Hi all, we recently just finished our SQF unannounced audit on Edition 9. Our auditor dinged us on this detail under 2.4.4.2 2.4.4.2 "Where internal laboratories are used to conduct input, environmental, or product analyses, sampling and testing methods shall be in accordance with the applicable requirements of ISO/IEC 17025, including annual proficiency testing for staff conducting analyses" The auditor's claim was that we didn't demonstrate proficiency testing in environmental sample collection. Here's the backdrop of our company: 1. We are a small company (no more than 9 employees) that primarily specializes in distribution and occasionally repackaging of dry ingredients. 2. We are a low-risk and dry facility. 3. Our EMP program/risk analysis only really needs to monitor for Salmonella and mostly in the packaging room. 4. We use the Hygenia InSite Salmonella environmental test swabs for environmental monitoring. However, we do NOT have any internal laboratories on-site (which is why I did not think this standard applied to us in the first place... because the verbiage is confusing, of course). 5. I'm the SQF practitioner and I am the one who does the environmental swab testing every quarter. I've watched the training videos provided by Hygenia and collect my samples accordingly. I'm also the one who usually does and conducts the food safety trainings at our company (since I'm the lead and practitioner on that) Can you help provide some advice/guidance on the following:
- What would constitute as demonstrating proficiency for environmental monitoring sampling?
- Does anyone know of some cost-effective, on-demand online trainings for environmental monitoring sampling? (I've been sleuthing online for this but most are either not soon enough or they're exorbitantly priced for what I actually need to know)