Food Safety and Quality Executive job description
The Food Safety and Quality Executive checks that food is made, stored and dispatched safely and to specification. They run inspections, sampling, records and corrective actions in a food plant or central kitchen.
Why the role exists
This role sits in the quality team of a food manufacturing unit, central kitchen or packaging site and reports to the quality head or plant manager. It covers incoming material checks, line inspections, hygiene audits, customer complaints and documents for buyers and auditors.
What the person does
- Inspect incoming ingredients and packaging against specification, and hold or reject lots that fail.
- Carry out in-process checks on weight, temperature, seal, colour and taste at set points on the production line.
- Run daily hygiene walk-rounds covering personal hygiene, cleaning, pest control and metal or foreign matter controls.
- Keep records for cleaning, calibration, temperature and traceability so batches can be traced forward and back.
- Collect samples for in-house or outside laboratory tests and record the results with the batch.
- Investigate customer complaints and non-conformities, find the cause with production and close the corrective action.
- Support internal and customer audits by preparing documents and showing evidence on the floor.
- Train line staff on hygiene, allergen handling and the checks they must record each shift.
Skills and tools
- HACCP principles and the ability to read a hazard analysis plan
- Sampling, sensory evaluation and basic laboratory test methods
- Calibration and use of thermometers, weighing scales and metal detectors
- Batch traceability and mock recall exercises
- Allergen control and cleaning verification methods
- Record keeping in registers, Excel or a quality software tool
- Root cause analysis for complaints and repeat defects
- Clear, firm communication with production supervisors on the shop floor
Education and experience
Preferred, never a bar: equivalent experience counts.
- Degree in food technology, food science, microbiology or a related subject preferred, or equivalent experience.
- Experience in quality or food safety in a plant, central kitchen or packaging unit is preferred.
- Food safety training or certification as the employer requires; confirm what applies with your own adviser.
- Exposure to customer or third-party audits is preferred.
How the work is judged
- Share of batches released without rework or customer complaint
- Completeness and accuracy of quality and traceability records
- Closure time and quality of corrective actions on audit findings and complaints
- Hygiene walk-round findings and how often the same issue returns
- Staff understanding of hygiene and allergen controls seen in floor checks
Where the role can lead
- Senior quality executive or quality assurance manager.
- Food safety team leader or auditor for a food company.
- Plant quality head, covering several lines or units.
Interview questions to ask
Ask every candidate the same questions in the same order and score them against written anchors, so the decision rests on the work and not the impression.
- Describe how you would respond if a metal detector rejects several packs in the same hour.
- How have you traced a batch back to its raw materials after a complaint?
- A production supervisor wants to dispatch a lot you have put on hold. What do you do?
- How do you check that cleaning was effective, not only that it was done?
- Tell us about a corrective action you closed and how you made sure the issue did not return.
- What would you check first on a walk-round of a packing hall that handles products with nuts?
Hiring tips for this role
- Show a sample batch record with errors and ask the candidate to find them. This tests attention to detail faster than theory questions.
- A common mistake is hiring someone who knows the audit vocabulary but has never stopped a line. Ask for a real example of holding a lot.
- Be clear that the role may challenge production and sales. Check that the candidate can say no politely and keep a record.
- Any certification a candidate holds should be seen and confirmed with the issuing body or your own adviser. We do not verify credentials.
Questions about hiring a food safety and quality executive
They check ingredients, line output and hygiene in a food plant or kitchen, keep batch records, deal with complaints and prepare for audits. They make sure food leaves the site safe and to specification.
No. Food quality work centres on hygiene, allergens, shelf life and sensory checks, with products that spoil quickly. Pharma quality follows different methods. Check for food experience in the candidate's background.
Useful certificates vary by product, buyer and state. What your plant needs depends on your facts, so confirm requirements with your own adviser. Ask to see any certificate a candidate claims.
Yes. GullyHR supports permanent hiring. We agree the job description with you, find and screen candidates with food plant quality experience and support you through the offer. We do not verify credentials.
Hiring a food safety and quality executive?
GullyHR runs talent acquisition for permanent roles. We agree the job description with you, find and screen candidates against it, and support the offer through to joining. We recruit permanent employees. We do not supply contract or temporary staff.