Hey folks!
Ive been a Food Safety Coordinator for about 10 years now, working in fresh produce (fresh mushrooms), a chocolate manufacturer (I gained so much weight), and a probiotic manufacturer (Lost the weight). I have forgotten my IFSQN login details a couple of times, and I swear THIS time, I won't.
I have most of my experience running an SQF program, with a touch of experience in BRC, but not a whole lot.
I've recently returned to my old stomping grounds at a mushroom producer, and I've found the food safety culture has gotten extremely weak. I've got a few inklings as to the root cause for this, one of the inklings being commitment from middle management is an issue. The office staff seems to feel they are exempt from our GMPs, because they spend 95% of their time upstairs, away from the production area...
But there is that 5% of time, when they are walking to or from the punch clock (which is inconveniently located in the production area) or when they are "just popping down for a second to talk to someone". They of course feel that it is perfectly fine for them to wear their skirts and heels, and zero hairnet to just go punch in and out. Note that this is an area where there is exposed product.
Now that I'm back at this facility for good, I want to make it clear that building the food safety culture back up is my prime directive, and I cannot do that without commitment from management. Sr Mgmt is generally on board with food safety actions, so I am hoping they will back me up when I explain that the rules are for everyone.
ANYWAY. This was just supposed to be a hello! I hope everyone is having a great week, and I look forward to spamming the forum with my questions (Kidding, sort of), while hopefully offering some meaningful input from time to time.
Cheers!