Asha Sridhar, Director at FoodChain ID, opines that quality should neither be perceived as a scientific or technical word, nor as a physical entity with a fixed position in space and time. It should be considered an essential aspect of any existing economic activity, with direct impact on consumer, producer, as well as product and service. What are the possible reasons why service providers, like restaurants, fail food hygiene audits?
Today, hospitality and food business operators are governed by FSSAI under various regulatory checks namely the third party FSSAI or hygiene audits. They are accordingly graded with a point-based system. Companies can also in go for GFSI based audits like the BRCGS and FSSC 22000, which have global acceptance.
Thus, audits are here to stay as these offer an independent third-party verification and are often accompanied by certifications which are acknowledged globally.
Restaurant or manufacturing plant hygiene involves making sure the restaurant has a clean and safe dining environment which not only protects customers from food-borne illnesses but can also save the restaurant’s reputation. For processing plants such as a meat or frozen food unit, temperature control along with FIFO is key for food safety.
Auditing a restaurant or a food business unit consists of visiting the site and checking key areas which include the kitchen, storage, utilities and reception along with processing area, utilities and changing rooms. Auditors observe whether the food, equipment, and surfaces are clean and well-maintained to ensure that there are no hazards which could potentially risk the client’s health along with product quality and traceability.
Food storage practices including FIFO (First in First Out), FEFO (First Expiry First Out), temperatures within danger zones, chillers maintained within 4 degrees Celsius, freezers within -18 degree C and correct labelling on products are verified.
Checking staff hygiene is another key element during an audit. This includes washing hands as and when they switch from one work to other and after visiting toilets. Poor hand hygiene has led to many fatal enteric diseases. Ensuring staff is vaccinated against common enteric diseases like typhoid, jaundice and any other prevalent diseases in the area is also part of the audit.
Clean as you go is the mantra always. It is important to not only clean by removing dirt, but also effectively sanitize by removing the pathogen from all food contact surfaces. A three-sink system (Clean-Rinse-Sanitize) is a must for washing to ensure there is no harbourage of pest activities.
Training is one of the most important prerequisite programs for a safe kitchen. Each food handler including the security must be trained as it fosters a good food safety culture throughout any organization. Basic FoSTaC is a must along with ongoing trainings.
The verification of process compliance ensures that regulations and industry best practices are being followed. ‘Write what you do and do what you write’ is true for any process and ensures consistency at all times. Quality control and quality assurance processes are validated and verified in a set frequency and audits are planned accordingly. They can be conducted by clients as well as third party certification bodies to ensure safe product verification.
In spite of best-efforts, hygiene audits can fail due to several reasons. Here are some possible causes:
1. No clear sense of direction from the top management, poor knowledge of food safety standards and requirements.
2. Poor infrastructure, leading to cross contamination e.g., no cover on drains and inadequate facilities for staff, no lockers provided to keep personal belongings.
3. Food handlers may not receive proper training, leading to failures in food safety systems. Companies which believe in spending on training are very successful in food safety implementation with a strong food safety culture.
4. Inadequate and untrained internal auditing team leads to irregular and lenient audits which can create a false sense of security.
5. Poor redressal of corrective and preventive actions (CAPA) and identifying issues without root cause analysis and lead to continuous failures.
6. Insufficient documentation including poor record-keeping can hinder tracking progress and identifying recurring issues.
7. Hotels may become too comfortable with their current practices, leading to a lack of continuous improvement.
8. Failure to engage staff in the auditing process can lead to a lack of ownership and accountability.
9. Failing to conduct regular follow-up audits can lead to a decline in hygiene standards.
10. Poor preventive maintenance and calibration activities lead to inadequate temperature of coolers and freezers and other gauges leading to major non-conformity especially if temperature indicators are critical control monitoring equipment.
12. Major failures occur whenever there is a critical control point deviation which can even lead to plant shutdown.
Thus, it is important to integrate quality management (QM) strategically into operations of companies, it being largely based on mutual yet reinforcing principles supported by a set of practices. Key in determining the quality objectives, policy and responsibilities of a wide range of sectors, QM is implemented through quality assurance (QA), control, improvement and planning, providing emphasis to practice, especially if the primary objective of the organisation is to achieve consistent product quality.
For the audit to be effective, therefore, it has to utilise components like continuous improvement and learning, customer focus and orientation, empowerment and teamwork, human resource focus, quality tools, robust management structure, strategic planning, leadership and supplier support.
