Preventive Controls Qualified Individuals (PCQIs) are a required asset for most FDA-regulated food manufacturers under current Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) guidelines. But optimizing operations is about more than just meeting basic compliance standards; if you want to streamline operations and maximize efficiency in your facility, simply checking the ‘PCQI’ box isn’t enough.| AIB International Blog
The preventive controls qualified individual (PCQI) role, created under 21 CFR 117, carries significant responsibility — designing and implementing food safety plans, auditing processes and procedures, and validating and testing compliance regularly. But if you ask the average PCQI what they produce, you're likely to get an answer that has little to do with safe food: "I produce documents."| AIB International Blog
Predictive analytics and big data are influencing preventive control measures. Here’s how PCQIs can harness these tools for proactive risk management.| blog.aibinternational.com
The PCQI role was first introduced in 2015 to align with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) passed by Congress in 2011. Over a decade later, the world is very different: New threats like COVID-19 and Avian Influenza have emerged, existing threats have intensified, climate change has advanced and may be accelerating, and supply chains are longer and more complex than ever. Maintaining food safety is a more challenging goal than it was; keeping up requires a proactive approach to anticipa...| AIB International Blog
PCQIs are an increasingly important part of modern food safety, but how did we get here, and how can food manufacturers make PCQIs a competitive advantage?| blog.aibinternational.com
While everyone knows about clean hands and sanitized surfaces, one major food safety risk is often overlooked: the equipment slicing, mixing, cooking, and packaging the products going out your facility’s doors.| AIB International Blog
Training for a crisis is hard in the best of cases, but especially so when it comes to food safety. Read our tactical tips so your next crisis doesn't catch you off guard.| blog.aibinternational.com
The FDA and USDA announced nearly 300 food recalls in 2024 — that’s hundreds of manufacturers who had to scramble, often under intense scrutiny, to trace contaminated products back to their sources and pull them from shelves before they reached more dinner tables.| AIB International Blog
Over the last few decades, the global food system has evolved into a complex web of interconnected supply chains, transforming the traditional farm-to-fork journey of food and beverage products into a truly epic adventure. This expansive network requires an increasingly unified approach to food safety, a mission the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) formed specifically to address. One of the latest food safety schemes recognized by the organization is the International Featured Standards (...| AIB International Blog
Food safety recalls have been on the rise for several years, and consumer trust in food safety has declined as a result. Read on to learn how the food industry can regain this lost consumer confidence.| blog.aibinternational.com
Sesame has recently been added as the ninth major allergen in the U.S. What can food manufacturers do to prevent cross-contact in production facilities?| blog.aibinternational.com