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QSS helps food businesses assess their facilities, close documentation gaps, and build the food safety systems they need to meet CFIA and Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) requirements. If a CFIA inspection is on the horizon or your documentation hasn't been reviewed in a while, we can tell you exactly where you stand and what to do next.
A food safety audit is a systematic review of your facility's food safety programs, documentation, and processes against regulatory requirements and industry standards.
Under the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations, food businesses that import, export, or sell food across provincial lines are required to have a Preventive Control Plan (PCP). A PCP builds on HACCP principles and includes additional requirements for allergen control, labelling, traceability, and sanitation. For many businesses, a well-developed PCP is the foundation for CFIA licensing and continued market access.
At Quality Smart Solutions, we conduct structured audits that evaluate where your systems stand today, identify what needs to be addressed, and support you through the steps to reach and maintain compliance. Our consultants have direct experience across food manufacturing, processing, and import operations, and we carry that practical knowledge into every engagement.
We conduct an in-depth review of your current food safety systems, measure them against HACCP and PCP requirements, and identify gaps, risks, and areas for improvement.
We evaluate your existing SOPs, monitoring logs, and records, provide targeted recommendations, and develop any missing or non-compliant documentation your facility needs.
Our consultants conduct a full facility walkthrough, carry out staff interviews, and review records in real time to collect evidence and identify compliance issues as they arise.
You receive a detailed findings report with prioritized corrective actions, supporting evidence, and clear next steps your team can act on immediately.
We provide hands-on guidance to help you address findings, deliver corrective action templates and tools, and support your team in preparing for CFIA inspections.
We deliver role-specific instruction on food safety hazards, critical control points, monitoring procedures, record-keeping, and internal audit practices so your team is prepared and confident.
Explore articles, blogs, and videos on food safety audits, HACCP, Preventive Control Plans, and CFIA compliance.
HACCP is a risk-based system that identifies and controls food safety hazards at critical points in your process. A Preventive Control Plan, required under the SFCR, builds on HACCP and adds requirements for allergen control, traceability, labelling, and sanitation. For most Canadian food businesses, a PCP that incorporates HACCP meets both regulatory obligations and export requirements.
A formal third-party audit is not always legally required, but a compliant PCP is mandatory if your business imports, exports, or sells food across provincial lines under the SFCR. Many buyers and export markets also require audit documentation as a condition of doing business. We can assess your situation and confirm what applies to you.
Our process begins with a pre-audit assessment of your documentation and operations. We then conduct an on-site evaluation that includes a facility walkthrough, staff interviews, and record review. From there, we produce a gap analysis and findings report with prioritized recommendations. Optional implementation support and training are available as a follow-on.
You will typically need your HACCP or PCP manual, monitoring records, corrective action logs, training records, verification activities, and supplier documentation. We review what you have, identify what is missing, and help you develop anything that needs to be created or updated.
Timelines depend on the size and complexity of your facility and the current state of your documentation. We scope each engagement to your specific situation and keep you informed throughout the process.
The most common issues are poor documentation, inadequate staff training, inconsistent monitoring, and failure to follow established procedures. Our pre-audit assessment is designed to identify these gaps before they become problems.
At minimum, your food safety system should be reviewed annually or whenever there are changes to your products, processes, equipment, or suppliers. We can support ongoing maintenance and periodic reviews as part of a long-term compliance relationship.
Yes. CFIA inspection preparation is a core part of our implementation support. We help you conduct internal audits, ensure documentation is current, and prepare your team for what to expect during an inspection.