Quality Assurance Auditor
Quality assurance auditors monitor a company’s production process to ensure it follows governmental and third-party food safety regulations. They conduct audits by performing inspections of buildings, paperwork, employees and equipment, looking for anything that could compromise the quality or safety of a product. If the auditor finds a noncompliance, they will provide suggestions for management to solve the problem and follow-up to ensure the resolution.
What Responsibilities Will I Have?
- Inspect manufacturing facilities for issues that could compromise food quality or safety
- Interview employees and ask them about their daily duties to ensure that employees’ work procedures match what was recorded
- Perform product sampling duties
- Review records to determine if production is in compliance with food safety regulations
- Provide legible, accurate, complete and timely computer entries
- Ensure appropriate decisions are made regarding quality
- Meet sensory (taste, smell and feel) demands of the job
- Safely use chemicals required for testing and cleaning
- Ensure attendance and participation in trainings appropriate to the position
- Ensure no injuries to self or others by following safe work practices and policies
- Provide training for staff on food safety practices
- Create presentations and reports of findings for management
- Recommend changes to improve food safety processes
- Travel in an assigned geographical area, depending on the size of the company and company needs
- Have an extensive knowledge of current food safety regulations
- Stay up to date with food safety certifications
Recommended High School Courses:
- agricultural education
- family and consumer sciences
- statistics
- mathematics
- biology
- chemistry
- business
- computer skills
Education/Training Required:
A bachelor’s degree in food science, animal science, poultry science, chemistry, microbiology or a related field is required. If you work for a third-party auditing company, you will need to be certified according to their certification program. If you work for a company that does in-house quality assurance, certification will depend on the company’s standards. For many third-party food safety organizations, multiple years of experience are required before acting as a solo auditor.
