Site Standards & Infrastructure Policy
Part of Food Industry Hub’s FSQMS Policies and Procedures Suite.
The Site Standards & Infrastructure Policy forms part of the Food Industry Hub FSQMS Policies and Procedures Suite.
It establishes the governance expectations for providing, maintaining and continually improving the site standards, facilities, infrastructure and utilities needed to protect food safety, quality, legality and authenticity.
The policy sets the management position for the design, condition, maintenance and control of the site environment, with the aim of preventing or effectively controlling risks of contamination, deterioration or compromise of product integrity.
Governance for a suitable and hygienic site environment
The policy applies to premises, buildings, external areas, utilities, equipment and infrastructure within company control that may affect food safety, quality, legality or authenticity. It covers production, storage, handling, dispatch, engineering, hygiene and support areas within the scope of the site’s Food Safety and Quality Management System.
It requires site infrastructure to be suitable for its intended purpose and not to compromise product safety, quality, legality or authenticity at any stage of the operation. That commitment extends to products, raw materials, packaging and food contact surfaces, and recognises physical, chemical, microbiological, allergenic and malicious contamination risks.
The policy therefore provides a clear governance basis for hygienic operation, effective cleaning and maintenance, product integrity during handling, storage and dispatch, and the prerequisite programmes and operational practices that depend on suitable site conditions.
Risk-based standards across layout, fabric, utilities and equipment
The policy brings the main elements of the physical site into one set of governance principles. Site layout, design and product flow must minimise contamination risk and support effective segregation, while buildings, structures and surfaces must be constructed and maintained so they allow effective cleaning and hygienic operation.
Utilities, including water, air, ice and gases, are required to be suitable for their intended use and not to compromise product safety. Equipment must be hygienically designed, suitably maintained and appropriate for food production, and maintenance activities must be planned, controlled and managed to prevent contamination risks.
Housekeeping, hygiene, waste management, pest management, storage and dispatch are also brought within the policy position. Site standards are required to be risk-based, documented, effectively implemented and routinely reviewed.
Accountability for site condition and infrastructure integrity
Senior management is responsible for providing the human, financial and infrastructure resources needed to maintain suitable site standards. Senior management also reviews site condition, maintenance performance and infrastructure risks as part of management review, and is responsible for continual improvement where risks or deficiencies are identified.
Management and supervisory staff are responsible for implementing and maintaining site standards within their areas, ensuring infrastructure, equipment and facilities are operated and maintained in accordance with procedures, and identifying, reporting and addressing site-related risks and non-conformities.
Employees and contractors are also part of the control framework. The policy requires them to work in a way that protects site hygiene and infrastructure integrity, report defects, damage or conditions that may compromise product safety, and comply with site rules, hygiene requirements and access controls.
Policy direction translated through supporting procedures
As a policy, the document sets the governing commitment rather than detailing every operational control. It is supported by documented procedures covering external standards and site security, building fabric and structural integrity, utilities, equipment management and maintenance, housekeeping and hygiene, waste management, pest management, and storage, dispatch and transport controls.
Those procedures translate the policy intent into operational controls and records, while the policy remains the core FSQMS position for maintaining a site environment that is suitable, controlled and aligned with food safety, quality, legality and authenticity requirements.
The policy is mandatory within its defined scope and is reviewed at least every five years and following significant changes to the site, infrastructure, processes or risk profile, so that it remains suitable, adequate and effective.