1. What is the role of the auditing process and how it can be used to improve food safety?
auditing is a systematic, independent and documented activity in which objective evidence is collected and assessed to determine whether a food safety system is appropriate and effective.
This process plays a key role as an important component in maintaining food safety and certification standards, providing transparency and ensuring that standards are maintained. This transparency increases the collaborative capacity of stakeholders throughout the supply chain, and improves safety, efficiency and continuous improvement in individual organizations.
Food safety audits usually is centred on defined requirements set out in food safety standards, legislation and internal operating standards. It specifically focuses on the requirements, criteria, procedures, activities and data relating to the safe production and supply of food products
Process auditing is an effective management tool that is used appropriately, auditing helps in adding value to the activities of the organization and contributing to improvement.
2. Who is responsible for food safety within the factory environment?
Within the factory environment, everyone is responsible for food safety for food they produce in accordance with their respective responsibilities.
3. Have you been involved in a customer audit process? How was this experience? What did you learn?
I have been involved in the customer audit process.
This is an invaluable experience as we can work closely with customer auditors to check whether the food safety systems we implement are effective and meet customer needs.
This will add to our insight and knowledge, because we get different perfectives from the customer side, especially if there is a gap between the auditor and the auditee and if there is a discrepancy in the application of the food safety system so that corrective action can be taken immediately .