Custom Food Control Plan Evaluation Services

Introduction:

Under the Food Act 2014 manufacturers of high-risk foods need to develop a Custom Food Control Plan (FCP) and register it with MPI.

The types of businesses that require a custom FCP include manufacturers of:

• food for vulnerable populations such as babies or the elderly
• fresh ready-to-eat salads and other meals, non-shelf stable sauces, dips or dressings
• meat, poultry, fish, dairy or processed egg products.

You can use the MPI Where Do I Fit Tool to confirm if your business needs a custom FCP.

Note that other businesses can also choose this type of plan to personalise the way they manage food safety if they wish.

In order to gain MPI registration of your custom FCP you will need to:

1. Develop your plan - this may be done in conjunction with a food safety consultant, or in-house resources
2. Have it evaluated by a MPI recognised Food Act Evaluator
3. Register the custom FCP with MPI, and renew your registration each year
4. Get checked by a verifier (auditor) - usually on an annual basis, but as this is performance based the frequency can vary (from as little as once every 18 months, to as often as once every 3 months)
5. Always follow your plan to make safe and suitable food.

MPI have published guidelines to assist in the development of a Custom FCP - click here to download this. These are definitely worth a look!

Food Control Plan Evaluation - How Does it Work?

Two of our team, Helen McDonald and Shane Hopgood, are currently MPI recognised Food Act Evaluators.

We can evaluate most types of Custom Food Control Plans (with the exception of Aseptic Processing, and Low Acid Canned Food (LACF) Processing).

You can check out our MPI recognition credentials here.

To discuss your specific requirements contact us now 

Evaluation Outline

1.    The evaluator will conduct a desk top review of the custom food control plan that you provide, for compliance with the applicable requirements of the Food Act 2014, Food Regulations 2015, Food Notice - Food Control Plans and National Programmes, and any other relevant Food Notices, Standards, Codes of Practice etc

2.    An evaluation report will be sent to you, and any corrective actions required for the custom food control plan will be highlighted in the report for you to address

3.    The follow up to the corrective actions will either be before the on-site visit or followed up at the on-site evaluation. The best approach can be discussed with your evaluator, and is dependent on the type of corrective action (if any) that may be required.  

4.    An on-site visit will be organised (if required; there are exemptions from this requirement if certain conditions are met) and co-ordinated when the company is ready to operate

5.    The evaluation report will be updated with corrective actions completed, and any new (if any) corrective actions required from the on-site evaluation findings

6.    Once the company has satisfactorily addressed the corrective actions (usually via correspondence) an updated, endorsed evaluation report is issued to the company

7.    The company attaches the endorsed evaluation report to their MPI custom food control plan application with the other MPI required registration documents

Refer to this page of the MPI website for more guidance:-

Please Note: If you are starting a new business you cannot sell food until the custom food control plan is registered with MPI. Registration occurs after the evaluation process outlined above is completed.