We were honored to present the key findings of the Food Safety Auditing Think Tank at the recent Food Safety Summit in Rosemont, USA.
Below is a summary of the insights shared with the attendees.
The Future of Food Safety Auditing Think Tank, convened from August 2023 to April 2024, brought together experts and stakeholders to address urgent needs in food safety auditing practices. Its findings and recommendations aim to evolve the auditing landscape and enhance audits’ effectiveness and value.
The Think Tank was established in response to persistent and evolving challenges in the food safety auditing landscape. It sought to fundamentally rethink the approach to food safety audits, aiming to transition from a compliance-focused model to one that is proactive, inclusive, and continuously improving.
The Think Tank featured over thirty professionals from diverse backgrounds and eighteen countries, each contributing a wealth of experience from various sectors within the food and beverage industry, including regulating bodies, corporate, and academic spheres.
The Think Tank’s methodology was structured and comprehensive, starting with a SWOT analysis to identify current practices’ strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
The Think Tank identified many strengths but also significant issues such as non-harmonized audit schemes, the overemphasis on compliance, and the need for improved governance and integrity in audit programs.
The SWOT analysis was followed by collaborative brainstorming to address identified issues and culminated in strategic recommendations organized under five critical thematic areas:
- Governance: strengthening the frameworks for requirements and management to provide robust support for food safety auditing processes.
- Requirements and Reporting: improving standards and protocols to boost value, transparency, and accountability within food safety auditing practices.
- Profession: advancing auditing through comprehensive training programs, rigorous certification processes, and continuous professional development opportunities.
- Digital Transformation: harnessing the power of digital tools and technologies to enhance the efficiency, precision, and scope of auditing practices.
- Mindset: fostering an enduring commitment to food safety improvement across all levels of an organization, encouraging a universally adopted culture that prioritizes these values through auditing.
The Think Tank’s work marks a pivotal step toward a more robust and proactive food safety auditing process. By implementing the recommendations, the industry will foster trust in food safety auditing practices.
The industry is urged to adopt these changes swiftly to leverage strengths, address current deficiencies and anticipate future challenges. It includes enhancing collaboration, embracing technological advancements, and continuously engaging all stakeholders in a dialogue to refine and improve food safety auditing practices.
A publicly available White Paper detailing these findings will be published towards the end of June 2024.
By Marc Cwikowski
May 9, 2024
