Free food safety checklists & answers.
Working checklists from the plant floor and straight answers to the questions food manufacturers ask us most.
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Straight answers.
Is Apex a certification body?
No. Apex is an independent consultancy. We help you build and prove your system; an accredited certification body of your choice performs the certification audit. Using Apex has no effect on certification decisions, and that separation keeps our advice free of conflicts.
What's the difference between being audit-ready and audit-prepared?
Audit-prepared means the documents look right on audit day. Audit-ready means the system runs that way every day: records are complete because people fill them in on shift, and verification catches problems before an auditor does. We build for audit-ready.
Which GFSI scheme should we choose?
Usually the one your key customers ask for. SQF is common with US retailers, BRCGS with UK and European buyers, and FSSC 22000 with multinational brands. If customers don't specify, we compare the effort for your operation before you commit.
Do you do lab testing?
No. We design the sampling plans and validation studies, coordinate testing with an accredited laboratory of your choice, and interpret the results. That keeps testing costs transparent and lets you keep your current lab.
Do you work on site?
Yes. Validation and verification, GMP and sanitation audits, mock audits, supplier audits and mock recalls are done at your facility. Program writing, label review and regulatory filings are delivered remotely nationwide.
How is pricing set?
Label work is priced per SKU or per label. Programs and assessments are fixed-fee projects scoped after a free discovery call. Ongoing support is a monthly retainer. You see the full price before any work starts.
Do you deliver training courses?
Apex builds the training materials, matrices and effectiveness checks, and your team delivers them. If you need an accredited course such as FSPCA Preventive Controls for Human Food, we'll point you to a recognized provider.
Our audit is in six weeks. Is that too late?
Usually not. A focused gap assessment in the first week tells you which findings would be major or critical, and we work those first.
Can you work inside our existing digital system?
Yes. We have implemented and worked within SafeFood360, SafetyChain and Redzone, and we can build programs around the system you already use.
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