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Food Safety & Quality Management System Insights

Backflow preventer in a food manufacturing facility.

Backflow Preventers in Food Industry Facilities

What is a Backflow Preventer and Where are They Needed? Backflow preventers…

someone washing their hands at a sink with very soapy hands.

Food Facility Handwashing Requirements

What is required by the FDA? The Food and Drug Administration’s 21…

Food Industry Restroom Requirements. Bathroom

Food Facility Restrooms: Requirements and Best Practices

What are the Restroom Requirements for GFSI Facilities? Several GFSI schemes (i.e….

Grocery store suppliers on supermarket shelves.

Top 12 Grocery Stores & Retailers Requiring Food Safety Audits for Suppliers

Albertsons Food Safety Audit Expectations According to Albertsons, all food and food-contact…

Whole Foods Market (WFM) suppliers must have a third-party food safety certificate. Showing a scanner as part of a traceability system.

Whole Foods Market Suppliers Need Food Safety Certification

Six Steps to Prepare for Your Whole Foods Market Food Safety Certification…

plastic containers of produce and meat. FDA and USDA are responsible for overseeing these foods.

What is HACCP Compliance vs. a HACCP Certificate vs. HACCP Certification?

HACCP Compliance HACCP Compliance is a requirement for facilities that are inspected…

Dietary supplement capsule with liquid inside.

Episode 6: Dietary Supplement Certification

Dietary Supplements Differ from Food As we have reviewed throughout this series,…

Testing in a laboratory for dietary supplements

Episode 5: GMPs in a Dietary Supplement Program

Hygiene Programs While your facility may have one set of processes to…

Dietary supplements in bowls

Episode 4: Testing in Dietary Supplement Operations

What we are Testing for Because 21 CFR 111 does not require…

Dietary supplement manufacturing and dietary supplement wall in a pharmacy

Episode 3: Best Practices for Dietary Supplement Operations

The Master Manufacturing Record The Master Manufacturing Record, or MMR is the…

Dietary supplement capsules

Episode 2: Regulatory Framework of Dietary Supplements

21 CFR 111 Looking at 21 CFR part 111, there are 16…

Demonstrating validation and verification in a smoked sausage meat plant.

Ep 8: Validation & Verification in Quality & Safety Certification Programs

ISO 9001 quality management requirements and GFSI programs operate on many similar…

Changes to Costco Food Safety Audit Expectations

All Costco Food Safety Audits are moving to unannounced except:  Small supplier…

Mastering CAPA for QA Managers Webinar

It’s important that you are able to identify control and it is…

Episode 6: Preventive Maintenance and Repair in Quality and Safety Certification Programs

ISO 9001 quality management requirements and GFSI programs operate on many similar…

Episode 5: Worker Safety and Chemical Control

When determining if maintenance and repair activities meet regulatory standards in a…

Tanks, pipes, mixers and other food production equipment in a GFSI certified food industry factory.

How to Choose the Right GFSI Certification Scheme for Your Business

What is the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI)? The Global Food Safety…

Do you Need a Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) Benchmarked Certification to Sell Your Product?

If you are a food manufacturer, food storage and distribution company, food…

Episode 4: Ongoing Repair

The first type of repairs, those stemming from normal wear of the…

Episode 3: Ongoing Preventive Maintenance

The challenges with preventive maintenance mainly have to do with when those…

Man scratching his face and he appears to be thinking about preventive maintenance or repairs in a factory setting. He is looking a clip board and wearing a safety vest with a hard hat.

Episode 2: Maintenance and Repair for New Equipment

Integrating new equipment into a quality and safety management system involves several…

Episode 1: Introduction to Preventive Maintenance

Throughout these episodes, we emphasize where maintenance can be part of continuous…

Episode 5: Allergen Programs in GFSI

Allergen controls are mandatory or fundamental requirements for each of the GFSI…

Episode 4: Allergens in HACCP Plans and Preventive Controls Food Safety Plans

As we look at programs requiring Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points…

Episode 3: Monitoring Allergens in Operation

In our last episode we discussed locating and labeling allergens in the…

New Update for BRCGS Issue 9 red banner with white letters.

3 Key Updates for BRCGS Issue 9

Behaviors in Quality Culture BRCGS has placed an emphasis on measuring behaviors…

Episode 2: How Allergens Are Controlled in Food Facilities

When a facility is performing these tasks consistently and effectively, allergen management…

Graphs in blue and white depicting charts that you would show during an internal audit.

Episode 6: Internal Auditing in Quality and Safety Certification Programs

Internal auditing is a mandatory or fundamental requirement for each of the…

Drawing of internal audit components, including arrows pointing to the words: Communication, Testing, Risk, Procedure, System, and Scope.

Episode #5: Software Solutions for Internal Audits

That means for organizations conducting ISO audit against 9001 or other ISO…

Episode 1: Allergen Risk in Food Facilities

Once we look at the varying risks allergens pose, we will explore…

Checklist being checked off with a pen during an internal audit.

Episode 4: Corrective Action and Preventive Actions for Audits

In this episode we are going to look at how to properly…

A woman walking around a manufacturing facility performing an internal audit pointing to storage shelves.

Episode 3: Performing the Audit

Get those flashlights and notepads ready! In order to understand how to…

Man wearing a suit jacket and a hard hat holding a clipboard in a storage warehouse. He appears to be performing an audit.

​​Episode 2: Setting Up an Internal Audit

Planning and preparation must occur prior to any internal audit in order…

Yellow petri dish on a laboratory table.

Episode 9: Environmental Monitoring in GFSI Programs

Each of the major GFSI programs, SQF, BRC, FSSC 22000 and PrimusGFS…

metal gears turning with the words, "audit, analysis, asset, review"

Episode 1: What an Internal Audit Is and Why You Should Perform Them

As part of this series we are going to examine what an…

A person in a laboratory examining a petri dish for pathogens. Looking for food safety issues.

Episode 8: Quality Issues In EMP programs

Since indicator organisms such as Aerobic bacteria and coliforms are allowable in…

A person wearing protective equipment and checking a tank in a food factory.

Episode 7: How to Handle the Discovery of Pathogens in the Facility

Included in our discussion of a response to these positive results are…

Episode 6: Environmental Swabbing in Meat and Poultry Facilities (FSIS)

In an FSIS regulated facility, and specifically those that process ready-to-eat products…

Episode 5: Complex Swabbing Patterns

An effective environmental monitoring program should have a strategic and at least…

Episode 4: Swabbing Drains in Environmental Monitoring

For operations with drains, and that should be most food and food…

Food borne illness pathogens under a microscope in blue.

Episode 3: Conducting Environmental Monitoring

Environmental monitoring is intended to mainly monitor non-food contact surfaces near food…

red food borne illness pathogens under a microscope.

Episode 2: Deciding How often to Perform Environmental Monitoring

The most important issue in determining the frequency of swabbing in a…

Episode 1: An Introduction to Environmental Monitoring Programs

Let’s begin with the basics of implementing and operating an environmental monitoring…

A matrix indicating a risk assessment being performed, with Critical areas in red, high areas in orange, medium areas in yellow, and low areas in green.

Episode 5: Risk Assessments in GFSI Programs

Facilities preparing for a certification or recertification audit, review of existing risk…

Risk Assessment barometer indicating low, medium, and high risk with the colors red, orange, and green. Large letters spelling out RISK.

Episode 4: Risk Assessments as part of the food safety program

As a part of this review, we will be looking at how…

Sweeping up spilled ingredients at a food facility.

Episode 3: Leadership in Risk Assessment

We will be building on the concepts of how to write a…

Episode 2: Risk Assessments in the Food Facility

First let’s take a look at the parts of operations we want…

Risk assessment to prevent trips and falls in food facilities. Person's foot is tripping over mat.

Episode 1: Foundations of Risk

We will also address where risk assessments may be useful for business…

person checking off a checklist in a kitchen with produce on the table.

Episode #7: Supplier Approval in GFSI

There are many software solutions that make organization much simpler and aid…

Episode #6: Software Solutions in Supplier Assessment Programs

There are many software solutions that make organization much simpler and aid…

Episode #5: Documentation Assessments and Supplier Reassessments

The type of finished product produced at your facility, as well as…

Episode #4: Foreign Supplier Verification Programs for Importers

FSVP is fairly straightforward, but the difficulty with it often stems from…

Episode #3: Regulatory Requirements for Supplier Approval Programs

Regardless of what type of facility we are discussing, the supplier assessments…

holding a traceability scanning device and aiming it at a barcode in a cold storage facility.

Episode #2: Understanding the Types of Suppliers

Each step in the supply chain presents a chance to create a…

Episode 1: Foundations of Supplier Approval

We address who should be leading assessment and approval activities, and how…

Episode 6: Traceability in GFSI

In facilities operating under an SQF program, traceability exercises are required to…

Red apple with a bar code sticker showing traceability.

Episode 5: Tests of the Traceability System and Recall Program

A traceability exercise is a test of a site’s entire traceability system…

Traceability scanner being used in a greenhouse on produce.

Episode 4: Traceability During Work-in-Process and Rework

Documenting the use of materials in production can be accomplished by using…

Traceability barcode scanning at a grocery store with a scanner.

Episode 3: Traceability During Receiving and Stock Rotation Practices

To ensure traceability of materials throughout an operation, a company must document…

Episode 2: Traceability During the Supplier Approval Process

Food businesses should be prepared to collect important food safety and quality…

Someone using a phone to scan a produce barcode to demonstrate traceability.

Episode 1: The Importance of a Traceability Program

Traceability is the ability to follow, or trace, a finished product or…

Episode 7: CAPA Programs in GFSI

In facilities operating under an SQF program, the SQF Practitioner (or substitute…

Episode 6: Management and Auditing of the CAPA Program

An internal audit of a program focuses on the review of documentation…

Episode 5: Impunity and Disciplinary Actions in CAPA Programs

Nonconformances caused by employee errors are to be expected in a food…

Episode 4: Deviations Involving Key Metrics

When a deviation or nonconformance event involving a key metric occurs, all…

Episode 3: Documenting Non-Conformances, Root Cause Analyses, Corrections, Corrective Actions, and Preventive Actions

When documenting the details of a deviation or nonconformance, begin by capturing…

Episode 2: Root Cause Analysis, Corrective Actions and Preventive Actions

Corrections in a food facility can be described as immediate responses to…

Episode 1: Problematic Events in the Facility

Problematic events in a food facility can be categorized by process deviations…

A woman wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and smiling in a food safety testing lab.

Episode 6: Culture of Food Safety in GFSI

SQF is the newest GFSI program to adopt the Culture of Food…

Leadership walking through a hydroponic lettuce growing operation and inspecting produce.

Episode 5: The Walk-Through

What you will get out of this video is a how-to for…

A man and a woman standing together and inspecting equipment in a food factory to demonstrate food safety culture.

Episode 4: Transforming Your Meetings

Site leadership should be involved in all Culture of Food Safety meetings….

A group of chefs in a kitchen high-fiving to celebrate food safety culture.

Episode 3: Key Metrics

A key metric or performance indicator is something we measure within operations…

Man in a food factory PPE inspecting produce on a conveyor.

Episode 2: Structure and Delegation

This video describes how to properly set up organizational structure, and emphasizes…

Episode 1: Accountability & Core Values

We will discuss how it’s important to watch out for a sense…

Why Good Isn’t Good Enough

Many Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 grocery stores, distributors and quick service…

14 Questions To Ask When Hiring A Food Safety Consultant

Hiring a consultant that can deliver is critical. Over the years we’ve…

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