NSF Africa started the Food Service Audits (assessments) in 2020.
We collaborate with our clients to enhance food safety culture, in order to ensure the correct behavior of food handlers and other relevant staff. We can use the client-specific Food Safety policy for audit purposes, however, our NSF developed audits are designed to be focused on both local regulatory requirements and Good Manufacturing Practices.
We are currently supporting one of South Africa’s biggest retailers, but are also able to support small/single facilities.
Part of our retail audit service offering includes:
• Retail outlet inspections
• Quick service restaurant inspections
• Restaurant audits
• Catering facility audits
• Hotel / Hospitality
• Supply Chain assurance
• Risk assessment and compliance development
• Gap analysis/coaching audits
• Health and Safety inspection
• Brand protection assessments
• Policy development
• Food Safety training (See our training website for the full-service offering. We can also develop customized training for a specific need).
Our online platform, called NSF Connect, compliments our services by:
• Providing a snapshot of your day to day food safety activities
• Corrective action completion and close-out
• Viewing of audit reports within 24 hours of audit (internet permitted)
• Viewing of completed, attempted and scheduled audits
• Round-on-round comparison to monitor improvement
• Providing for the ability to do internal audits on the live system
• Issuing management, for example in the case of alleged food poisoning, foreign body complaints and accidents
The online platform can be used for your complete food safety risk overview.
We are working together with one of the leading laboratories in South Africa. The laboratory operates independently from NSF to ensure impartiality, which in turn yields true and accurate results.
Ensuring food safety and a healthy food safety culture has never been more important than right now, with the sword of the COVID-19 pandemic hanging over our heads.
The BRCGS Global Standards for food safety are benchmarked to Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) and they cover food safety and management of product quality in:
• Food and ingredient manufacturing
• Food packaging manufacturing
• Gluten-free manufacturing
• Storage, distribution, transportation and logistics
• The purpose of these standards is to help promote consistency across the supply chain, for manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, agents and brokers.
BRCGS recognizes NSF Certification, LLC as an excellent provider with a 5-star performance rating. This rating is the highest available for a certification body.
NSF certifies to BRCGS’s Global Standard for Food Safety, Global Standard for Packaging Materials, and Global Standard for Storage and Distribution.
This highly recognised independent assessment of food safety and product quality enables you to:
• Assure that food has been produced, prepared and handled according to the most recognized standards
• Demonstrate a commitment to quality processes and continual improvement
• Strengthen your brand and get access to top retailers
• Minimize risk and protect your reputation
• A blended or fully remote audit is an additional option, depending on your needs.
Food Safety Reviews
In the prevailing competitive food safety environment, food safety reviews play a key role in brand protection and service consistency. Routine audits can establish benchmarks, identify areas needing improvement and help ensure regulatory compliance.
“We believe a food safety review/third-party audit should provide long-term improvement of an operation’s food safety performance, so we don’t have a ‘check-box mentality’. Our reviewers’ robust technical competence enables us to go beyond the basics to identify deeper underlying issues and root causes. We then work collaboratively to develop solutions.
“Our food safety reviews deliver value-added assistance to meet regulatory requirements and improve food safety systems well beyond regulation to ensure food safety quality and consistency.”
NSF can conduct the review using standard criteria or a customized set of criteria focused on a client’s specific areas of concern. Whichever the client prefers, their NSF restaurant or foodservice food safety review criteria include:
• HACCP verification
• Sanitation, housekeeping and hygiene
• Regulatory compliance - FDA Food Code
• Temperature controls
• Allergen management
• Menu detail/labeling
• Hand hygiene
• Recordkeeping
• Quality of food supplies
• Cook time/temperatures
• Food storage, proper rotation and date marking
• Food identification/labeling
• Staff training
• Food defense
• Rodent and pest control management
• Building management - garbage/refuse, ventilation, lighting and plumbing (hot and cold water availability, water pressure, toilet facilities, etc.)
“Our services can be customized to include occupational health and safety (OSHA), risk management, brand protection and customer perception (‘mystery shop’), as each area indirectly affects food safety performance. Measuring all of these areas gives your company an outside perspective of complete operational performance.”
Our auditors are well trained in protocols to ensure the safety of our employees as well as our clients. NSF is here to help you stay open and stay safe – ultimately improving human health.
For more information, email NSF: foodafrica@nsf.org
Or visit their website at: www.nsfafrica.com
