Back to basics to tackle coming shortage of food safety auditors
Speaking to FoodNavigator-USA at last week’s Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) conference in Orlando, Florida, Wybourn said that while audits of food facilities are expected to be ramped up as the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is implemented, there is likely to be a lack of qualified auditors to do the job.
“There’s a gap. Most of the auditors that work for me are 60 or 70. It’s going to be a problem…It’s the same in the government, but the certification bodies also have a shortage of auditors,” she said.
Wybourn said she thinks one part of the answer could be to teach food safety in schools, in order to inspire young people to become involved in assuring the quality and safety of the food supply.
“There’s so much the government and consumers don’t know about what goes on in the food supply. And I think a lot of the problem comes from schooling in the United States…That’s where the future professionals come from,” she said. “You need a depth of knowledge for food safety auditing…you can’t just take someone from communications or marketing.”
FDA ‘lack of clarity’
Although FSMA was signed into law over a year ago, progress is necessarily slow, as there is a lack of understanding within government – even at the FDA, she added.
“There’s a lack of clarity even within the FDA, as far as third party audits are concerned,” she said, although she said was positive all parties involved in implementing FSMA were coming to the table with the best intentions.
“Everybody is trying to do the right thing, but there are so many stakeholders,” she said. “…It’s reinforcing what the big companies have been doing. It’s the smaller ones that never had this requirement before. I’m very impressed with the supply chain reaching out to be educated.”
Third-party auditing came under fire last month in the wake of the Jensen Farms cantaloupe contamination. Meanwhile, the FDA has said it is developing a new accredited third-party certification program, which it hopes will improve the quality and reliability of such audits.
Accredited third party certification
Also speaking at the GFSI conference, FDA deputy commissioner for foods Michael Taylor told delegates: “The next big opportunity for engagement on these issues will come in the spring, when we hope to publish and invite comment on the proposed rule establishing the framework for FDA’s accredited third party certification program.”
However, he too acknowledged that there may be challenges attracting enough auditors – and he emphasized that third-party audits would not replace direct regulatory oversight.
“Many of the challenges involve institution and capacity building,” he said. “They go beyond anything FDA can address in a regulation.”
