Training & workshops

Training the people who actually run the system.

HACCP, Seafood HACCP, PCQI, FSVP, allergen awareness, food safety culture, internal auditing, inspection readiness and Certified Food Protection Manager preparation — taught against your own plan, your own records and your own findings.

Request TrainingWhat we teach
Subjects
18 taught
Formats
Virtual, on-site, classroom, custom
Materials
Built from your documentation

Why we train

We don't simply give you documents.

We train your organization to understand and operate the systems we build. A binder nobody can explain is not a compliance program — it is a liability with a table of contents.

Most food safety training fails for one of two reasons: it is too abstract to apply on Monday morning, or it is delivered to people who were never given the authority to act on it.

We solve the first by teaching against your documentation — your hazard analysis, your cooling logs, your last inspection report. Participants work on problems they recognise, which is the difference between understanding a principle and being able to apply it under pressure.

We address the second by being explicit about decision rights. A line lead trained to recognise a temperature deviation needs to know who can authorise a hold, and that they will not be penalised for calling one. That conversation belongs in the training room with leadership present.

A chef verifying food temperature with a digital probe thermometer on a stainless steel prep counter.

Taught where the work happens

Participants practise on their own logs, their own equipment and their own last set of findings.

Every engagement includes

  • Pre-delivery review of your relevant documentation
  • Materials adapted to your products, processes and terminology
  • Exercises drawn from your actual findings where you are comfortable sharing them
  • Attendance and completion records for your training file
  • A short written summary of gaps observed during delivery
  • Recommended refresher cadence and triggers

Accredited certificate programs are administered by their accrediting bodies. Where one is required, we say so and prepare your team for it rather than substituting our own.

Subjects

What we teach.

Sixteen subjects, grouped by what they are for. Any of them can be delivered as an awareness session for a whole shift, a working session for a small team, or an applied workshop where your people leave holding a finished document.

  • Regulatory training

    The federal frameworks a team is measured against, taught so people can explain their own plan rather than recite a definition.

    • HACCP
    • Seafood HACCP
    • FSVP
    • Preventive controls and the PCQI role
    • FDA inspection readiness

  • Food safety operations

    The programs that run every shift, and the moments where they usually fail — a changeover shortcut, a cooling log filled in from memory.

    • Food safety fundamentals
    • GMP and cGMP
    • Sanitation
    • Allergen control
    • Traceability
    • Recall readiness

  • Systems, auditing and suppliers

    How the system checks itself. Most internal audit programs exist on paper; these sessions make them produce findings someone can act on.

    • Internal auditing
    • Quality assurance systems
    • Supplier compliance and approval

  • Leadership and customized programs

    Training built for one company, and the leadership session that decides whether any of the rest of it survives a busy week.

    • Leadership training
    • Customized company training
    • Train-the-trainer programs
    • Role-specific refresher training

How a training engagement runs

Training is the handover, not the deliverable.

We build the program, then we train the people who have to run it — and we stay long enough to see the new practice reach the records. The sequence below is the same whether it is a two-hour allergen session or a multi-site rollout.

  1. Scope

    Establish who needs training, why, and what requirement sits behind it.

  2. Review

    Read your plan, your records and your recent findings before a single slide is written.

  3. Adapt

    Rebuild the material around your products, equipment and terminology.

  4. Deliver

    Teach it, with exercises drawn from your own operation rather than a case study.

  5. Apply

    Work the new practice into the procedures and records people use on shift.

  6. Record

    Attendance and completion records for your training file, plus a written note of gaps observed.

Request TrainingSee the courses

Courses

Programs we deliver.

Every course can be shortened into a refresher or extended into an applied workshop where your team leaves with a completed deliverable rather than notes.

01

HACCP Training

The seven principles taught against a real plan rather than a generic case study. Participants leave able to read a hazard analysis critically, tell a CCP from a prerequisite program, and explain why a critical limit is what it is.

Who it is for
QA staff, production supervisors, HACCP team members, retail managers running specialized processes
Typical length
One to two days, depending on depth and whether your own plan is used as the working example
Formats
Onsite, virtual, multi-unit rollout

What it covers

  • Prerequisite programs and why most CCP disputes are really prerequisite gaps
  • Flow diagram verification on the floor
  • Hazard identification: biological, chemical (including radiological) and physical
  • CCP determination and documented decision reasoning
  • Critical limits and the evidence that supports them
  • Monitoring, corrective action, verification and validation
  • Record review discipline and reassessment triggers

Where a formally accredited HACCP certificate is required by a customer or regulator, we will tell you which accredited program to use and can prepare your team for it.

02

Seafood HACCP

Species-specific hazard control under 21 CFR Part 123, taught with the FDA Fish and Fishery Products Hazards and Controls Guidance open. This is the training where people finally understand why histamine is a receiving control and not a cooking control.

Who it is for
Seafood processors, importers, sushi programs, retail seafood departments
Typical length
Two to three days for full coverage; shorter refresher formats available
Formats
Onsite, virtual

What it covers

  • Part 123 structure: HACCP plan per kind of fish and fishery product
  • Histamine (scombrotoxin) formation and species susceptibility
  • Parasite destruction requirements for fish intended for raw consumption
  • Ciguatera, aquaculture drug residues and environmental chemical contaminants
  • Sanitation control records under Part 123
  • Importer verification obligations for imported seafood
  • Using FDA hazard guidance to justify critical limits

21 CFR 123.10 is met either by training at least equal to a standardized curriculum recognized as adequate by FDA — the AFDO / Seafood HACCP Alliance course is that curriculum — or by qualification through job experience. The rule also states that the trained individual need not be an employee of the processor. Any Alliance certificate is issued by that body, not by SURU Compliance. We deliver preparation and applied workshops around it and tell you where the formal certificate is expected.

03

PCQI — Preventive Controls Qualified Individual

What the PCQI role actually requires under 21 CFR Part 117 — writing and reassessing the food safety plan, validating process preventive controls, reviewing records, and holding the line when production pushes back.

Who it is for
Named PCQIs, QA managers, plant managers, technical directors
Typical length
Two to three days, plus optional applied plan-writing workshop
Formats
Onsite, virtual

What it covers

  • Part 117 Subpart C: hazard analysis and the risk-based preventive controls framework
  • Process, food allergen, sanitation and supply-chain preventive controls
  • Validation, monitoring, corrective action and verification requirements
  • Records review timeframes and what a reviewer's signature actually attests to
  • Recall plan requirements tied to preventive controls
  • Qualified facility and modified requirement determinations
  • How the plan is read during an FDA inspection

21 CFR 117.180(c)(1) gives two co-equal routes to this role: training at least equivalent to a standardized curriculum recognized as adequate by FDA — the FSPCA Preventive Controls for Human Food curriculum is one such course — or qualification through job experience. FDA does not require the FSPCA course, does not certify individuals, and the rule speaks of training records rather than certificates. Any FSPCA certificate is issued by FSPCA, not by SURU Compliance. We help you decide which route fits your team and train beyond either one, into your own plan.

04

FSVP for Importers

Built around the one question an FSVP inspection asks: can you produce the file? We work through hazard analysis per food, supplier evaluation, choosing proportionate verification activities, and organising records so retrieval is fast.

Who it is for
Importers, U.S. agents, buying offices, quality and compliance staff at distributors
Typical length
One day, with an optional half-day file-building workshop
Formats
Onsite, virtual

What it covers

  • 21 CFR Part 1 Subpart L structure and who the FSVP importer is
  • Exemptions and modified requirements, including seafood and juice
  • Hazard analysis for each food from each foreign supplier
  • Evaluating supplier performance and the risk posed by the food
  • Selecting verification activities, and when an annual onsite audit is required
  • Corrective actions when a supplier's performance changes
  • Records, English-language requirements and entry-line importer identification

05

Allergen Awareness & Control

Undeclared allergens are a leading cause of food recalls, and the failure is almost always operational: a changeover shortcut, a substituted ingredient, or a label that nobody re-checked. This session targets those moments.

Who it is for
Production and sanitation crews, line leads, front-of-house staff, labeling and packaging teams
Typical length
Two to four hours; role-specific versions available
Formats
Onsite, virtual, multi-unit rollout

What it covers

  • The major food allergens under U.S. law, including sesame
  • Cross-contact pathways in production, storage and service
  • Changeover procedures and validation of allergen cleaning
  • Label control and why a recipe change is a label event
  • Rework, scheduling and sequencing decisions
  • Guest and customer allergen enquiries: what to say and what never to guess
  • What to do when you suspect an allergen error has shipped

06

Food Safety Culture Workshop

Culture is not posters. It is what happens when a shift lead is short-staffed and behind — whether the cooling log gets filled in honestly, and whether saying "we need to hold this" is safe. GFSI schemes now expect evidence of culture work, and this session produces some.

Who it is for
Owners, executives, plant and district managers, HR and operations leadership
Typical length
Half day for leadership; follow-on sessions for site teams
Formats
Onsite, virtual

What it covers

  • What food safety culture means in audit terms, and what evidence looks like
  • Measurement: behavioural observation, near-miss reporting, honest record review
  • Why falsified records are a leadership signal rather than an employee failure
  • Designing incentives that do not quietly punish speaking up
  • Communication cadence and visible leadership commitment
  • Building a culture plan with objectives you can actually report against

07

Internal Auditor Training

Every GFSI scheme requires a functioning internal audit program, and most fail on finding quality: vague observations, no objective evidence, and non-conformances written so softly nobody acts. We train auditors to write findings that stand up.

Who it is for
Internal audit teams, QA staff, multi-unit field auditors
Typical length
One to two days, including live audit practice
Formats
Onsite, virtual, multi-unit rollout

What it covers

  • Audit planning, scope and scheduling against the standard
  • Objective evidence: what it is and how to record it
  • Writing a non-conformance that states the requirement, the evidence and the gap
  • Interview technique that gets accurate answers rather than agreeable ones
  • Grading and severity consistency across auditors
  • Root cause analysis and effectiveness verification of corrective action
  • Calibration exercises so two auditors reach the same conclusion

08

Health Department Inspection Readiness

The practical version: what your jurisdiction's adopted food code actually requires, which risk-factor violations drive re-inspection, how to host an inspector professionally, and how to document an on-the-spot correction.

Who it is for
Restaurant managers, franchisees, grocery department heads, convenience store and foodservice managers
Typical length
Two to four hours, plus optional mock inspection on site
Formats
Onsite, virtual, multi-unit rollout

What it covers

  • Confirming which food code edition and local amendments apply to your location
  • Priority and risk-factor violations that drive scoring and re-inspection
  • Time and temperature control, with cooling as the usual failure point
  • Employee health reporting, exclusion and restriction decisions
  • Date marking, labeling and consumer advisory requirements
  • Hosting an inspection: who greets, what to produce, what not to speculate about
  • Documenting corrections and preparing for re-inspection

09

Certified Food Protection Manager Preparation Support

Structured review and practice for an accredited Certified Food Protection Manager examination, focused on the areas candidates most often fail: cooling parameters, cross-contamination scenarios, employee health decisions and cleaning versus sanitizing.

Who it is for
Managers and persons in charge who need a CFPM credential to satisfy a local requirement
Typical length
One to two days of review, scheduled around your operating hours
Formats
Onsite, virtual, multi-unit rollout

What it covers

  • Foodborne illness, the big pathogens and highly susceptible populations
  • Time and temperature control across receiving, storage, cooking, cooling and reheating
  • Cross-contamination and cross-contact prevention
  • Personal hygiene, employee health reporting and exclusion rules
  • Cleaning, sanitizing and chemical concentration verification
  • Facilities, equipment, pest management and water/waste requirements
  • Exam technique and practice questions with worked explanations

Examinations are administered by accredited certificate programs, not by SURU Compliance. We provide preparation and review support; we do not issue the credential and cannot guarantee an exam result.

Delivery

Four ways we deliver.

The right format is usually decided by your shift pattern and geography rather than by the subject matter. Any course on this page can be delivered in any of them.

  • Virtual

    Live instructor-led sessions in shorter blocks, so a team can attend without shutting a line or a shift down. Materials and exercises are delivered in advance and worked through together.

    Suits FSVP, allergen awareness, leadership sessions and teams spread across several sites or time zones.

  • On-site

    At your facility, using your equipment, your records and your own products as the working examples. Includes a floor walk, so what is taught in the room connects to what people see every day.

    Suits HACCP, preventive controls plan work, sanitation, internal auditor calibration — anything where the plant itself is the teaching material.

  • Classroom

    A scheduled off-floor session, at your premises or a booked venue, for groups drawn from more than one site or company. Full days without operational interruption, which is what plan-writing needs.

    Suits multi-site groups, new QA hires, and subjects that need uninterrupted time and structured exercises.

  • Customized company training

    A program written for one organization: your standards, your terminology, your findings, your shift pattern. Delivered as a phased rollout across regions, banners or franchisees where the system is large, with train-the-trainer so the capability stays in-house.

    Suits franchise systems, restaurant groups, convenience chains, manufacturers with several plants and contract foodservice accounts.

SchedulingSessions are scheduled around production and service hours, including overnight and split-shift delivery where needed.

What the rules actually say

Two pathways, not one.

This part of the market is routinely misdescribed, usually by people selling a course. The federal training requirements below each allow two routes, and neither route outranks the other.

A general orientation to what the U.S. food safety training requirements say. It is not a determination of what applies to your facility, your products or a particular role — that depends on your operation, and establishing it is the first part of the job.

21 CFR 117.180(c)(1)
A preventive controls qualified individual must have successfully completed training in the development and application of risk-based preventive controls at least equivalent to that received under a standardized curriculum recognized as adequate by FDA — or be otherwise qualified through job experience to develop and apply a food safety system. Both routes are written into the rule and neither outranks the other. FDA does not certify individuals, and there is no such thing as an FDA-certified PCQI. What the rule requires you to hold is a training record.
21 CFR 123.10
Seafood HACCP functions must be performed by an individual who has successfully completed training in the application of HACCP principles to fish and fishery product processing at least equal to that received under a standardized curriculum recognized as adequate by FDA — or who is otherwise qualified through job experience. The rule also states plainly that the trained individual need not be an employee of the processor.
Certificates and credentials
Where a standardized curriculum leads to a certificate, that certificate is issued by the body that administers it — FSPCA, AFDO and the Seafood HACCP Alliance, or an accredited Certified Food Protection Manager certificate program. SURU Compliance is not a certification body and issues none of them. We issue attendance and completion records for our own workshops, and we will tell you plainly when a customer or regulator expects an accredited certificate instead.

SURU Compliance is an independent consulting practice. We are not FDA, USDA or any state health department, we are not a certification body, and we certify nobody. We do not issue accredited certificates or credentials, we never describe an individual as FDA-certified, and we cannot guarantee an examination result, an audit score or an inspection outcome.

Questions

Before you book training.

Do your courses come with an official certificate?

Some training in this field is standardised and accredited — the FSPCA Preventive Controls for Human Food curriculum for PCQI, the Seafood HACCP Alliance curriculum, and ANSI-accredited Certified Food Protection Manager examinations. Those certificates are issued by the accrediting or administering bodies, not by us. SURU Compliance issues its own attendance and completion records for our workshops, and we will always tell you plainly when a customer or regulator expects an accredited certificate instead.

Does FDA require our PCQI to take the FSPCA course?

No. 21 CFR 117.180(c)(1) sets out two co-equal routes: training at least equivalent to that received under a standardized curriculum recognized as adequate by FDA — the FSPCA Preventive Controls for Human Food curriculum is one such course — or qualification through job experience to develop and apply a food safety system. Many facilities use the FSPCA route because the certificate is easy for a customer or an investigator to recognize, but the rule does not compel it, FDA certifies no individuals, and what the regulation asks you to keep is a training record rather than a certificate. The same structure applies to seafood HACCP under 21 CFR 123.10, which additionally notes that the trained individual need not be an employee of the processor.

Can training be built around our own food safety plan?

That is our default. Generic case studies teach the vocabulary; your own hazard analysis, your own records and your own recent findings teach the job. We review your documentation before delivery so the examples are yours, which also tends to surface gaps worth fixing.

How many people can attend?

It depends on the course. Plan-writing and internal auditor sessions work best with smaller groups because they are exercise-heavy; awareness and inspection-readiness sessions scale comfortably to a full shift. Tell us the headcount and shift pattern and we will propose a format that does not require closing the operation.

Do you train in languages other than English?

Language capability varies by course and date. Tell us what your workforce needs and we will confirm what we can support directly and where we would arrange qualified interpretation rather than improvise.

Will training on its own satisfy an auditor or inspector?

Not by itself. Training records demonstrate competency development, but auditors and inspectors look for evidence that the trained practice is actually happening — monitoring records, verification, corrective actions. Training is one input to that, and we are direct about the limits of what it proves.

Request training

Tell us who needs training and why.

Headcount, shift pattern, locations, and what triggered the need — a new certification requirement, a recent finding, a new PCQI, a franchise rollout. We will propose a format that fits the operation.

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Direct contact

SURU Compliance is a regulatory consulting practice. We are not a government agency, a certification body, or a law firm, and we do not provide legal advice or guarantee regulatory outcomes.