Food Facility Worker and Auditor Safety Updates

Food safety in manufacturing production protocols are more important than ever. There are two developments that we want to highlight for the SQF community.

The first is the FDA’s announcement of procedures to temporarily suspend all domestic routine surveillance facility inspections. With this, production and manufacturers need to be on top of the food safety risks at their facilities. Thus, many critical production and manufacture employees continue to arrive at their facilities to ensure that there is no disruption in the supply chain and that the products being purchased by the consumers maintain a standard of safety and quality.

The question at the forefront of those working in the food industry is: What steps can be taken to minimize risk to our employees and maximize our safety procedures?

We urge our stakeholders to remain vigilant and updated in the latest health and safety alerts from various government and health organizations such as the FDA, CDC, OSHA, and WHO. We encourage everyone to check back frequently for updates, information, and resources as our industry continues to navigate this global pandemic.

The second continuing development is the audit process. In order to support the industry efforts to produce safe and quality food, third party food safety auditors have also been toiling away on the front lines. SQFI, along with many other GFSI Benchmarked Certification Program Owners (CPOs), has instituted an audit extension policy in response to the safety of our stakeholders and workers within the food industry. However, many audits are still taking place wherever possible with heightened protocols addressing auditor and worker safety.

We want to take this opportunity to thank our stakeholders and extend our appreciation for everyone’s hard work and dedication to protecting the global food supply.

Stay up to date on the US Department of Labor’s Alerts for Worker Safety

Learn more about ongoing audits during COVID-19