Food Safety Engineer

at  Abbott Laboratories

ABOUT ABBOTT

Abbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritional and branded generic medicines. Our 107,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries.
Abbott serves the Irish market with a diverse range of healthcare products including diagnostics, medical devices and nutritional products. In Ireland, Abbott employs over 4,000 people across nine sites. We have six manufacturing facilities located in Clonmel, Cootehill, Donegal, Longford and Sligo and a third-party manufacturing management operation in Sligo. Abbott has commercial, support operations and shared services in Dublin and Galway. We have been operating in Ireland since 1946.

EDUCATION REQUIRED:

• Bachelor’s Degree and /or significant experience in plant quality/food safety/Sanitation.
• Desired: Certification as a Sanitarian and Pesticide Application.

KNOWLEDGE:

• Understanding and application of microbiological principles with in depth food borne pathogen knowledge.
• Knowledge of HACCP, Sanitation principles and Food Safety Preventive Controls (FSPC)
• Understanding of the appropriate wet cleaning and dry cleaning methodology.
• Experience in successfully addressing environmental sanitation challenges in areas such as drains, floors, walls, roofs, and equipment.
• Proven leadership capabilities
• Project planning & execution experiences
• Process control knowledge
• Proven plant financial understanding
• Experience with working on Continuous Improvement Projects
• Experience with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES

The role of the Food Safety Specialist is part of the site’s success and compliance by:

• Driving and implementing holistic plant sanitation programs, policies and procedures for plant, warehouse and plant grounds; Assuring compliance with all local, state and federal regulations and all food safety policies and procedures
• Acting as sanitation support in the process of assessing and mitigating safety risk associated with construction and major maintenance.
• Collaborate/Coordinate with Facility Supervisor, Operations Leadership, Operations Associates and Site Cleaning staff to achieve desired Environmental Monitoring performance and Pest Control performance
• Evaluating facility sanitary conditions, assessing risk based on food safety and public health principles, prioritizing corrective actions, and verifying sanitation activities and validation testing
• Evaluating monthly environmental samples for monitoring of pathogenic organisms in plant, trending the results and developing corrective actions
• Conformance to master cleaning schedule and applicable cGMP guidelines, best practices and requirements.
• Assist in developing and implementing all sanitation related training for sanitation and plant employees as needed;
• Ensures all safety requirements related to sanitation are met including proper

chemical storage, MSDS, PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) and procedures.

• Maintaining and writing detailed clean up procedures and Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures for all plant equipment, driving towards reduced water and air usage.

SUPERVISORY/MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES:

• While this role does not have any direct reports, it indirectly will guide and lead the site Cleaning staff as well as guide and direct the area production teams in their cleaning and sanitation efforts.

ACCOUNTABILITY / SCOPE

• The Food Safety Specialist works under the direct supervision of the Food Safety Manager. Position assists and with all phases of sanitation, pest control, microbiological and cleaning programs for the site. The decision-making process of this position is critical to the ongoing compliance of the production operation, and to the quality and safety of the food products.
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