Vendor Audit

The present corporate working culture and the necessity of providing regular meals to the employees of the Companies in their Canteen or Cafeteria have emerged as a big opportunity for the Food Industry. Majority of the companies prefer to outsource the manufacturing of the food to Third Party Caterers, who process and prepare the food at their back-end kitchens and transport the same to the canteens of the companies. This has drastically changed the way food is produced, processed, transported and consumed. Since the Food Manufacturing is Highly Human Intensive, the variable costs are often found to be quiet high. Moreover, since majority of such Food Manufacturers operate with very thin margins, improper practices creep in, as measures of Cost Cutting.

Such instances are potentially hazardous to Food Safety, and might have Costly Ramifications, as the Health of the Employees of the Companies is at stake.

Vendor Performance Management through Regular and Periodic Food Vendor Audits helps build a comprehensive traceability system, support due diligence and ensure suppliers and products comply with the Food Safety Standards.

One of the keys to any successful Food Safety Auditing Program is to “Know Who You Are Buying From”. Food vendor audit programs are developed, implemented and managed by Equinox Labs for Corporate Companies to verify that their suppliers are in compliance with standards of Food Quality, Food Safety, Environment and Infrastructure, Occupational Safety, Personnel Hygiene and Process Hygiene.

Assay Accuracy performs Food Vendor Audits against Standard Criteria that have been formulated specifically for the Food Caterers from the standards set by Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), American Public Health Association (APHA), Association of Analytical Communities (AOAC), Food Safety and Standards of India (FSSAI) and Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), to ensure that the suppliers are maintaining and improving the standards that have been set for them.

• Evaluation, Verification and Reassessment of the Food Safety Management System (FSMS).
• Evaluation, Verification and Reassessment of the Standard Sanitary Operating Procedures (SSOP).
• Evaluation, Verification and Reassessment of the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).
• Validation of Critical Control Points (CCP).

• Hygiene Inspection: Since the Vendor’s kitchen is the Primary Kitchen for processing the raw materials and preparation of food, detailed Hygiene Inspection is conducted to ascertain the Food Safety Standards. The gaps are documented and the reported to the Clients, along with a photo tour, for better understanding of the severity of the issues.
• Hygiene Training: On the spot training is also given to the food handling staff and the kitchen staff to ensure Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Good Hygienic Practices (GHP).
• Water Quality Monitoring: Water samples are collected from the water sources of water used for cooking and cleaning. The samples are tested for Chemical and Microbial contamination, to ascertain that the Water being used during processing and cooking of food comply with the Standards of Food Safety and are safe for Human Consumption.
• Personnel Hygiene: Swab samples are collected from the Kitchen Staff and Food Handlers to test for presence of micro organisms, to ascertain that Food Contaminants do not enter the Food Chain through them.
• Indoor / Ambient Air Quality Monitoring: The Indoor Air Quality of the Kitchen is tested for presence of micro organisms, to ascertain that micro organisms do not contaminate the cooked food through the Aerial Route.
• Food Quality Monitoring: Food samples are collected at random and are tested for contamination and adulteration to ascertain the quality of the Final Product – Cooked Food.