The Food Safety Supervisor Has a Very Important Role

What is the role of a food safety supervisor?

In Australia, all employees working in venues that serve, process and/or prepare food should undertake a food handling course. This course trains the student in safe and hygienic food practices that will ultimately minimise the chances of food borne illness outbreaks. A food safety supervisor is an employee that has obtained their food handling certificate (level 1) and went on to complete the food safety supervisor course (level 2). Upon successful completion of level 2, the student is qualified to supervise other employees in the workplace.

The role of the food safety supervisor is very important. Businesses, restaurant businesses in particular, are comprised of many different functions and it is very difficult for one single manager to oversee the entire business. It is not simply a matter of getting food from the kitchen to the hungry patron. That food needs to be ordered well in advance, profit margins for each dish needs to be set, the ambience of the restaurant needs to be tended to and the bookkeeping/payroll also requires attention. Rather than trying to accomplish all these tasks in conjunction with making sure the food is handled, prepared and served in a safe manner, business owners may have more than one food safety supervisor. This supervisor’s main focus is on the food and this wise business decision dramatically reduces the incidences and results of unsafe food practices.

Having one person in charge of food safety creates accountability and an official chain of command. If a patron has a complaint, the wait staff knows who they can speak to to get the issue resolved. If new food regulations are issued, the supervisor knows it is their task to stay informed and educate the staff of any mandatory changes. This supervisor knows to be on the lookout for food that arrives in open or damaged packaging or from a supplier whose facility is not up to food safety standard codes.

A food safety supervisor is not just for restaurant locations. Food packing and processing plants also require a supervisor on the work floor. One of the dangers the supervisor looks for is employees that come to work sick. While the slight sniffle might be alright (although unappreciated by your co-workers!) in an office environment, the slightest cold or cough is detrimental when handling food for distribution. It only takes one employee wiping their nose or sneezing to contaminate food and start a devastating reaction of germs and bacteria being passed from person to person.

In a processing plant, another danger the supervisor watches for is the packaging itself. Packaged foods must be able to withstand their shelf life or else they become unfit for human consumption. The supervisor must make sure quality controls are in place to ensure the packaging is free of contaminates and remains sterile throughout processing.

The role of a food safety supervisor is very important. They stand between the food you eat and the bacteria that could make you extremely ill.