Making sure people are competent for their food-safety roles
Plain-language summary
Anyone whose work affects food safety must be properly competent - through training, experience or education - and you must prove it.
What the clause is really asking
Competence is the backbone of every control. This clause requires you to define what competence each food-safety role needs, ensure people have it, act when there are gaps, and keep the records. It applies to your own staff and to external people working under your control, including the HACCP team and anyone running a CCP.
What auditors look for
Auditors test competence at the point of work - they will watch an operator run a critical control or do a check and judge whether they truly understand it, then trace back to training and assessment records. The food-safety team's competence to do hazard analysis gets particular attention.
Typical evidence
Competence requirements per role; training records and assessments; HACCP team qualifications; effectiveness evaluation of training
How to comply — recommendations
Define the competencies each food-safety job needs and assess people against them, not just attendance at a course. Verify training actually worked - observe the task or test understanding. Pay special attention to the HACCP team and CCP operators, and refresh competence after changes or errors.
Common nonconformities
Training records show attendance but no competence check; CCP operators not assessed; HACCP team lacking demonstrable hazard-analysis competence
Related clauses
ISO 22000 5.3, 7.3, 8.5.2; ISO 9001 7.2
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