Food Safety Risk Governance

Advisors use their proprietary Food Safety Risk Governance standard as the benchmark for all advisory services.  The Food Safety Risk Governance standard is based on the elements of the FDA Food Code for restaurant food safety, the FDA Preventative Controls for Human Food Manufacturing for supply chain food safety, and the foodservice industry’s best practices to achieve enterprise (corporate) level managerial control of food safety risk (developed in and for the foodservice industry).

The primary program elements of the Food Safety Risk Governance of food safety risk in an enterprise foodservice business (e.g., a restaurant chain) are based on the Risk Vetting of the menu to identify all of the hazards associated with the processes of food production at the supplier, distributor, and foodservice operations.  This includes:

• Foodservice operational associated hazards during the receiving, storing, preparing, and serving of the menu items in the restaurant facility

• Supplier operational associated hazards during the processing of the source of approved ingredients and products (including packaging) used in the restaurant facilities

• Distribution and logistics operational hazards in the transportation and warehousing of ingredients and products to be delivered to the restaurant facilities, including storage and delivery of products for off-premise sales from restaurants

The critical component of the Food Safety Risk Governance of food safety risk is in the execution of the controls for each probable hazard either by the supplier or during restaurant operations; with the confidence that each supplier and restaurant (at each facility) can demonstrate compliance to the execution of the controls.  Finally, a corporate food safety management program that obtains Food Safety Risk Governance defines the food safety specifications for each ingredient and product produced by suppliers and warehoused/transported by logistics, defines the food safety management systems to be used in restaurant operations, and assures compliance across the enterprise; using gap assessments to identify gaps for continuous improvement.

The Food Safety Risk Governance standard (see below) has been developed with this point of view and with significant industry-leading thought leadership experience and inputs, including;

• 60+ years of corporate foodservice enterprise leadership by the Expert Advisors/Partners of Active Food Safety

• Published industry standards used in the best-in-class foodservice enterprise businesses for:

  • Corporate food safety management program design and execution

  • Corporate supply chain food safety management design and execution

  • Restaurant food safety management systems (FSMS) design and execution including restaurant allergen risk management

• Distribution and logistics operational hazards in the transportation and warehousing of ingredients and products to be delivered to the restaurant facilities, including storage and delivery of products for off-premise sales from restaurants

Corporate Governance of Food Safety Gap Assessments

• Food safety program gap assessment (full program or individual components)
• Food safety business leadership success
• • Competency and staffing the food safety management program
  • Relationships with business function leaders
  • KPI’s for assurance of food safety management execution in restaurant operations and supply chain
• Governance and business functional management
• • Business management and organizational structure
  • Accountability structure and KPI’s
  • Staffing via competence
  • Business function management and execution in restaurant operations and supply chain
• Supply chain food safety management
• • Food safety specifications
  • Supplier expectations manual
  • Risk vetting of suppliers (risk ranking)
  • Ingredients, processes, and facility hazards
  • Recall management
  • Traceability compliance
• Distribution and transportation food safety management
• Restaurant operations food safety management
• • HACCP based SOP’s, training, and food safety management systems
  • Prerequisite programs
• Assessment of corporate food safety culture
• • Bench-marked against AFDO/FDA foodservice business enterprise best practices
  • Recommendation of elements

Food Safety Management Program Development

• Program design and execution
• Restaurant facility design for food safety standard
• • Flow of foods for safety
  • Cleaning and sanitation
• Restaurant equipment design and use
• • Cleaning and sanitation
• Integrated pest prevention
• • Third party integration
  • Cleaning and sanitation
• Technology and execution
• • Use case design
  • HACCP based checklist assessments
  • Data analytics for food safety management
• Cleaning and sanitation prerequisite program
• • Customer experience of clean
• Digital food delivery safety
• • Ghost kitchen food safety
• Third party auditing design
• Risk management and legal claims review
• Regulatory authority relationships
• • Compliance built-in
• Corporate food safety culture facilitation
• Public relations and food safety program marketing
• Emergency food safety specifications
• • Boil water alerts, power outages, natural disasters, customer illness response

Food Safety Management Systems Design in Restaurants

• Foodservice food safety management systems in restaurant  operations
• • Cleaning and sanitation prerequisite program integration
  • Menu based Process HACCP
  • Pest prevention
  • Glove use and personal hygiene
• HACCP daily checklist and corrective actions
• Allergen controls
• Produce safety
• Food safety training
• • CFPM assessment of controls
  • Food handler
• Product withdrawal and recall management

Supply Chain Food Safety Management

• FSMA Food Safety Plan review and requirements
• • PCQI assessment of supplier ingredients and product compliance
  • Undeclared allergen control
• Ingredient and product risk vetting based on supplier facility
• Produce farm and processor food safety specifications
• GFSI certification management vs. supplier auditing for compliance to specifications

Regulatory Compliance

• FDA Food Code and State food code rules used for enforcement
• FDA FSMA rules for suppliers (human food manufacturing)
• • Traceability and GS1 interoperability
• USDA requirements for meats, eggs, and poultry
• Produce food safety rules
• Local and state food code interpretation and compliance
• • Variance request for ROP, HACCP plans, etc

Foodborne Disease Outbreak Preparedness/Mitigation and Public Health

• CIFOR specifications and crisis management
• Environmental health and epidemiology assessments
• • Working with government investigators
• COVID19 and other infectious diseases prevention
• Workplace infectious diseases prevention

Vendor Product Solutions

• Best in class product fit for food safety controls
• Use case for food safety solutions in restaurants
• Pilot/testing evaluation of products for food safety

Public Health Consulting

Our partners have extensive training and experience in the mitigation of infectious diseases like COVID19 in business environments to ensure employee and customer safety now during this pandemic and in the future with whatever comes next.