Listeria Investigation and Management (2 days)

As widely respected global leaders in the investigation and management of Listeria, Liam and Ian have developed an intensive two-day training course dedicated to the topic – delivered by both of them. As a very practical and interactive course, it equips the delegates with the tools needed to investigate and effectively eradicate Listeria issues (with a zero tolerance attitude).

Course participants will leave with a knowledge and understanding of:

• Basic facts about the organism and why it’s a problem

• How to plan and organise cleaning to effectively tackle Listeria

• The standards of cleaning required and the art of cleaning assessment

• Design and operation of the low risk/high care barrier

• Personnel behaviours and practices that impact Listeria

• Examples of good and poor equipment design and installation

• How to set up an efficient swabbing programme to get value for money

• How to carry out effective investigations to track the sources of Listeria

• The likely sources of Listeria within the delegates’ own site identified via trainer led factory floor project work

Allergen Awareness and Management (1 day)

This intensive one-day course offers a deeper understanding of allergen risks and the dangers to health, effective allergen management and retailer requirements. We also look at a practical approach to conducting a risk assessment, factory control measures as well as allergen testing techniques. Depending on factory requirements, we can also include modules on nut/sesame handling, gluten-free and dairy-free production.

Course participants will leave with a knowledge and understanding of:

• The main food industry allergens and the potential dangers to health

• How to conduct and document a thorough practical assessment of the risks of allergen cross-contamination at all stages of food production

• The principles of the requirements of the major food retailers:

  • risk assessment process and documentation

  • nut and sesame handling

  • gluten-free production

  • dairy-free production

• How to validate and verify the efficacy of cleaning processes

• The requirements for allergen testing

• An appreciation of the allergen cross-contamination risks within the delegates’ own site via practical factory floor project work

Prevention of Foreign Body Contamination (2 days)

This two-day course is designed to show delegates how to identify the sources and causes of foreign body contamination – as well as how to effectively prevent such issues from occurring again. Alongside tried-and-tested tips and techniques, we look at the design and use of effective monitoring procedures. We also include a trainer led practical project on the factory floor so that delegates can discover and better understand the foreign body risks within their own site.

Course participants will leave with a knowledge and understanding of:

• The importance of people behaviour and culture in managing foreign body contamination risks

• How to handle raw materials in relation to foreign body risks

• How to develop and operate effective risk assessed foreign body start-up systems

• Best practice for the control of:

  • plastic

  • metal

  • hair

  • glass/glass-like materials

• Best practice in the recording and investigation of customer complaints

• The operation and testing requirements for metal detection and X-ray equipment

• The potential risks of foreign body contamination within the delegates’ own site via practical factory floor project work

• The ways in which the factory management team can create a strategy for the reduction and elimination of foreign body contamination

Pest Prevention (1 day)

This one-day course provides attendees with detailed practical knowledge of common food factory pests – and how they can gain a foothold in the factory environment. Using real life scenarios and case studies, we look at how to identify, control and eradicate pest issues.

Course participants will leave with a knowledge and understanding of:

• The main pests of concern in the food industry and how they behave, including:

  • rodents

  • stored product insects

  • cockroaches

  • birds

  • flying insects

• How and where these pests can become established in food factories, as well as how to eliminate them

• A step-by-step approach to solving pest issues and some of the simple fundamental actions required to eradicate them

• Pest prevention measures such as proofing and use of monitoring devices

• The use of toxic and non-toxic pest control substances

• How to choose and manage your pest control contractor

Effective and Practical Internal Auditing (2 days)

Thanks to Ian and Liam’s extensive auditing experience in food manufacturing and retailer standards, we are able to offer an unparalleled insight into achieving effective and lasting practical factory improvements – including internal audit and auditing systems. Both Ian and Liam share their accumulated knowledge and give the delegates all of the tools, tips and advice they need to be exceptionally thorough in identifying areas for improvement. This course is focused on practical auditing (not quality management systems).

Course participants will leave with knowledge and understanding of:

•  What an internal audit is and why we do them

• The key principles involved

• Exactly what a programme of internal audit should include

• Audit frequencies & risk assessment

• Auditor selection & training

• How to prepare for an audit

• How to conduct practical auditing of all key aspects – including CCP'S, GMP, hygiene, process controls, product quality, pest control, brand integrity.

• The use of different auditing styles and effective observational and questioning techniques

• Non-conformance definitions

• Non-conformance recording and report writing – including how to effectively communicate findings and giving feedback of effective escalation methods

• How to communicate and use internal audit findings, recurring issues and trends to drive improvement

Risk Assessment and Decision Making (1 day)

Designed for retail technologists, this course is built around Liam and Ian’s many years of experience in high-pressure situations. They use real life examples from factories facing urgent issues requiring difficult decisions – including whether to stop production, make a product withdrawal or public recall or to simply work with the manufacturer to form an urgent improvement plan.

Instead of taking the easier blanket decision to recall all products, we discuss solutions that take a balanced course of action for all parties. As part of this training, course participants work in small groups to analyse problem situations and come up with an action plan – which Ian and Liam then critique and offer constructive feedback.