Print Posted 17/11/2021

Food Safety Management

Providing trust in the safety of your supply chain.

Food Safety Certification

Food is a fundamental requirement in daily life. Consumers expect that the food they are consuming is safe and free from contamination. Significant implications on human health, consumer confidence, reputation, and the bottom line of organisations mean food safety assurance must be at the top of the list for risk management and strategic operations for any business in the food supply chain industry. PwC’s Certification and Compliance have a globally-proven framework and methodology to help your business maintain food trust in the market.

Responding to Food Safety challenges

The food industry has never faced more challenges. Enhancing trust in food is a growing concern in a climate where public confidence in producers, processes, and sellers – even government regulators – has been rocked by many high-profile scandals.

The diverse nature of food production means there is no one way to safeguard your supply chain. Depending on their production, position within the food supply chain, or distribution and retail pathway, we can assist organisations in providing assurance over their operations - helping demonstrate their commitment to food safety and providing confidence to consumers.

Helping business gain certification and compliance in:

Safe Quality Food (SQF)

The Safe Quality Food Standard (SQF) is a Food Safety framework recognised by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). There are multiple industry-specific standards within the suite of SQF Food Safety and Quality standards which are designed to meet industry, customer, and regulatory requirements for all sectors of the food supply chain – from the farm all the way to the retail stores.

HACCP

HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) is a science and preventative risk-based approach for identifying, analysing and controlling food safety hazards to protect the health of consumers. Detailed risk assessments, identify any potential microbiological, chemical, allergen and foreign object risk, and subsequent controls to eliminate or reduce the food safety risk to an acceptable level.

ISO 22000

ISO 22000 was developed by the International organisation for standardisation (ISO) for the management of food safety systems. Version 2018 of the standard sets out the requirements for a Food Safety Management System at 2 levels - Organisational Planning and Operational Planning. It is HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) based and can be applied to all organisations within the food supply chain regardless of its complexity.

Safe Food Queensland (SFQ)

Safe Food Queensland regulates the primary production and processing of meat, eggs, dairy, seafood, and horticulture in Queensland, Australia.

The role of Safe Food QLD is to ensure Queensland's primary production meets national standards, to identify and deal with threats to the food supply system, and to continue consumer trust and confidence in the QLD primary production industry.

It also sets out the responsibilities of businesses within the food supply, ensuring they know and understand their requirements as a producer.

Second Party Food Audits

A second-party audit is when a supplier is subject to an external review by their customer. The review is customised to the needs and requirements of the customer organisation and often encompasses the demands of the market.

Second-party audits provide increased impartiality over internal audits and greater customisation.

This type of audit is effective for building trust within the supply chain as part of an approved supplier program and for organisations operating under a franchise model and multi-site organisations.

Retail Food Audits

Major food retailers, from supermarkets to franchise groups require suppliers within their food chain to be independently assessed by a certification body to determine compliance against their own brand requirements for food safety and quality management.

The assessment can encompass global food safety benchmarked standards as well specific retailer requirements and is part of the retailer's due diligence process for brand and consumer protection.

A retail audit is required when products are supplied under the retailer’s own brand. Retail audits for the supply of independent branded products are at the discretion of the retailer's supply chain audit program.

Benefits of Food Safety compliance and certification schemes

Greater trust in food
Reduced financial and reputational losses as a result of food safety breaches
Improved food safety operations and processes
Increased skills and expertise in food safety, hazard analysis and risk assessment
Access to markets and partners that demand food safety certification.

A better way to certification

We offer a new approach to Food Safety audits and certification. We have combined a purpose-built technology platform with a client-centric service model to make the process more streamlined, more consistent, and more valuable than ever before.

Why PwC?

National reach, local engagement

A local client relationship manager and our Australia-wide network of Food Safety system auditors mean that no matter where your business is, we will be able to support you.

Skilled and experienced auditors

The auditor assigned to your business will not only be highly qualified but will also have specialist experience in your industry.

Food Safety Culture Assessments

Food Safety Culture is the shared values, beliefs and norms that affect mindset and behaviour towards food safety throughout an organisation.

Our Food Safety Culture Assessment provides clear insight on the maturity level of an organisation's food safety culture taking into consideration multiple dimensions about how people feel, think, and act towards food safety and the impact it can have on the production of safe food. Our Food Safety Culture Assessment validates and provides a benchmark for an organisation's food safety culture and how they can review and improve upon their food safety management systems.

Make the switch. It's easy.

No matter where you are in the Food Safety process, switching to PwC is free, secure, and straightforward. If you’d like to find out more about how PwC can help your business in this area, or get an obligation-free quote for our certification services, please get in touch.