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Auditing in the food industry: From safety and quality to environmental and other audits

Edited by M Dillon, Consultant and C Griffith, University of Wales Institute, UK

This book will be helpful as a training tool.
Food Science and Technology

The food industry faces an unprecedented level of scrutiny. Consumers are not only concerned with the safety and quality of food products but also the way in which they are produced. At the same time the food industry has developed new ways of assuring appropriate standards for its products and their methods of production, developing systems such as TQM and HACCP to identify and manage key steps in production. These new methods require new skills in auditing. Auditing in the food industry provides an authoritative guide to the range of standards and the auditing skills they demand.

Part 1 sets the scene with an introductory chapter reviewing developments in standards affecting the food industry. There then follows chapters on how retailers audit their suppliers and how governments have moved from a traditional inspection role to one of 'regulatory verification' with its emphasis on auditing the robustness of a business's own systems for managing safety and quality.

Part 2 examines the key aspects of safety and quality. A first chapter reviews the ways retailers assess supplier HACCP systems. There is then a chapter reviewing TQM systems that provides a context for a discussion of auditing techniques for HACCP-based quality systems. A final chapter looks at standards governing the analytical methods used in safety and quality control.

Part 3 considers newer standards that are becoming increasingly important in the food industry. There are chapters on benchmarking an organisation against others as a way of improving performance, auditing the impact of food processing operations on the environment and auditing organic food processing.

Auditing in the food industry is a valuable guide to the range of standards facing the food industry and the ways it can audit, and thus improve the quality of its performance.

ISBN 1 85573 450 8
ISBN-13: 978 1 85573 450 0
July 2001
232 pages  234 x 156mm  hardback  
£135.00 / US$255.00 / €170.00


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About the editors

Mike Dillon is an internationally recognised authority on food quality and safety systems. A qualified auditor, he has developed training programmes on auditing and advised many leading companies. He has also written well-known guides to HACCP systems and auditing skills.

Dr Chris Griffith is Head of the Food Safety Research Group at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, and a well-known authority on food safety management.

Contents

PART 1 THE AUDITING PROCESS
PART 2 SAFETY AND QUALITY
PART 3 OTHER TYPES OF AUDIT

PART 1 THE AUDITING PROCESS

Introduction
M Dillon, Mike Dillon Associates Limited, Grimsby, UK

Food standards and auditing
M Dillon, Mike Dillon Associates Limited, Grimsby, UK
 - Introduction: why have standards become so important?
 - What are standards?
 - Standards and specifications
 - Increasing importance of HACCP-based Codex standards (GATT)
 - European Union standards
 - UK Food Safety Act
 - The need for audit
 - List of useful websites
 - References
 - Appendix: Example taken from GMP Manual

What auditors look for: a retailer's perspective
S Dix, Tesco Stores plc, Welwyn Garden City, UK
 - Introduction
 - Routine auditing: new suppliers
 - Routine auditing: existing suppliers
 - Non-routine auditing
 - Summary

Regulatory verification of safety and quality control systems in the food industry
V McEachern, A Bungay, S Bray Ippolito and S Lee-Spiegelberg, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Nepean, Canada
 - Introduction: the role of safety and quality control systems in the food industry
 - The principles of an effective food safety and quality control system
 - The role of government and industry in achieving food safety and quality
 - Regulatory verification versus audit
 - Regulatory verification of industry food safety and quality control systems
 - The Canadian approach

PART 2 SAFETY AND QUALITY

Assessing supplier HACCP systems: a retailer's perspective
M Kane, Food Control Limited, Cambridge, UK (formerly Head of Product Safety, Sainsbury's Supermarkets Limited)
 - Introduction
 - Retailers and the development of supplier HACCP systems
 - Assessing the effectiveness of supplier HACCP systems: routine audits
 - Non-routine audits: the use of customer complaint data analysis
 - Common weaknesses in HACCP systems
 - The future development of HACCP
 - Conclusions

TQM systems
D J Rose, Campden and Chorleywood Food Research Association, Chipping Campden, UK
 - Introduction
 - The scope of a quality system
 - Developing a quality system
 - Implementation
 - Performance measuring and auditing
 - Benefits
 - Future trends
 - References

Auditing HACCP-based quality systems
N Khandke, Unilever Research, Sharnbrook, UK
 - Introduction
 - HACCP and quality systems
 - Establishing benchmarks for auditing
 - What the auditor should look for
 - Future trends
 - References

Laboratories and analytical methods: quality control
R Wood, Food Standards Agency, London, UK
 - Introduction
 - Legislative requirements
 - FSA surveillance requirements
 - Laboratory accreditation and quality control
 - Proficiency testing
 - Analytical methods
 - Standardised methods of analysis for contaminants
 - Conclusion and future trends
 - References
 - Appendix: Information for potential contractors on the analytical quality assurance requirements for food chemical surveillance exercises

PART 3 OTHER TYPES OF AUDIT

Benchmarking
D Adebanjo, Leatherhead Food Research Association, UK
 - Introduction
 - Basic principles of benchmarking
 - Understanding your organisation and its processes
 - Identifying potential benchmarking partners
 - Preparing for a benchmarking visit
 - Analysis and improvement
 - Review
 - Managing the benchmarking process
 - Sources of further information and advice
 - Further reading

Environmental audits and life cycle assessment
B Mattsson and P Olsson, The Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology, Gothenburg, Sweden
 - Introduction
 - Environmental legislation
 - Environmental management systems (EMS)
 - Auditing on EMS
 - Other environmental assessment methods
 - Introduction to LCA
 - The food life cycle
 - Case studies
 - The benefits of LCA
 - Future trends in LCA
 - References

Auditing organic food processors
J R Parslow and J Troth, Soil Association Certification Limited, Bristol, UK
 - Introduction
 - Defining organic food processing
 - Certification and the auditing process
 - What auditors look for (on site at an inspection)
 - Summary and future trends
 - References