Elements and Performance Criteria

RANGE STATEMENT
The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.
Food safety audits
Audits may be conducted for either regulatory or commercial food safety systems for low, medium or high risk food safety hazards
Licensing/certification requirements
Licensing and registration arrangements are determined by system owners
Audit scope
The audit scope describes the purpose, extent and boundaries of the audit. This may include:
physical locations
products
processes
time period covered by the audit
extent of authority of the auditor
Legal requirements
The scope of the audit determines and may be determined by food safety legislation which may include:
Food Standards Code
relevant state legislation and related codes of practice, including industry sector-specific legislation and related codes of practice, such as those relating to meat, seafood, dairy and primary production and processing
regulatory and commercial requirements relevant to importing countries
commonwealth legislation (e.g. Export Control Act)
other legislation which may impact on the conduct of a food safety auditor and may include legislation covering:
OHS, anti-harassment, anti-discrimination and industrial relations
trade practices legislation
environmental risk management
legal contracts or agreements
Audit client
Audit client refers to the organisation or person requesting an audit (system owner). This may be the same as the auditee or any other organisation which has the regulatory or contractual right to request an audit.
The system owner may be the regulator
Auditee
Auditee refers to the organisation being audited
Audit client requirements
Client requirements are typically defined in audit contracts or agreements and may relate to:
legal requirements
food safety management system requirements
compliance with client site operational policies and procedures
confidentiality
business size, activities and processes
business culture
professional standards of conduct
Audit criteria
The audit criteria must comply with relevant food safety legislation and may extend to address additional system owner/client requirements. In addition to meeting the requirements of food safety legislation, reference against which conformity is determined may include:
management systems policies and procedures
industry standards or codes
contractual requirements
international treaties and conventions
Levels of non-conformity
Levels of non-conformity are defined and based on food safety risk. They may be determined by:
the management system
the audit client
legislation
where legislation applies, definitions may be determined by:
state and territory authorities
AQIS
primary industry jurisdiction
primary food production jurisdiction
Audit evidence
Evidence required for the purposes of meeting relevant food safety legislation may be defined by:
the client and/or the regulatory authority
Audit evidence should be based on objective information rather than hearsay and may include:
system records
evidence collection records
statements of fact or other information relevant to the audit criteria and which is verifiable
observations
records of audit stage progression
Evidence collection methods and sources
Evidence collection methods and sources will depend on the purpose and scope of the audit and may include:
observation
interviews
checklists
auditee documentation review
reports/data from other sources, such as customer feedback, technical references, computerised databases
results of analyses
Food safety management system
A food safety management system is a documented arrangement implemented (and resourced) by a business for control of food safety. A food safety management system includes:
commitment from management, procedures and practices to identify and control food safety hazards and prevent their recurrence. It may incorporate recognised food safety tools, such as HACCP and its prerequisite programs
Resource requirements
Resource requirements will depend on the purpose and scope of the audit and may include:
audit personnel directly involved in undertaking the audit
access to relevant personnel and information within the business
access to any additional resources as required
Food businesses
A food business refers to a business, vehicle, enterprise or activity where food is produced, processed, stored, displayed, transported and/or sold. It may also include primary producers
Preliminary work
Preliminary work includes but is not limited to:
identifying food to be covered by the food safety program
defining the food and the method of distribution
identifying customers and intended use of food
describing the process (flowchart)
checking for accuracy and completeness of the previous steps
Validation
Validation refers to obtaining evidence to confirm that a HACCP-based food safety program is complete and effective and will deliver the expected food safety outcomes
Verification
Verification refers to methods and procedures used to carry out monitoring, including sampling and testing to provide evidence that the specifications set by relevant legislation and codes of practice continue to be met
Audit records
Audit records are maintained to demonstrate the implementation of the audit process. These may include but are not limited to:
audit plans
audit reports
non-conformity reports
corrective action reports
follow up reports
Close out
Auditors have different levels of responsibility and authority to close out audits according to the level of non-conformity and whether they are an authorised officer or a commercial auditor. Closing out may involve notifying the regulator with the power to enforce legislation
Commercial auditor
Commercial auditor refers to any auditor other than a regulatory auditor, who is external to and independent of the food business being audited
Risk-based approaches
Risk-based approaches to controlling food safety are typically based on HACCP, described in the Codex Alimentarius guidelines
Prerequisite programs
Prerequisite programs are also referred to as support programs, such as Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) and Good Hygiene Practice (GHP)
Prerequisite programs can be divided into two categories.
Infrastructure and maintenance programs. These may include:
layout, design and construction of buildings and facilities
supplies of air, water, energy and other utilities
equipment, including preventative maintenance, sanitary design and accessibility for maintenance and cleaning
support services, including waste and sewage disposal
Operational prerequisite programs. These may include:
personal hygiene
cleaning and sanitation
pest control
measures for the prevention of cross-contamination
packaging and labelling procedures
supplier assurance
chemical storage
employee training
maintenance
calibration
document control
internal audit programs
traceability and recall programs
on-farm food safety schemes
inspecting and testing regimes, including analytical and microbiological testing
Critical control point
Critical control point is a step at which control can be applied and is essential to prevent or eliminate a food safety hazard or reduce it to an acceptable level
Critical limit
Critical limit refers to criterion which separates acceptability from unacceptability

EVIDENCE GUIDE
The Evidence Guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.
Overview of assessment
A person who demonstrates competence in this unit must be able to verify and confirm validation of food safety programs in the context of food safety legislation and client requirements.
Assessment must be carried out in a manner that recognises the cultural and literacy requirements of the assessee and is appropriate to the work performed. Competency in this unit must be achieved in accordance with food safety standards and regulations.
Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit
Evidence of the ability to:
Identify food safety legislation applying to a food business. Legislative requirements may relate to actual or hypothetical food businesses. A minimum of two scenarios must be covered providing that at least one food business operates in a market segment that has to meet compliance requirements in place of or in addition to the Food Standards Code. One such market segment is export meat processors who must comply with the Export Control Act and the Export Meat Orders.
The assessment activity must:
identify the relevant legislation applying to the food business taking account of the industry sector, range of food handling activities undertaken and the markets into which products and/or services are sold.
locate advice on relevant authorities and enforcement agencies in a state or territory and for international markets as appropriate.
explain the legal responsibilities of a given food business.
Plan and conduct an audit that complies with legal and client requirements as appropriate. The criteria and evidence requirements may be developed to apply to an actual or hypothetical food business. The assessee must substantiate:
how audit scope and criteria meet legislative and client requirements.
the evidence required to assess compliance with the criteria and to support an objective, reliable and consistent audit outcome.
definitions, levels and related reporting of non-conformance to comply with legislative requirements.
Submit completed audit records for the selected audit including the final audit report, non-conformity reports, corrective action reports, follow up reports and suggestions for improvements to the food safety management system and to the audit process. These latter items may be documented in personal notes rather than part of the formal audit report according to the audit scope.
Context of and specific resources for assessment
Competency may be assessed in an actual workplace or simulated environment that provides access to the required resources. At least one of the audit scenarios should be assessed in an actual workplace context.
Assessment is to occur under standard and authorised work practices, safety requirements and environmental constraints.
The following resources must be available:
food safety plans
food safety-related documentation typical of commercial manufacturing businesses and used for the purpose of verification
evidence and documentation relevant to processes that would typically be used by commercial manufacturing businesses to support validation processes
plant and equipment that would typically be used in a commercial manufacturing business.
Method of assessment
The following assessment methods should be considered to gather sufficient and valid evidence of competency:
observation, including the completion of documentation to show the planning and conducting of an audit
a report on the legal responsibilities of the food business
questioning to test the level and application of knowledge
documentation to show validation and verification processes used
completion of all audit records.
The whole audit process must be witnessed by the assessor.
Assessment methods must satisfy the endorsed Assessment Guidelines of FDF10 Food Processing Industry Training Package.
Guidance information for assessment
To ensure consistency in one's performance, competency should be demonstrated on more than one occasion over a period of time in order to cover a variety of circumstances, cases and responsibilities, and where possible, over a number of assessment activities.