3070  Contribute to continuous improvement of food safety in food and drink operations

SCQF Level 6       Credit value 5

 

Unit Summary

This unit is about making a contribution to continuously improving food safety in processing operations.

You will need to be able to identify areas where improvements can be made which promote effective food safety. You will also need to be able to report this information in a suitable way to senior staff.

This unit is for you if you work in food and drink operations or animal feed operations and your job requires you to enter the food manufacturing or processing area. You may have supervisory responsibilities as a line manager or team leader

 

In order to be assessed as competent you must demonstrate to your assessor that you can consistently perform to the requirements set out below.  Your performance evidence must include at least one observation by your assessor. 

 

You must be able to:

You need to show:

Evidence must be work-based, simulation alone is only allowed where shown in bold italics

1.            Highlight areas for improvement

This means you:

 

Identify and report any factors or issues that arise in your work activities which may affect food safety

 

Identify and report any factors or issues within the environment, supplies or product which may affect food safety

 

Compile data which may be used to support developments in food safety procedures

Evidence of highlight areas for improvement as part of your role in accordance with workplace procedures and within the limits of your own responsibilities.

 

2.            Contribute to improving food safety procedures

This means you:

 

Contribute to team meetings with ideas and suggestions to improve procedures or processes

 

Utilise production data and information to support suggestions and recommendations

 

Consider the impact that newly proposed food safety procedures will have on production processes

 

Check that proposed new procedures can be clearly understood by other staff members

 

Provide constructive feedback on the suitability of proposed new food safety procedures

 

Contribute to scheduling the implementation of new food safety procedures

Evidence of contributing to improving food safety procedures as part of your role in accordance with workplace procedures and within the limits of your own responsibilities.

 

 

 

You need to know and understand:

Evidence of knowledge and understanding should be collected during observation of performance in the workplace. Where it cannot be collected by observing performance, other assessment methods should be used.

  • What food safety management procedures and food safety management systems are and why it is important to have them in place
  • What continuous improvement is and why it is important to contribute to the improvement process
  • The concept of food safety management procedures and how they are applied within the organisation
  • The concept of threat analysis and how it can be applied within the organisation
  • What critical control points, control points, critical limits and relevant variance are
  • Why it is important to monitor critical control points and control points, and how to do so
  • Your responsibilities under your food safety management procedures, including the critical control points relating to your work activity
  • The impact of variance at critical control points and control points on food safety, public health and your organisation
  • The type and frequency of checks that you should perform to control food safety within your work activities, and how to obtain verification of those checks
  • How to interpret and use specifications and standard operating procedures
  • The reporting procedures when control measures fail
  • The records required for controlling food safety and how to maintain them
  • How traceability works and why it is important to food safety
  • The impact that failure to have effective traceability measures can have on public health and on the business
  • Types and methods of corrective action to reduce, control or eliminate food safety hazards

 

Evidence of performance may employ examples of the following assessment:

  • observation
  • written and oral questioning;
  • evidence from company systems (e.g. Food Safety Management System)
  • reviewing the outcomes of work
  • checking any records of documents completed
  • checking accounts of work that the candidate or others have written