About
Maninderpal Singh
Exemplar Global Certified Food Safety Professional. I work in quality assurance in dairy manufacturing, and I build food safety documentation for small food businesses on the Gold Coast and across South East Queensland.
Where I come from
My day job is quality assurance in dairy manufacturing — pasteurisation, cold chain, environmental monitoring, and the supplier standards the major retailers enforce. High volume, real audits, documentation that has to survive being read by someone whose job is to find the gap in it.
That is a different education to reading the standard. You learn which requirements get tested hardest, which records auditors actually open, and the difference between a system that looks tidy and one that holds up. You also learn how much of compliance is just people being busy — the log that did not get filled in at the time, the supplier whose certificate expired quietly, the plan written for a business that has since changed.
I hold a Master of Biotechnology specialising in food science, and an Exemplar Global food safety credential.
Why I started this
Because small food businesses get poorly served at both ends. Some are sold an accredited food safety program they are not required to have and cannot use. Others are handed a template with their business name typed into it and told they are covered, right up until a council officer reads it.
A program should describe the business it belongs to. That takes longer than rebranding a template, and it is the only version that is worth anything when someone assesses it.
How I work
- Fixed fees, quoted before any work starts, with travel included in the number you are given
- A free scoping call first, so we both know what is actually needed
- If you do not need what you think you need, I will tell you rather than sell it
- Everything supplied in editable format — you own every document
- I do not audit programs I have written, and I will explain why that matters
The thing I will not do
I do not audit food safety programs I have worked on. The person who wrote a program is not in a position to assess it independently, and any reputable consultant will tell you the same. Where you need an audit, I will point you toward appropriate third-party auditors and explain what your council or customer requires.
I also cannot issue certification. That comes from an accredited certification body after their own audit. What I can do is get your documentation and your records ready for theirs.
Credentials and background
- Exemplar Global Certified Food Safety Professional
- Master of Biotechnology, specialising in food science
- Working quality assurance role in dairy manufacturing
- Day-to-day application of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code
- Experience with GFSI-benchmarked certification schemes and major retailer supplier standards
- HACCP plan development, validation and verification
- Environmental monitoring and pathogen control in chilled ready-to-eat production
Based in Labrador on the Gold Coast. I work across the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich, the Sunshine Coast and northern New South Wales.
Questions people ask
Are you a one-person business?
Yes. That means the person you speak to is the person who does the work, and nothing gets handed to a junior after the sales call. It also means I am honest about capacity — if I cannot do something in the timeframe you need, I will say so.
Do you work with businesses outside Queensland?
The Food Standards Code applies nationally, but licensing, accreditation and audit requirements are administered by states and territories. I work across South East Queensland and northern New South Wales. Further afield, ask and I will tell you honestly whether I am the right person.
Can you help if I already have a consultant?
A second opinion on a program before you submit it is a reasonable thing to want, and I will give you an honest one. I will also tell you if the work you already have is sound.
What happens on the scoping call?
Fifteen minutes on what your business actually does, what has been asked of you, and by whom. At the end of it you will know whether you need an accredited program, licensing support, or nothing from me at all. It costs nothing either way.