it as a learning curve rather than a wall to climb over.