Sector
Food safety for manufacturers and processors
Manufacturing is where the validation questions get asked hardest. Not whether you followed the process — whether the process works at all.
What applies to you
Manufacturers licensed under Safe Food Production Queensland — dairy, meat, seafood and eggs — hold an accredited food safety program as a condition of licence. Other manufacturers may need a council licence, and in practice most are also being asked for documentation by their customers.
That second pressure is the one that catches people out. A business can be entirely compliant with the Code and still fail a retailer audit, because a retailer specification sits on top of the Code and is usually stricter.
Monitoring, verification, validation
Monitoring is what you do at the time. Verification confirms you did it. Validation proves the control works at all. Most systems have the first, some have the second, and the absence of the third is the finding that appears in audit after audit.
What I do for food manufacturers and processors
- HACCP plans with hazard analysis, CCPs and limits set from validation evidence
- Validation and verification registers — the evidence behind each control
- Traceability and mass balance, built for how your product is actually batched
- Allergen matrix and changeover controls
- Supplier approval, specifications and incoming verification
- Environmental monitoring programmes and trending for chilled ready-to-eat product
- Shelf life study design, and interpretation of results
- Preparation for retailer and certification audits, and corrective action responses
What it costs
A fixed fee, quoted before any work starts, with travel included in the number you are given. Never an hourly rate that grows.
The scoping call is free and takes fifteen minutes. If it turns out you need something smaller than you thought, I'll tell you.
What I see go wrong
The findings that come up most often in this sector.
Limits with no evidence behind them
A critical limit copied from another business is a number, not a control. If you cannot show where it came from, the whole plan rests on an assumption.
Verification signed by the person who did the work
Someone checking their own monitoring is not verification. It needs a second person, and that separation needs to be visible in the records.
Traceability that fails mass balance
Listing batches is not traceability. If input does not reconcile with output plus waste plus rework, something is untraceable — and a mock recall is the only way to find out before a real one.
Working to the Code when the customer wants more
Retailer specifications change without much notice and are often stricter. A supplier working from last year is the one that fails the audit.
Questions
Do you work with very small manufacturers?
Yes. A single-vat cheesemaker has the same validation questions as a large plant, just fewer of them. Documentation should be proportionate to the operation, and part of my job is telling you when something would be overkill.
Can you get us GFSI certified?
Certification comes from an accredited certification body after their audit, not from a consultant. What I do is prepare the documentation and records, run gap assessments, and get you ready for theirs.
What about dairy specifically?
That is my background. Pasteurisation verification, CIP validation, cold chain, Listeria environmental monitoring and shelf life — see the dairy and chilled page.
We have been asked for a supplier questionnaire. Can you help?
Yes, and that is often a smaller job than people expect. See customer and retailer requirements.
Check it against your own situation
This page describes requirements in general terms for food manufacturers and processors in Queensland. Requirements vary by council, by what you actually do, and they change. Check anything that matters against the current Food Standards Code, your licence conditions and your local council — or ask me, which is free.