The Value of Your Food Safety HACCP Consultant

The HACCP certification process can be very daunting for any food business and even more so when there is trade at stake.  The majority of the time, it is the responsibility of one person (normally the QA representative) to write, implement and make sure certification is successful.  But those of us who have ever been expected to achieve this outcome know too well, that this is a massive job. Enter the trusted food consultant.

As an auditor, I have had many experiences with consultants – some good and some not so good.  I get very irritated when I see that someone is being paid to do a job and they really just have no idea what so ever.  So here are some tips of what to look for in a Food Safety Consultant.

Professional Credentials

The consultant should have at least some level of qualification in the food safety / food quality / food compliance arena.  A degree in Food Technology, Environmental Health or Food Microbiology is a fantastic start.

Knowledge of the Criteria

Depending on the certification that your company requires, specific knowledge regarding the audit criteria is essential.  Different certification criteria’s include Codex HACCP, BRC, SQF, WQA, McDonalds, ISO22000 etc.

Past Experience

Check out what the consultant’s background experience is.  Have they worked in your industry or actually been exposed to successfully writing, implementing and managing a certificated food safety system.  Keep in mind that the consultant should compliment your HACCP team.  It is not necessary for them to know the ins and outs of your processes as your company would have that expertise. Knowledge around the different types of hazards that would occur in your process should be expected.

Professional Development

Keeping up to date is essential in the food safety and quality arena.  Knowledge of emerging trends in food safety hazards and changes in legal requirements is a must.  As an auditor, we are required to undertake 6-monthly calibration training to ensure that we are up to date with the latest standards and their requirements.

Past References

Get in contact with previous businesses that the consultant has undertaken work for.  Ask about how they found the consultant to work, what Criteria (Customer Standard) they consulted on and how the certification process went.  It is also important to find out what the scope of the consultants work was.

The Final Word

A little bit of research into your chosen consultant (before you sign a contract) can save you a lot of money and a lot of time.  Also, you should be wary of any consultant that tells you that they can write and implement a HACCP based food safety program in 2 weeks.  It takes time to change workers habits and behaviours so this cannot happen effectively within such a short period of time.

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Stress Free Audits

Any type of audit of your work systems and practices can be a daunting process to go through. The level of anxiety experienced by auditees seems to be greater when your business is dependant upon successful certification.

After 17 years of auditing regulatory, compliance and certification standards, I have often reflected on why one company can obtain a good audit result when another company performs poorly. What I have observed is that there are common practices that have contributed to both successful audit outcomes and failures.

HACCP Flow Process Charts

The first part when developing a HACCP plan is to undertake the 5 preliminary steps. The preliminary steps are intended to help you gather and collate background information that will help with implementation of the 7 principles of HACCP. The HACCP preliminary steps form an important precursor to effectively identifying and controlling food safety hazards within your food business.

Investigating Non-Conformances

As a food auditor an important part of the job is identifying non-conformances during the audit process. Unfortunately, many food businesses struggle with what is required to rectify non-conformances. Any non-conformance identified during an external or internal audit should be seen as an opportunity to really get in and resolve an issue before it escalates to a point where significant damage can occur to the business.

Welcome to the Food Safety, Quality and Compliance Blog

I spend 50% of my working life auditing food businesses for compliance against food safety legislation and customer standards like BRC, McDonalds, SQF, WQA. Don't get me started on why there are so many different standards - I will save that for another day.

When I audit, I get asked all these weird and wonderful questions by Quality Assurance Managers and food business owners that the majority of the time I think are pretty straight forward. I think from working in food compliance auditing I automatically assume that everyone knows what I know (because I don't think it is rocket science!). After 18 years doing this gig, I have finally got it that people don't. It is not through lack of intelligence, just lack of time and priority.

I live and breathe this food safety and compliance stuff and I am very very passionate about it. I am also very passionate about trying to help small business to be aware of their business risks in regards to food safety, quality and compliance. So hence starting this blog.

I hope to bring you insight into my world and hopefully you will learn stuff along the way. So without further to do, let's get started on this journey!