| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Agriculture and Food Processing |
| Level | Mid level |
| Reports to | Food Plant Operations Manager |
| Direct reports | Food Quality Analyst |
| Experience | 3 to 6 years in food safety or quality |
Food Safety Officer job description template
Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.
Job title: Food Safety Officer
Department: Agriculture and Food Processing
Reports to: Food Plant Operations Manager
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A Food Safety Officer keeps a food or dairy plant safe and compliant, enforcing hygiene, food safety systems and regulatory standards. The role reports to the Food Plant Operations Manager or a quality head. A good food safety officer keeps hygiene and food safety practices in place every day, passes audits without major findings, catches and closes non conformances, trains staff on safe handling, keeps records ready for inspection, manages recalls and incidents well, and protects both consumers and the company by making sure nothing unsafe leaves the plant.
Key responsibilities
- Enforce hygiene, sanitation and food safety systems across the plant daily.
- Maintain the food safety plan, including hazard analysis and control points.
- Conduct food safety and hygiene checks and audits across the plant.
- Catch non conformances and drive corrective and preventive action to closure.
- Train staff on hygiene, safe handling and food safety practices.
- Keep food safety records and documents ready for audit and inspection.
- Manage pest control, water testing and cleaning verification across the plant.
- Handle food safety incidents, complaints and any recall correctly.
- Support regulatory inspections and keep licences and approvals current.
- Verify that raw material and finished product meet safety standards.
Requirements
- Degree in food technology, microbiology or science
- Training in food safety and HACCP
- Knowledge of food safety regulations
- 3 to 6 years in food safety or quality
KRAs and KPIs for a Food Safety Officer
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Audit compliance | Food safety audit score above the agreed level with no critical findings |
| Non conformances | Non conformances closed within the agreed time above target |
| Hygiene | Hygiene checks passing above the agreed level across the plant |
| Training | Food safety training completion across staff above the agreed level |
| Records | Food safety records kept inspection ready with no gaps |
| Incidents | Food safety incidents and complaints kept below the agreed level |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: Food safety management records, Audit checklists, Testing and swab kits, MS Excel, Pest and cleaning logs.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Quality Manager, Food Plant Operations Manager, Food Safety Head
Interview questions for a Food Safety Officer
- How do you keep hygiene and food safety in place every single day?
- How do you run a food safety audit and act on the findings?
- How do you close a non conformance so it does not recur?
- How do you handle a food safety incident or a suspected unsafe batch?
- How do you train staff who see hygiene rules as a nuisance?
- How do you keep records ready for a surprise inspection?
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What does a Food Safety Officer do?
A Food Safety Officer keeps a food or dairy plant safe and compliant, enforcing hygiene, food safety systems and regulatory standards. They run checks and audits, close non conformances, train staff, keep records ready for inspection and handle incidents. They make sure nothing unsafe leaves the plant.
What is HACCP in food safety?
HACCP stands for hazard analysis and critical control points. It is a system that identifies where food safety hazards can occur in a process and sets controls and checks at those points. Food safety officers build and run the HACCP plan so hazards are controlled before product reaches consumers.
What qualifications does a Food Safety Officer need?
Most roles ask for a degree in food technology, microbiology or science with training in food safety and HACCP and knowledge of food safety regulations. Employers value auditing, corrective action and hygiene enforcement, plus the firmness to hold standards even when production is under pressure.