FAQ
Dairy RegTech Food Safety Culture Food Safety Data for Dairy RegTech
Dairy RegTech
Is Dairy RegTech a regulatory requirement?
No, it is voluntary to participate in the Dairy RegTech program.
What are the benefits?
Benefits to participating in Dairy RegTech for DFSV licenced manufacturers are outlined here
Who can apply?
Victorian dairy manufacturers of any size can apply to participate in Dairy RegTech, it is not currently available to dairy farmers.
Our company has multiple sites in Victoria. Can I submit one application to cover all sites?
No. These assessments are based on individual sites. A company needs to submit an application for each individual site in Victoria.
Is there a cost to apply?
No.
Are there eligibility criteria?
Yes. You must be a DFSV dairy manufacturing site and have had no more than one major corrective action request (CAR) in the past 12 months.
Who submits the application?
Anyone at the site with the appropriate authority can submit the application, though it is important to seek commitment from the CEO or business owner. This person will be contacted by the DFSV CEO prior to commencement to confirm the business’s commitment to participating in the program.
What resources will be available to assist businesses with Dairy RegTech?
DFSV provides guidance and resources for businesses who become Dairy RegTech Adopters. Examples include a step-by-step guide for industry, strategies to get your team/s ready for the survey/onsite assessment and a templated Action Plan. These are available on the Dairy RegTech portal which is accessible after application. DFSV will continue to develop resources based on Dairy RegTech Adopters’ feedback.
Is Dairy RegTech available in other states?
Not at this stage. The Dairy RegTech concept is supported by other state jurisdictions and DFSV has offered to help other states implement this program at a later stage.
Can export registered sites apply for Dairy RegTech?
Yes - all of your export requirements will be covered by DFSV audit (as it is now).
How long does the food safety culture assessment take?
The food safety culture assessment is expected to take about 15 weeks from submission of an application to receipt of feedback for the action plan. This can vary depending individual site circumstances (see diagram of process here).
What’s involved in the food safety culture assessment?
Food safety culture assessments involve:
- a self-assessment survey completed by all workers on the site
- interviews with senior leaders
- focus groups with production staff
Results are then discussed with your culture specialist to inform next steps.
Do sites who have transitioned to Dairy RegTech still have audits?
Yes. Sites will continue to undergo regulatory audits. However, these audits will involve less time spent manually checking compliance data, giving sites more time to discuss issues and their food safety culture improvement activities. Over time there may be the opportunity for greater time between audits.
What does being a Dairy RegTech adopter mean?
Dairy RegTech adopters access:
- Tailored and targeted DFSV audits – informed by data insights
- Ongoing food safety data analysis - data will be analysed, trended and benchmarked, presented deidentified in an individualised password protected dashboard to Dairy RegTech Adopters
- Ongoing support from DFSV for improving food safety culture related outcomes –regular check-ins, feedback, access to workshops and online resources.
- Regular peer engagement (workshops, online content, etc)
Food Safety Culture
What is food safety culture?
The food safety culture of a business is how everyone, regardless of role or responsibility, thinks and acts in their daily job to ensure that the food they make is safe. It refers to shared values, beliefs and norms, which affects mindset and behaviour toward food safety. Click here to find out more.
Why is DFSV assessing food safety culture as part of Dairy RegTech?
The Victorian dairy industry has a strong food safety track record, but by working with sites to better understand and improve food safety culture, DFSV aims to improve performance and reduce the risk of major food safety incidents and recalls.
How are the food safety culture results reported?
Results will be made available as a confidential report on the site’s individual Dairy RegTech dashboard which is password protected on the Dairy RegTech portal. The results are reported at three levels:
- An overall food safety culture maturity score ranging from one (least mature) to five (most mature)
- Individual scores for each of the five dimensions
- Individual scores for each of the fourteen enablers
As more sites join the program, businesses will be able to see how their food safety score compares to the industry benchmark.
Who has access to a site’s food safety culture results?
Only the site contacts that have had their credentials established on the Dairy RegTech portal can view their results. It is up to the site to determine if they want to share their results with others. DFSV will not be sharing individual site results with anyone but the key site contacts.
How does a site use the food safety culture maturity results?
The results will allow sites to identify gaps and prioritise actions in the form of an action plan. Dairy RegTech Adopters will be able to spend time talking about their current food safety culture maturity, guided by their action plan with a DFSV food safety culture specialist.
What does DFSV do with the action plan?
The action plan is provided to DFSV to review to ensure that it reflects the results from the culture assessment.
The action plan is the material that both the site and their Culture Specialist will refer to at the future ‘check in’ sessions to discuss wins, potential roadblocks and ideas for ways forward.
Will DFSV reassess a site’s food safety culture?
Dairy RegTech Adopters will have the opportunity for their food safety culture to be reassessed at an interval appropriate for the manufacturing site. This will depend on their progress on their action plan.
Can I have a food safety culture assessment without applying for Dairy RegTech?
No – these assessments are only offered to sites committed to moving to an alternate audit model. This model uses food safety culture and data together to provide food safety assurance.
Food Safety Data for Dairy RegTech
What food safety data must be supplied?
A minimum of two data points (corrective action requests and quantitative end product testing) are to be shared via the DFSV portal. Sites may wish to share additional data such as training, environmental testing (quantitative and/or qualitative) and end product testing (qualitative).
DFSV Food Safety Managers will discuss with site personnel the scope and submission frequency of data.
DFSV has developed templates that can easily be provided to your testing laboratory so they can provide your testing information in a submission-ready format.
How does a site submit food safety data to DFSV?
Dairy RegTech Adopters will regularly submit their food safety data via the Dairy RegTech Portal. Depending on the data type, data can be uploaded using a webform or via text (XLS) submission. For smaller businesses with limited digital capabilities, the portal can provide some digital record management as well as trend analysis.
How frequently is food safety data uploaded?
DFSV will work with manufacturers to determine what data and upload frequency to best fit with their existing business practices. This may be weekly or monthly and will require additional resourcing and a commitment to transparency.
How is food safety data used by DFSV?
DFSV Food Safety Managers will look at food safety data including trends to inform audits, allowing them to be more focused and targeted with less time spent manually checking records.
Will audit be different for Dairy RegTech Adopters?
Yes. Audits will be tailored to the individual site, with the scope of the audit altered to suit. The approach under Dairy RegTech will focus on risk management and utilise points of interest generated from data provided by the site to assess and verify food safety controls. DFSV will use observation and active conversation as a primary method to collect evidence with less reliance on retrospective review of documented records.
