How Ready Are You for Certification?

Have you determined the external and internal issues relevant to your purpose that affect your ability to achieve the intended results of your food safety management system (FSMS)?

Have you determined the interested parties relevant to your FSMS and their requirements — including applicable statutory, regulatory and mutually agreed customer food safety requirements?

Have you determined the scope of your FSMS — specifying the products/services, processes and production site(s) included, and any activities that can influence the food safety of your end products?

Have you established, implemented, maintained, updated and continually improved a FSMS, including the processes needed and their interactions?

Does top management take accountability for the FSMS — ensuring the food safety policy/objectives are compatible with strategic direction and that the resources needed for the FSMS are available?

Is there a food safety policy committing to satisfy statutory/regulatory and customer food safety requirements, addressing internal/external communication, competencies, and continual improvement?

Are roles, responsibilities and authorities assigned and communicated — including who appoints the food safety team and food safety team leader, and who can initiate and document corrective actions?

Is the food safety team leader responsible for ensuring the FSMS is established/maintained/updated, organizing the team's work, and reporting to top management on the FSMS's effectiveness and suitability?

Have you determined the risks and opportunities that need to be addressed to give assurance the FSMS can achieve its intended results, with actions proportionate to their impact on food safety requirements?

Have you established FSMS objectives at relevant functions/levels that are consistent with the food safety policy, measurable (if practicable), monitored and verified, and that take into account statutory/regulatory/customer requirements?

When planning changes to the FSMS (including personnel changes), do you consider the purpose and consequences, the continued integrity of the system, resource availability, and reallocation of responsibilities?

Have you determined and provided the resources needed for the FSMS — including people, infrastructure, and a work environment suitable for food safety?

Does your food safety team have a combination of multi-disciplinary knowledge and experience covering your products, processes, equipment and food safety hazards — with competence evidence retained?

Are people doing work under your control aware of the food safety policy, the FSMS objectives relevant to their tasks, and the implications of not conforming to FSMS requirements?

Have you established effective internal and external communication — including with customers/consumers on product food safety information, and with suppliers, regulators and other organizations in the food chain?

Is documented information appropriately identified, reviewed and approved, and controlled — including protection from unintended alterations and loss of confidentiality, improper use, or loss of integrity?

Have you established prerequisite programmes (PRPs) appropriate to your context — covering premises layout, supplier approval, pest control, cleaning/disinfecting, personal hygiene, and cross-contamination prevention — approved by the food safety team?

Does your traceability system uniquely identify incoming materials and the first stage of end-product distribution, and have you verified and tested its effectiveness?

Have top management ensured procedures are in place to respond to potential emergency situations or incidents affecting food safety, and are these procedures periodically tested and updated?

Has your food safety team conducted a hazard analysis — based on preliminary information (raw materials, end-product characteristics, intended use, flow diagrams) — to identify and assess significant food safety hazards and their acceptable levels?

For each significant hazard, have you selected and categorized control measures as OPRPs or CCPs using a systematic approach, and validated that they are capable of achieving the intended control before implementation?

Does your hazard control plan (HACCP/OPRP plan) specify, for each CCP/OPRP, the hazard controlled, critical limits/action criteria, monitoring procedures, corrections if limits are not met, and responsibilities?

Is monitoring and measuring equipment calibrated or verified at specified intervals, and do you assess the validity of prior results when equipment is found nonconforming?

Do you conduct verification activities to confirm PRPs and the hazard control plan are effective, handle potentially unsafe products appropriately, and have a documented withdrawal/recall procedure with competent authorized personnel?

Have you determined what needs to be monitored and measured, the methods and timing used, and do you evaluate the FSMS's overall performance and effectiveness?

Do you conduct internal audits at planned intervals, with defined criteria/scope, competent auditors, results reported to the food safety team and relevant management, and timely corrective action?

Does top management review the FSMS at planned intervals — considering verification/audit results, any emergency situations/incidents/withdrawals, performance of external providers, and the extent objectives have been met?

When a nonconformity occurs, do you react and correct it, evaluate the need to eliminate its root cause(s), implement any action needed, and review the effectiveness of corrective action taken?

Do you have an ongoing approach to continually improve the suitability, adequacy and effectiveness of your FSMS through communication, management review, audits and corrective actions?

Does your food safety team periodically evaluate the FSMS and consider whether the hazard analysis, hazard control plan and PRPs need to be reviewed, based on communication input, verification results and management review output?