Job Description

Job Description

Job Description

Position Overview

The Food Label and Regulatory Specialist accurately compiles, reviews and records information relating to the composition and nutritional characteristics of all company products as well as certain supplier information required under the company’s supply-chain program, and ensures that the company’s products, packaging and labels comply with all applicable regulatory, company and customer requirements.

Duties and Responsibilities

Essential Functions:

It is estimated that approximately 95% of the incumbent’s time will be spent performing essential functions. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

Raw Material/Ingredient/Packaging Specification Development and Implementation

· Reviews specifications for raw materials and other ingredients for acceptable sub-listing (referred to collectively in this job description as “ingredients”) used or proposed to be used in the company’s products.

· Ensures that the specifications for ingredients used or proposed to be used in the company’s products are accurately compiled, maintained and updated as necessary in appropriate company records.

· Inputs and maintains nutritional data for existing and new ingredients in the Food Label Maker database system.

· Ensures that packaging to be utilized for the company’s products meets applicable regulatory requirements.

· Reviews ingredients specifications to ensure that they meet applicable regulatory requirements and the company’s food safety parameters.

Product /Recipe and Finished Product Specifications

· Reviews each product recipe generated by R&D to ensure that the product meets company and/or customer requirements.

· Ensures that each of the company’s finished products, when produced in accordance with its recipe will comply with applicable regulatory requirements, including, without limitation, HACCP (for Meat and Poultry and Seafood), HARPC, and standards of identity.

· Develops and maintains finished product specifications.

Label Development, Implementation and Approval

· Enters finished product recipes into the Food Label Maker database system to generate ingredient statements and nutrition facts panels for the products.

· Reviews and approves artwork for finished product labels to ensure compliance with applicable regulatory, company and customer requirements, including, without limitation, logos, trademarks, product name, placement of required information on principal display panel and information panel, font size and claims.

· Creates label prototypes for customers

· Maintains and inputs ingredient declaration statements into Label Matrix system for printing labels.

· Submits labels for USDA-related products to the appropriate USDA representative as required to ensure compliance with applicable USDA requirements.

Company Authority on Labeling and Nutritional Regulations

· Maintains a thorough knowledge of and fulfills the role of company authority on labeling and nutrition regulations.

New Item Creation

· Creates new items according to information provided by the Marketing team

· New item creation includes but is not limited to: new labels, finished product specification, entering recipe information into AS400 system, circulating new product information to relevant staff

· Acts as part of New Product Development Team

SQF and Food Safety

Retentions

· Maintains Retentions and Holds database

· Conducts weekly meeting to address any outstanding retentions/holds

· Communicates with staff to ensure dispositions are determined in an appropriate timeframe

· Files and maintains Retentions/Holds documentation

Customer Complaints

· Maintains Customer Complaint database

Files complaints in appropriate location

· Follows up with appropriate staff to ensure necessary corrective measures were taken to close the complaint

SQF

· Work closely with QA Director to ensure all tasks necessary for SQF are taken care of in a timely manner

· Acts as back up SQF Practitioner

Secondary Functions:

It is estimated that approximately 5% the incumbent’s time will be spent performing secondary functions. The following duties are considered secondary to the essential functions listed above:

· Other duties as assigned by the Director of Quality Assurance

Job Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required:

The following levels of job knowledge, skills and abilities are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

• Attention to detail.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills using the English language.
• Ability to work independently or with others in a team setting
• Excellent planning and problem-solving skills
• Ability to handle multiple priorities
• Ability to work in Food Label Maker, Label Matrix and Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Excellent knowledge of U.S. and applicable state food laws and regulations, especially as they relate to food labeling, food standards, common and usual names for unstandardized foods, food packaging, HACCP systems and HARPC.
• Ability to obtain and maintain certification as a Preventive Control Qualified Individual
• Excellent record keeping and documentation skills
• High sense of urgency and ability to achieve priorities

Education and Experience:

The following levels of education and experience are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

Minimum Required/Preferred

· Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution

· 2 years’ experience in a food industry environment

· 2 years prior experience in quality assurance or regulatory food law compliance in the perishable or frozen foods industry

· Bachelor’s degree in food science or food nutrition from an accredited institution

Physical Requirements

To perform the essential functions of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk to and/or listen to others. The employee regularly is required to use hands or fingers to handle or feel objects, keyboards, or controls. The employee is regularly required to stand, walk, sit, and reach with hands and arms. The employee must occasionally climb stairs, stoop, kneel, crouch, crawl, and exert a moderate amount of force to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects up to 25 pounds. A good sense of vision and hearing (with or without correction) is required. Specific vision abilities include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and the ability to adjust focus.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS

The work environment is primarily in an office setting at room temperature (+/- 70 degrees F) with minimal noise. The employee occasionally is required to spend time in the production and warehouse environment and therefore, to successfully perform the essential functions of this job, must be able to work for abbreviated amounts of time in an environment having the following conditions:

• Varying temperatures – The temperatures in the production and warehouse areas vary within a range of 100 degrees to -20 degrees.
• Damp conditions – Due to constant sanitation, the environment is damp, and the floors are typically wet and slippery.
• Sanitation chemicals – Due to constant sanitation, approved food-grade sanitation chemicals are frequently present in the work environment.
• Food allergens – Dairy, eggs, wheat, soy, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, and sesame are used as ingredients in our products and are frequently present in the work environment.
• Production equipment and vehicles – Equipment with moving mechanical parts and/or sharp edges and cooking vessels that operate at very high temperatures are present in the work environment and proper safety precautions must be observed. Forklifts and hand trucks are used extensively to move ingredients and finished products to various locations throughout the work environment and proper safety precautions must be observed.
• Noise – Noise levels in the work environment are moderate.
• Sanitary safeguards – Proper clothing, shoes, hair restraints and other attire must be worn as required by government regulations and/or Company policy, and jewelry and nail polish are strictly prohibited in production areas.

We create delicious, high quality, prepared foods so everyone has more time to enjoy life.

Company Description

We create delicious, high quality, prepared foods so everyone has more time to enjoy life.

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