With the broad number of factors involved in conducting a successful and efficient food safety inspection, all food safety inspectors, regardless of experience, should take into consideration some key pointers before conducting an inspection.

Whether a small business or a large corporation, proper maintenance and routine inspections are crucial for ensuring smooth operations. Can the deployment of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) augment the efforts of food safety professionals by helping them perform inspections?

The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) recently published the results of a survey that assessed the value of the national Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) and perspectives on potential changes to regulatory approach.

The Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) published a guidance that clarifies the differences between mandatory requirements of the Produce Safety Rule (PSR) and multiple U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) audits.

A recent project report published by the UK Food Standards Agency reflects the potential of advanced technologies and data analytics—such as artificial intelligence (AI) and imaging methods—for improving meat inspection processes.

On Thursday afternoon of the 2022 Food Safety Summit, industry and regulatory representatives engaged in a panel discussion about how food safety culture and behavior can contribute to modernization of the inspection process.

Understanding the types of violations observed during inspections is a requirement for correctly citing a violation and providing quality feedback to the facility operator. Breakdowns in this chain of communication can lead to additional inspections and possible enforcement actions, which waste valuable time, money, and effort. To ensure that this chain is firm, inspectors are provided with access to training and continuing education, as needed, to properly identify violations and apply their guiding regulations.

Make sure your food safety plan is ready for a U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspection before it's too late.

The answer to the question in our headline is “yes.” And it takes a proactive and a multifaceted approach to get there.

The New Era of Smarter Food Safety represents a new approach to food safety, leveraging technology and other tools to create an integrated, safer, and more digital, traceable food system.