Food Safety Specialist

Food is a necessity that all humans require to survive. Making food production more efficient and ensuring health standards are met can help reduce the amount of food that is wasted and improve the overall amount of food that is fit for human consumption.

A Food Safety Specialist is tasked with ensuring the quality and safety of food available on the market. They must understand how food is produced in particular sectors of the food industry, such as meat processing, and ensure local and international standards are met in seed selection, harvesting, pest control, storage, transport, and every other stage between growing food and presenting it for consumption. They also ensure that the labelling of food, including expiration dates, is done correctly. They must be aware of possible food contamination hazards and how to implement preventive measures.

DID YOU KNOW?

• A food and quality specialist plays a key role in helping prevent sickness
  and diseases.
• Everybody has a role to play in keeping food safe.

Mr. Uy Say
Senior Training & Quality Assurance Executive
Hagar Catering

Quality assurance goes beyond just overseeing food safety; it’s also about making sure that everyone around you understands what the company’s mission is.

As Senior Training & Quality Assurance Executive for Hagar Catering, a position I’ve held for three years, I am tasked with training the Hagar Catering staff to make sure they always follow the correct policies and standards that we expect of all our employees, especially regarding food safety. Additionally, I oversee the food quality we provide to our customers, ensuring 100 percent customer satisfaction. Prior to my current position, I worked as an Area Manager for Hagar.

I’ve always enjoyed sharing knowledge and skills with people, so taking this job was the right fit for me. The way products and services have developed in Cambodia over the past few years is entirely different from the past. Ensuring the quality of products is becoming increasingly important, as the expectations of our customers and the Cambodian people in general increase. This is a challenge that I enjoy taking on every single day; organisation and efficiency is crucial.

My responsibilities at Hagar are many. First and foremost, I act as an in-house Consultant and help identify training requirements for all levels, based on current industry trends. I come up with training plans and schedules over the course of a financial year. I oversee our operations efficiency, as well as our food quality and offer improvements to keep our standards to the highest level.

Quality assurance goes beyond just overseeing food safety; it’s also about making sure that everyone around you understands what the company’s mission is. When we commit ourselves to the company’s mission and goals we go a long way to improving our food safety standards.

When working in the food and beverage industry, quality assurance is crucial to the company’s reputation, making it an extremely important role. Any candidates who would like to take on this job must be able to show commitment. Some of the key qualities employers look for in this type of career are: adaptability and flexibility; strong work ethic; a positive attitude towards work and colleagues; a strong sense of initiative; and accountability.