As we know, the current climate is not just “pinching” but “squeezing” every penny out of businesses whether its raw materials, packaging, gas and electric and fuel along with the increased expectations on wages. Here we have identified the top four areas we commonly see as consultants where savings can be made without compromising on food safety compliance;

Laboratory testing – we are often amazed to see how much technical teams are spending on material, product and environmental testing. The testing is not risk based and more common than not the testing suites are excessive. Ask yourself, what are you testing for and why? Have you had frequently acceptable test results? If yes, why not reduce the frequency – you can justify it with previous good results? When was the last time you checked what the legal requirements are requires when it comes to product testing or what is the accepted suite for your product category? Why not consider “special requests” as indicative testing with 1 or 2 core organisms rather than the whole suite you’d expect to conduct on a shelf-life test of a product?! We review laboratory testing suites and schedules when we are at client sites.

Chemical controls – Are you overdosing your hygiene products? Every millilitre of chemical costs so, if you are diluting “in-house” when was the last time you checked the concentration of the chemical dosing unit? If using a reputable chemical provider, they should be able to provide a service of checking the dosing of the “in-house” system or provide you with a concentration testing kit and train you how to use it. Millilitres of overuse can build up over time and at ££s per Kg, big savings could be made here. (Overdosing on hygiene products can also lead to chemical contamination of products and the environment). We challenge the testing of “in house” chemical dosing when on site with clients.

Pest Control – Guess what! pest control charges you per visit to site! So, are you having too many? We were at a site recently with 12 visits per year, no activity for the last 3 years and the site was identified as low risk by the pest provider, yet no one had ever reviewed or challenged the service! Your pest control service should be risk based, of course, some certification standards set a minimum requirement for inspections, field biologist visits etc, but, if you are a certified site and you are having more than the standard requires as a minimum, question it! We conduct detailed internal audits on pest control and often raise several value related questions!

Calibration of probes – No, you don’t have to get all of your probes externally calibrated! All you need is one annually externally calibrated probe thermometer with a copy of the calibration certificate, calibrated against the required temperatures ranges appropriate for your business. Infact, sometimes it is cheaper to buy a brand new one with certificate than to send one you already have off for calibration! We carry a reference probe with us to client sites so it can be used for annual calibration.

Other things to think about include reviewing tasks that the technical team undertake. Technical teams never have enough time, so before you outsource for more resource at a cost £££! Ask yourself, what do we need to do? How often do we need to do it? Are we doing it in the most efficient way? A team of 4 QAs over 4 different shifts were conducting the same daily task in varying times of 20 minutes up to 90 minutes! Do your technical team have Standard Operating Procedures for the way they work, are they all agreed and is it the most efficient effective way?

For an informal chat about how Beacon Compliance can help your business contact us on 01792 986089 or [email protected]