Food Safety & QA Technologist - 2nd Shift

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A great job-and a great future-awaits you at Smithfield Foods. We are an American food company with a leading position in packaged meats and fresh pork products. We’re looking for motivated people who want to join our team and grow lasting and meaningful careers with us. Apply Now!

Your Opportunity

As part of our FS/QA team, you would conduct routine sanitation checks, ensuring that HACCP and USDA regulations are strictly enforced. Providing technical expertise to track product from start to finish, and develop corrective actions when needed. You will be responsible for ensuring that we are able to safely deliver the best Smithfield, Eckrich, Nathan’s Famous, or any of our product brands to customers and consumers.

This position is responsible for ensuring the overall quality in their assigned areas through the management of regulatory, company, and customer policies, programs and work instructions. This role is expected to conduct accurate grading and documentation of product quality against published product specifications. This position is responsible for monitoring plant programs, which may include but is not limited to: pre-op sanitation; carcass, product and room temperatures; product leakers; and GMPs. Ensures all products meet company specifications and are produced in a wholesome manner that meets Company requirements. This requires working closely with other departments on production issues/situations, product dispositions and investigations into root causes for deficiencies. Assists in managing quality programs and exercising technical expertise, including training, assessing performance and making improvements.

Core Responsibilities

Quality Verification

• Conduct all quality inspections in the area of assigned responsibility.

• Maintain quality objectives, prevent complaints and claims and keep quality to specifications through accurate inspections, non-compliance procedures, appropriate reporting, corrective actions and accuracy of paperwork along with sample submissions.

• Routine verifications and inspections include process, metal detector, cooking, and chilling type checks.

• Responsible for catching out of specification product by stopping the production process or removing product for rework as required.

• Works with other departments to implement procedure changes, based on predetermined specifications, involving raw materials and finished goods to remedy the cause of any non-compliance as quickly as possible.

• Ability to interpret customer and sales specifications and apply subjective quality decisions to product (ie: product appearance, color, texture, etc.).

Quality Improvement

• Required to take action in response to poor observations by identifying and correcting deficiencies for negative micro or shelf- life data in their area of responsibility with an eye toward improvement.

• Utilize technical knowledge to prevent and identify the root cause of process or product failures.

• Continuous improvement of product quality through attention to process expected.

• Activities will include Quality Assurance program management, training line and other Quality Assurance employees in quality functions, daily product shows, assessing specs and updating Operations, monitoring giveaway and yields for opportunities.

HACCP Programs and Food Safety

• Assists in development, implementation and compliance with HACCP programs that support the safe handling of food by recording and analyzing critical control point records that track product through the plant ensuring the safety of food products at all times.

• Properly review and scrutinize all aspects of the food safety system and meat production processes. 

USDA Regulatory Requirements

• Ensure the USDA regulatory requirements for Food Safety are met.

• Assist with revisions and update food safety programs and procedures including the annual reassessment of all programs. 

Sanitation Checks

• Conducts pre-operation sanitation checks to ensure all pre-operation sanitation has been done correctly.

• Determines need for re-sampling of equipment and communicates information to sanitation and plant personnel. Conducts follow up to ensure the sampling was properly completed.  

Food Safety Deficiencies

• Communicates findings regarding food safety deficiencies to Plant Food Safety Manager and provides feedback and recommendations.

• Assists with the training to plant employees