Establishing FeedSafe® Certification at your site

Steps to gaining FeedSafe® Certification for manufacturers who are interested in obtaining FeedSafe® Certification.

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Steps to FeedSafe® Compliance

Step 1

Contact The FeedSafe® Management Team to find out how we can assist you to become FeedSafe® Certified.

Phone: 0419 891 494
Email The FeedSafe® Management Team: contact@sfmca.com.au

 

Step 2

Download the FeedSafe® Manuals and Guides from the FeedSafe® Website.

The manuals and guides will provide you with a complete overview of the FeedSafe® Program.

 

Step 3

Work Through the FeedSafe® Manuals and Guides and Create:

• a Feed Mill Quality Manual or Quality Assurance (QA) Manual

• develop a record keeping system to meet the FeedSafe® Standards and performance indicators in the FeedSafe® Standards Manual

  • records may include individual Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) or Work Instructions (WI) – these explain your processes and procedures.

  • records may be developed using the FeedSafe® example templates (Resources Tab of this website), your own records.

  • a review of the record templates is a good starting point if you are unfamiliar with the records to maintain on-farm.

 

Step 4

Manage the mill as described in your Mill Quality Manual.

 

Step 5

Complete an Internal Audit using either your own internal audit template or the FeedSafe® Audit Checklist available from the resources section of this website.

• The internal audit process will step you through the Standards and Performance Indicators.

• Through the internal audit, you have scope to identify opportunities for improvement and create personal corrective action requests that when implemented will drive improvements in farm operations and practices.

• The FeedSafe® Standards require manufacturers to complete an internal audit once a year, ideally three months before the site audit is conducted; however, you can do as many internal audits as you like.

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Step 6

Create Corrective Action Requests (CARs) for non-compliances identified in your Internal Audit and complete the corrective actions to close each CAR.

• A CAR should outline the non-compliance, list proposed actions to be taken to remedy the non-compliance, specify a timeframe to close the CAR, and be signed off on completion.

• Once you are confident that your system is working in your feed mill, you have records in place, and you have completed your first Internal Audit, you can arrange for a Compliance Audit to be conducted.

• A compliance audit must be undertaken within the first 12 months of being an SFMCA member to move from Provisional to Full membership.

 

Step 7

The Manufacturer notifies the FeedSafe® Management Team they are ready to undertake an audit and contacts an auditor of their choice.

Contact the FeedSafe® Management Team
Phone: 0419 891 494
Email: contact@sfmca.com.au

 

Your site details will be updated within the SFMCA records management system to reflect that you are seeking FeedSafe® Certification and to enable the creation of an audit for your site. If you are new to the industry, a record will be created for your site. All site specific information should be confirmed with The FeedSafe® Management Team – your site address details are necessary for Certification to occur.

 

Step 8

The Manufacturer selects and contacts an auditor of their choice.

 

Step 9

The auditor and manufacturer will schedule the audit.

 

Step 10

You, or your representative/s, participates in the Compliance Audit process by attending the opening meeting, desk audit, site audit and closing meeting and also work with the auditor top close out any CAR’s that are identified during the audit.

 

 

Step 11

The auditor records audit findings and completes an audit checklist and audit statement for your site.

The auditor will provide you with a copy of the checklist and statement and, where there are any CAR(s) identified they will also provide you with a Corrective Action Report specifying items for action. You then need to work with your auditor to close out any CAR(s) within the following periods:

• Major           two weeks from date of audit

• Moderate    four weeks from date of audit

• Minor           eight weeks from date of audit

 

Step 12

The manufacturer will notify The FeedSafe® Management Team that an audit has been conducted and the status of your audit.

• The FeedSafe® Management Team maintains the FeedSafe® Certification record for your site. The FeedSafe® Management Team will notify you of your FeedSafe® Certification status.

• For manufacturers new to FeedSafe®, certified status is provided as soon as you have met all FeedSafe® Standards and Performance Indicators.

• If your site has CAR(s) still to be closed out, The FeedSafe® Management Team will determine whether it can issue Conditional Certification. In this case Certification will apply once all CAR(s) are closed.

• Your FeedSafe® Certificate will be emailed to you by the FeedSafe® Management Team.

If the auditor does not recommend Certification and/or the FeedSafe® Management Team determines that the producer is not meeting the FeedSafe® Standards and performance indicators and/or is not agreeing to and signing off on CAR(s), then Certification is declined. Manufacturers can contest this decision under FeedSafe® Certification Policy: Appeals/Dispute Resolution Process.