What a Food Safety Team Should Actually Be Doing

By: M.R. Trace

In most facilities, the food safety team gets mentioned in audits, training slides, and org charts—but what does it actually *do*? More importantly, what *should* it be doing?

Let’s strip away the fluff and look at the real work of a food safety team, not the ceremonial stuff. The operational stuff. The kind that keeps systems sharp, risks visible, and decisions grounded.

First, Define the Team

A food safety team isn’t just QA and the plant manager. It’s **cross-functional by design**. That means:

• Production brings process realities
• Sanitation brings frontline insight
• Maintenance brings equipment context
• Purchasing brings supplier and spec awareness
• R&D or Product Development brings formulation foresight
• Quality/Regulatory brings system oversight

When these voices are in the room, the team becomes a **decision-making engine**, not just a compliance checkpoint.

What Should Be on the Agenda?

Here’s what a food safety team should be reviewing regularly—not just when an auditor’s coming:

1. Site Inspection Nonconformances

• Review internal audits, GMP walks, and sanitation inspections
• Trend findings over timeespecially repeat offenders
• Focus on identifying and correcting root causes, not just surface fixes

2. Ingredient, Process, Customer Changes or Product Changes

• Any new ingredient, equipment, or formulation should trigger a review
• Focus especially on new allergens — even trace introductions
• Ask: Has this change been risk-assessed and communicated clearly?

3. HACCP Plan Review

• Revisit hazard analysis when processes shift or new risks emerge
• Don’t just “update the document” — challenge the assumptions
• Ask: Is our plan still relevant to what’s actually happening on the floor?

4. PRP and CCP/Preventive Control Effectiveness

• Review monitoring records and corrective actions
• Look for patterns: missed checks, repeated deviations, vague responses
• Ask: Are our controls working, or are we just checking boxes?

Final Thought

The food safety team isn’t a formality. It’s a forum. A place where operations, quality, and strategy intersect. When it’s functioning well, it doesn’t just protect the brand—it drives continual improvement.