Looking after quality across the business. Covering 3 packing plants (Infant Formula, Nutritional Powders, and Dietary Tablets & Capsules), a powder plant, and warehousing. In the last couple of years, we have gained Organic and FSSC22000 certification and renewed our GACC and SAMR approvals.

My role at Brix oversaw many of the compliance aspects of the operation. I had a team of 8 covering Quality & Food Safety Management Systems, Training Systems, Production Line Quality Assurance Systems, Health & Safety, Environmental Systems and our in-house laboratory. I worked closely with each department to advise as required on technical as well as compliance issues, developing my team and building our systems. In a year and a half we moved from being a contract winemaking operation to a major player in contract beverages, bringing significant market leaders in wine, soft drinks, energy drinks and alcoholic seltzers. During this time we grew from one bottling line to 3, including a can line, with major installations of blending and packing facilities, introducing and validating a Pasteuriser. We moved from BRC B grade under version 7 to A grade under version 8, expanded our scope of certification and achieved success under multiple supplier audits as well as certification against Bio-Gro, SWINZ, WSMP, NP3, and Coles (AIB).

I was involved in both auditing and training, in particular delivering ISO22000 based HACCP training to the Dairy industry and FSSC auditing. I was also been involved in other projects, including training our own new auditors, working on a new internal training programme and working as part of a team delivering consultancy services to the Qatar government, including developing systems, resources and training key senior staff.

As we worked towards accreditation of this commercial food testing laboratory, my main focus was on fostering a culture that valued working collaboratively, supporting one another, proactively identifying problems (so that they could be fixed quickly) and achieving results for our customers. The other big focus for this role was to troubleshoot the retrofitting of our laboratory; sourcing new equipment, overseeing contractors, negotiating facility improvements with the property owners and establishing new supply lines.

Working in our internal Certification and Quality Assurance team the role included:-supporting projects in ASEAN, Middle East, China, and New Zealand,-development of technical training programs for our internal AsureQuality Auditor Academy, as well as for customers in the various international markets we are operating in.-supporting the updates of our internal compliance manual and audit processes to meet changing accreditation requirements-business development and new product development for international markets

Based out of Singapore my main role involved regional work in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Myanmar. Many of these were high risk manufacturers, including canneries, ready to eat meat manufacturers and prepared salad plants. Other project work in Shanghai and Beijing was done in association with Price Waterhouse Coopers with other projects in the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Oman). There was a variety of training and audit work covering supplier audits for major international food chains, as well advisory work to companies regarding international GFSI Quality and Food Safety Management Systems such as BRC and FSSC22000.This role also had a business development focus, having responsibility to establish relationships across South East Asia, researching market requirements and represent the Audit, Inspection & Training aspects of our business. One aspect of this assignment was getting our organisation approved as a nationally recognised training organisation in Singapore.

Based in Auckland, but working across the country and overseas. Auditing against regulatory and customer based food safety and quality standards. I was also delivering training in Food Safety, HACCP, and Auditing Skills, as well as performing onsite assessments of auditors as part of their training and approval. This has included providing training and conducting assessments for Environmental Health Officers on behalf of the food safety authority (MPI). Seeing how different people come up with different and creative solutions has always been valuable to me in training to tailor discussions to people from different industries and help understand and empathise with their concerns.

I worked here in a regulatory compliance position. Most of our work was focused on inspecting and licensing food businesses covering manufacturing, retail and food-service, working with them to make improvements and taking enforcement action where necessary. Having the responsibility to take enforcement action made it clear that making hard choices is a balancing act, that we need to be carefula and empathetic on the impact those choices have on others without being afraid to make those choices. We also had general responsibilities in regard to other public health issues in the built environment, inspecting businesses such as tattoo parlours, mortuaries, hairdressers and beauty therapists. I was also delivering training courses for food safety and liquor licensing and was involved in the redevelopment of courses and systems for monitoring the quality assurance of training delivery.The industry has had a lot of changes in the past decade, and a lot more are likely in the coming years. It was good to work in a team where the management had a forward looking approach and had changed the way they worked to reflect where the industry was headed instead of resisting change. If you want great (although a bit gross) work stories then working as an EHO will definitely give you that.

More like a family than a job, lots of great friends made working at all these sites. Key things I learnt here included the value of building morale, developing the competency of team members (including managers), and having good reliable systems if you want high performing teams.

Working with a great bunch of guys in an award winning brewery that made superb beer for their own range as well as under contract. Also contract production and bottling of fruit juices, energy drinks, RTD's and other premium beverages.

Phenomenally busy catering company. Great food, drama free catering and fun to work for. I have never worked so many hours and still had fun, as I did working here. Still get nostalgic when I see their vans on the road. . . and hungry!

Working in the food testing (General Micro) lab at Blockhouse Bay. Went for a visit late in 2011, I was amazed at how much had changed, very modern. Good to see so many of the same faces still there.