This past week, we had the privilege of interviewing Clare Winkel of Integrity Compliance Solutions (ICS). Clare is the Executive Manager of Technical Solutions at ICS and has gained widespread recognition for her in-depth understanding and knowledge of food safety. For many years, Clare and her staff at ICS have offered a range of educational, technological, and consulting services to help the food sector achieve food safety excellence.
Tell us about your background in food safety and how you became involved with Integrity Compliance Solutions.
Since 1987, I've worked in the food industry, working my way up from the meat production floor to Australia's state and federal governments, as a private consultant, 3rd party certification auditor, and trainer. I have audited in 14 countries spanning Europe, North America, the South Pacific (seafood), the Caribbean, and Australia, with experience in farming, wild harvest, processing, storage/distribution, agents/brokers, and retail.
After working as a 3rd party food safety and packaging auditor from 2004 – 2015 I realised that I no longer wanted to live that life and looked for a company that appreciated my skill sets and allowed me to develop solutions for the industry, instead of just issuing non-conformances and 80-page reports.
What do you think are the biggest challenges for the food industry today when it comes to food safety and compliance?
Staffing: obtaining the right staff with the right skills and qualifications at the right time. Supply chain: accessing raw materials and packaging in a timely manner and accessing transport.
Tell us about the solutions ICS offers and how these solutions are helping the food sector.
ICS provides food safety training, consulting, and technology. We help food businesses of any size—large or small—in any location pass their audits and grow their business. ICS specialises in providing flexible and tailored training solutions and technical support for your business needs. We cover ISO-GFSI-CSR management system standards for the industry and specialise in delivering food safety excellence.
ICS is also a distributor of HorizonScan in Australia and New Zealand, a comprehensive global raw ingredient traceability platform, and provides support and sales for INTACT. INTACT is an ERP solution for audits, certifications, and standards, and can make audit and certification processes simple and efficient. HorizonScan assists businesses in meeting consumer and regulatory demands for transparency and accountability across the entire ingredient supply chain.
What can you tell us about the ICS team and their expertise?
We are experts in food safety (HACCP), operational risk, food fraud (VACCP), site security, threat management (TACCP), and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) risk assessment. Our specialists have extensive technical and regulatory experience with global experience in food safety, site security, auditing, systems and operations management.
Each of our specialists has a degree and/or postgraduate science and technical qualifications in addition to experience across a range of food sectors, including high-risk/low-risk manufacturing, horticulture, meat, eggs, poultry, seafood, and food service in remote facilities, health, and aged care. ICS has BRCGS-approved trainers for the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety, Agents & Brokers, Storage and Distribution.
Our specialists are actively involved in supply chain management, food safety training, site security training, consulting, and third-party auditing against GFSI standards including BRCGS, SQF, FSSC 22000, and retailer standards (such as Coles, Woolworths, Costco, McDonald's, Burger King, and ALDI).
Are your products and services affordable for small and medium food businesses?
Yes, our products and services are competitively priced. Many of our services can be virtually and online, which makes many of our services more accessible and more cost-effective to many businesses.
What are ICS's competitive advantages in terms of the products and services on offer?
Our team has extensive expertise and a solid track record in delivering services to the food industry, including:
What sort of support is available to ICS customers?
Our team will be with you from initial enquiry through scoping, gap analysis, planning, and documentation, to delivery and follow-up, making sure you have received the best possible service available. We are also committed to providing the most relevant and up-to-date news or trends in the food and allied industries.
If you could only give one piece of advice, what advice would you offer to someone starting a food business?
Know your market, and the regulations. It's also important to understand the science behind your product/s. The best recipe in the world may not meet the customers’ requirements or regulations. And read the allergen list before your start.
What three words best describe Integrity Compliance Solutions?
Integrity, trust, and transparency.
Where can customers find ICS and how can they get in touch with you or your team?
You can visit our website at www.integritycompliance.com.au, contact us via email at info@integritycompliance.com.au or clare.winkel@integritycompliance.com.au, and you can also get in touch with me via LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/integrity-compliance/.
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