Senior QA Executive

Senior QA Executive, Seafood, Meat, and Meat Products (Chilled/Frozen/RTE/RTC) Food Safety Management System (FSMS).

Responsibilities:

• Implement, maintain, and continuously improve the FSSC 22000 Food Safety Management System for meat-based RTC and RTE products. Compliance with ISO 22000 HACCP, and ISO/TS.
• 2002-1 local meat regulations and customer requirements. Relevant PRPs, OPRPs, and CCPs specific to meat processing, including cooking, chilling, metal detection, and cold chain.
• controls. Maintain accurate and complete CCP records, monitoring logs, verification records, and statutory documentation.
• Support and coordinate internal audits and external audits (FSSC, customer, and regulatory) and ensure effective closure of non-conformities through CAPA.

Raw Material and Pre-Production Control (Meat-Specific):

• Verify and approve incoming raw meat, marinades, spices, additives, and packaging materials as per approved specifications, COAs, and temperature requirements.
• Ensure supplier compliance for meat sourcing, slaughter certification, veterinary clearance, and cold chain integrity.
• Conduct preproduction checks, including line clearance, sanitation verification, equipment calibration, and hygiene compliance.
• Verify allergen management controls related to spices, marinades, coatings, and cross-contact prevention during production planning.

Process Control - Meat RTC and RTE Operations:

• Oversee daily production operations for marinated, cooked, semi-cooked, and raw meat RTC/RTE products, ensuring food safety and quality compliance.
• Monitor critical control points such as cooking time and temperature (lethality control for RTE), rapid chilling / blast freezing, metal detection / foreign body control, cold room, and freezer temperature monitoring.
• Ensure segregation of raw vs. cooked zones, personnel movement control, and prevention of cross-contamination.
• Verify yield %, portion control, and batch integrity for each production lot.

Hygiene, Sanitation, and Environmental Monitoring:

• Ensure effective implementation of GMP, GHP, SSOPs, and sanitation programs for meat processing areas.
• Verify cleaning and sanitation effectiveness, including allergen cleaning and pre-operative hygiene checks.
• Support and monitor environmental swab programs (pathogens such as Listeria spp. where applicable).
• Ensure personal hygiene compliance, protective clothing use, and health monitoring of food handlers.

Product Evaluation, Release, and Traceability:

• Conduct and oversee sensory evaluation (appearance, odor, texture, and taste) of meat RTC and RTE products.
• Ensure retention samples are collected, stored, and documented as per FSMS and shelf-life requirements.
• Approve finished goods release based on quality, food safety, labeling, and traceability verification.
• Ensure full lot-wise traceability from raw meat intake to finished goods dispatch.

People Competency and Training:

• Conduct toolbox talks and inline training on meat hygiene, cross-contamination prevention, allergen control, and CCP awareness.
• Train and monitor production staff for compliance with SOPs, food safety culture, and high-risk meat handling practices.
• Support onboarding and competency development of new QA personnel in meat processing operations.

Supplier, Vendor, and Private Label Management:

• Participate in supplier approval and evaluation, including meat suppliers, spice vendors, and packaging partners.
• Assist in vendor audits, third-party manufacturer assessments, and verification of cold chain compliance.
• Coordinate private label production, ensuring compliance with customer specifications, labeling, and FSSC 22000 requirements.
• Support root cause analysis (RCA) and corrective actions for vendor-related quality issues.

Customer Complaints, Recall, and Crisis Management:

• Investigate and resolve B2B customer complaints related to meat quality, safety, yield, or shelf life.
• Conduct RCA, CAPA, and effectiveness verification, including on-site customer support at remote locations when required.
• Support mock recalls, traceability exercises, and food safety incident management as per FSMS procedures.

Cross-Functional Coordination and Continuous Improvement:

• Collaborate with R& D during new meat product development, validation of cooking processes, shelf-life studies, and scale-up.
• Work with Sales and Operations to ensure customer requirements and food safety risks are addressed prior to dispatch.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives focusing on food safety culture, waste reduction, yield optimization, and process efficiency.

Requirements:

• Experience: 5 to 7 years.
• Computer Skills: Use of the MS Office package and proficiency in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint is a must.
• Fluency in the English language, speaking, reading, and writing, is a must. Knowledge of Hindi and regional languages is preferred.
• Other Requirements: Some travel required with occasional outstation travel for partner institution research programs/training field staff/QA implementation/vendor improvement programs at different locations.