7 Key Careers in Food Safety

Hey food grads what's going on? In this video we are going over seven careers in food safety. These are all careers that are so important to keeping the food system safe and protecting foodies like you. So let's get this video started off by talking about third-party food safety auditors. A third-party food safety auditor is a professional that conducts food safety audits for food safety certification bodies like SQF, BRCGS, NSF or even the government like the CFIA or FDA. Food audits are systematic, independent and documented activities which look to assess if a food safety system is appropriate and effective. For a facility to be certified by an external audit body they need to have an auditor come in and audit their facility from top to bottom. This includes inspecting facilities, reviewing paperwork and even interviewing employees to make sure that these systems and processes match those that are outlined on paper. If an external auditor finds any non-conformances they will work with the facility to resolve them by providing suggestions and guidance. To stay certified organizations must have an external audit every few years. Alternatively one can work as an internal auditor who is directly employed by the food production facility that they are working for. Typically these roles are for companies that have multiple facilities and want to ensure that quality standards are being maintained across the company. Food safety auditors are like the food inspectors you know the ones that inspect restaurants in a city or town. If an auditor finds a facility to be producing food in an unsafe manner they can even shut the place. Auditors are essential because they act as non-biased examiners who have the consumer's best interest in mind. Okay for number two we have food safety consultants. For many small and medium-sized food companies the food safety quality departments are quite small. This is why in small companies the quality assurance technician may take on both quality control and quality assurance activities. Sometimes companies need extra help when they have a large short-term project that they need to have completed and they just don't have the manpower to do so. In that case they might reach out to a consultant firm. A food safety consultant is a professional or firm that helps to develop and update food safety plans and systems for companies. They help to bring technical expertise and knowledge that companies might be lacking. Things that a consultant might be tasked to do in order to help these companies include improving overall food safety systems, preparing for audits, identifying potential food safety risks, helping to manage the safety of their supply chain. Overall these professionals typically start in the field working at a food manufacturing facility as a QA or a QC but once they have extensive work experience they can break out and do consulting. Consulting can be very useful for smaller companies who just don't have the resources to hire individuals for long periods of time. Their multiple years of expertise are also assets for those who might not even know that something is a problem. Moving on to number three is SQF coordinators. Safe Quality Food Standard is a food safety certification program that manufacturing plants use to verify their food safety programs. At many food production facilities they will have a designated SQF professional who ensures that their facilities follow the requirements as set out by the SQF code. SQF makes sure that manufacturing facilities have systems and plans in place that for example cover internal auditing plans, allergen management, document control and records, employee training, and HACCP plans. Not only do they have to know about SQF they also have to have a working knowledge of HACCP methodologies, microbiological, physical, and chemical hazards, risk assessment, and control plan requirements. Using this combined knowledge SQF coordinators are really helpful for a company's document system. They will teach and coach team members to appreciate and adhere to document control processes or at least try and having this role in a company is a useful asset for improving their adherence to SQF certifications. But also because SQF is an extensive food safety certification body by following these codes this will ultimately lead to safer food production facilities and safer food for consumers. We couldn't go through this list without talking about an upper level management position. In this case we're talking about program quality managers. Things can get really complicated when companies have more than one location. They need to coordinate their efforts and make sure that everyone is on the same page and on track. It isn't enough to have food safety managers that manage each individual facility. They need to have someone that can overall get everyone on the same page. So instead they bring together these people through program quality managers. It is their role to understand all quality and food safety management systems and controls to help develop a roadmap for facilities to all come together and work. Implementing food safety programs costs money and these professionals are the ones that stress it's important to other co-workers and other upper management positions who might just not understand that. For number five we have HACCP coordinators. Hazard analysis critical control points or HACCP is a systematic preventative approach to food safety from biological chemical and physical hazards in production process that can cause the finished product to be unsafe. The program is designed to measure and reduce these risks to a safe level. For every food production facility operating in Canada it is required to have a HACCP plan that addresses food safety risks. HACCP coordinators are the individuals who lead an organization's efforts to develop its HACCP plan and to develop and implement and maintain these HACCP systems so that's a lot going on. They maintain and monitor these food safety systems to drive continuous improvement in the product food safety and quality. These professionals ensure that documentation is maintained and updated on new and improved processes. This position could potentially act as an entry-level position for those that are looking to get their foot in the door of food safety. Any food safety education from a college or university should have a course on this topic. However to be a coordinator one is required to have a certification which can be obtained through a service like Food Processing Skills Canada or an alternative. Number six is quality assurance technicians. Depending on the size of the company the role of a quality assurance technician or QA may also be referred to as a quality control technician QC or food safety specialist. For the purpose of this discussion let's assume a larger company because it's easier to know what we are talking about. Quality assurance technicians are responsible for upholding quality and food safety programs. Some of these duties that they complete in the role include conducting audits, having a key role in verifying proper food safety practices and processing facilities, providing advice to regulatory compliance and quality management systems. They also help with corporate risk management frameworks, writing, revising, updating and maintaining quality systems and food documentation, contributing to monitoring corrective actions and preventative action. Overall you can tell QA has a lot of different things that they're involved in and they are a really integral part of any food safety system. Overall quality assurance technicians can be thought of as the food professionals who help to prevent food safety issues by managing risk by creating systems and helping to maintain them. Okay let's round out this list with regulatory affairs specialists. Although not directly a food safety job this career is closely related to food safety professionals. Regulatory affairs specialists ensure that company's food products meet all applicable regulations such as those established by the Canadian Food and Drug Act and regulations. They stay on top of new applicable laws, provide updates to other teams such as the QA department, marketing teams, R&D and how they affect new and existing products. Regulatory affairs specialists provide labeling and packaging artwork reviews for a variety of different food products that are entering into the food market. It is their job to guarantee that nutritional labels on packaging are current and adhere to regulations. This involves going through ingredients and verifying that they are listed correctly on a label. Additionally they are responsible for providing excellent customer service and maintaining positive business relationships with both internal and external customers and vendors. Overall regulatory affairs specialists are responsible for ensuring that food adheres to regulatory standards. So what did you think of this video? How many careers did you know prior and how they keep you safe? Hopefully you found this video helpful and if you did like and comment because that definitely helps the algorithm get these videos out there. As always thank you everyone so much for watching and I will see you next time!