Confidential and affordable development of food safety related plans and procedures, including HACCP, Product Recalls, Accident Prevention, Standard Operating Procedures, Dress Codes Thank you for visiting our web site. The FOOD SAFETY ADVISORY GROUP is based in the Pacific Northwest. We specialize in helping small and mid-sized commercial food companies comply with an increasingly complex web of government regulations and industry oversight requirements. Our associates are seasoned food professionals who are well versed in the challenges involved in running a food production line.   We launched our service after being challenged with the task of developing HACCP Plans and other food safety guidelines for internal use by our own companies.   We quickly discovered that other companies faced the same challenges, but lacked the time, resources and personnel for the task. Our concept is simple:  To provide our clients with affordable HACCP Plans and related Food Safety guidelines.    Our fees are typically 20% to 25% lower than those charged by other consulting groups. How do we keep our costs low? First, we believe in brevity.   We don't load our plans up with a lot of unnecessary pages or impressive sounding but needless scientific jargon.   The plans and guidelines we prepare for you will be written in plain, easy to understand language.   You pay for substance, not the thickness of the report. Second, we don't reinvent the wheel for every new client.   Whenever possible, we incorporate sections of other plans we've already completed, tailored of course to fit your company.    In addition, we keep our overhead and operating costs low, and we pass the savings on to you.

Most importantly, we only charge you for what you really need!

Development of a full HACCP Plan is costly.   It requires step by step analysis of the recipes and production methods used to prepare every food product your company markets.   In addition, HACCP programs require periodic audits to determine how well your company is complying with the written HACCP guidelines.

The good news is that, at present time, government agencies only require certain sectors of the seafood, meat and dairy industries to develop HACCP Plans.   Note however, that this may change in the near future:  There are proposals at both the state and federal levels to require all commercial food companies to have a comprehensive HACCP Plan in place.

But for now you may find that regulatory agencies only require you to develop specific elements of a Food Safety Program.   Typically, at a minimum, health agencies want to see the following:  Standard Operating Procedures, Employee Dress and Hygiene Guidelines, Batch Identification Coding Systems, A Product Recall Plan, and Guidelines for Preventing Allergen Cross Contamination.

Be aware that certain sectors of private industry may press their suppliers to maintain food safety standards that are actually more stringent than those required by the government.   Large grocery and food service chains want to protect themselves from lawsuits related to outbreaks of food borne illness.  As a result, an increasing number of them are requiring their suppliers to provide proof that they have ongoing food safety programs in place.  Often times that means they are looking for a full HACCP Plan that includes compliance audits.

However, in lieu of a full HACCP Plan, some grocers and food service operators may be willing to temporarily accept a well crafted set of Standared Operating Procedures, Employee Dress and Hygiene Guidelines, and a Product Recall Plan.  

The point is that you should not pay for unneccessary services.  If you are unclear on what you need, we can help you determine what your customers are expecting.  Whatever your needs are, we can work with you to find an affordable solution.

Finally, we have market acceptance. Since we launched our service, our plans have been reviewed and accepted by quality control managers at major grocery chains as well as by public health inspectors! So if you are looking for experience, combined with affordability, please contact us. Our e-mail address, phone and fax numbers are listed below.

kkyyama@aol.com