Background
17 small Oregon food and beverage manufacturing companies participated in a Food Safety Cohort, led by OMEP Senior Consultants Linda Wechsler and Michelle Knepel.
Participating companies included Alchemist’s Jam, Bagel Sphere, Blue Lotus Chai Company, Divine Distillers, Elegant Elephant Fine Foods, Food for the Sole, For Bitter for Worse, Fresh N Local Foods, Hot Winter Hot Sauce, Kester Foods, Ninkasi Brewing, PDX Empanadas, Positive Community Kitchen, Screamin’ Jay’s Hot Lunch, Thai and True, WildRiver, and Young Mountain Tea.
The Situation
The cohort took place over 6 half-day virtual sessions, with virtual or on-site check-in sessions to help companies implement learnings.
The Solution
During the cohort, the attendees were led through the requirements and best practices for creating a food safety program that is compliant with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
The cohort covered 6 main topics:
- Implementing a food safety program
- Auditing, assessing, and mitigating supply chain risk
- Performing a hazard analysis
- Implementing preventive controls
- Building a recall plan
The Results
Attendees received training, templates, resources and tools to enable them to document their food safety program and to train their employees. They learned how to implement a food safety program at their company and how to create and implement a Food Safety Plan in compliance with the FSMA Final Rule for Preventive Controls for Human Food.
A key element of the cohorts was the check-ins between sessions. This allowed for customized, individualized support as companies face the challenges inherent in implementing change.
We have saved time and dollars by having a Food Safety Plan and are prepared for any future recalls of any of our products. This information is invaluable and priceless.