Sowmya Vetcha
Etobicoke,ON
Summary
Experienced Food Safety and Quality Assurance professional with 4 years of expertise in developing and implementing comprehensive quality control protocols, ensuring adherence to industry standards and regulatory requirements. Expert in navigating complex regulatory environments and ensuring compliance with industry standards, including quality management systems, GFSI, and SQF certifications. Proven ability to manage comprehensive food safety programs, lead cross-functional teams and oversee supplier relationships. Skilled in conducting rigorous testing and evaluations, analyzing data to identify and resolve potential issues, and driving continuous improvement initiatives. Committed to maintaining high standards of product quality, safety, and regulatory adherence.
Overview
6
6
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Quality and Food Safety Specialist (Multi-Sites)
Bimbo Bakehouse
Canada, Ontario
01.2023 - 08.2024
- Established and executed new product quality monitoring protocols and food safety programs across multiple sites, ensuring sanitary conditions in the bakery and supporting general plant safety, GFSI (SQF), food safety, food defense initiatives, and good manufacturing practices.
- Partnered with the marketing team to formulate strategic direction for new products in the future pipeline and addressed process compliance issues in collaboration with operations teams.
- Actively participated in HACCP team meetings, customer audits, facility audits (GMP/SQF/BRC), training, and mentoring sessions for the associates to achieve GMPs, quality, food safety, and sanitary expectations.
- Conducting investigations into special situations, quality failures, regulatory inspections, vendor-related incidents, and consumer complaints, identifying and addressing root causes effectively.
- Supervised the Sanitation department and the associated budget to comply with the Master Sanitation Schedule (MCS) and routine housekeeping tasks.
- Monitors and tracks news and information related to outbreaks, food fraud, and other relevant issues, while also managing designated supplier-related projects, including specific ingredient enhancement initiatives and the integration of new facilities.
- Conduct testing and evaluation of finished products to ensure adherence to technical specifications and performance criteria, and analyze the resulting data to identify potential issues in the production process or opportunities for product design improvements.
- Monitored regulatory change required by new and revised laws and regulations, communicating complex protocols and determining operational impacts.
Food Safety and Quality Assurance Co-Ordinator
Pure Edibles
Canada
12.2021 - 01.2023
- Responsible for performing the process checks throughout the production floor, including GMP monitoring, metal detection checking, label and coding verification, incoming ingredients inspection, supervising the pre-operations checklist tasks, finished product analysis, and controlled quality tests.
- Provided training and leadership on proper QA standards, and supervised and guided inspectors, technicians, and other staff members.
- Maintained policy, procedures, work instructions and projects for quality and continuous improvement agendas.
- Analyzed on-site training curricula to discern root causes of competency deficits, suggesting educational updates to close knowledge gaps.
- Established product specifications and quality assurance practices.
- Provided general quality guidelines for products and ingredients and ensured the regional center upheld exceptional working conditions, including the management of consumable supplies, order fulfillment, housekeeping practices, equipment maintenance, and operational efficiency.
- Conducting annual review and validation of the HACCP Programs, Food Defense, and Supplier Management.
- Enhancing quality programs, practices, procedures, and recommendations in daily operations, participating in weekly calls for alignment and coordination, and applying relevant training programs to daily tasks.
Graduate Teaching Assistant
University of Guelph
Canada
09.2021 - 12.2022
- Taught and supported students in 'Food Safety and Microbiology' and 'Quality Systems Engineering' courses, collaborated with professors to develop course materials, enhance course quality, and optimize course outcomes.
- Supported professor in implementing rigorous teaching and learning experiences.
- Developed guides and course materials to reinforce lecture information and help students learn.
Technical Sr. Executive, Quality Control and Assurance Analyst
Acara Bioherb Private Ltd
Bangalore, India
06.2018 - 08.2021
- Formulated Herbal and Ayurvedic products such as supplements, powders, lattes, tablets, and gummies.
- Implemented robust policies and organizational structures to underpin successful expansion and drive continuous growth.
- Maintained documentation of all quality assurance activities, including test results and corrective actions.
- Maintained all QA records, Documentation, SOPs, COAs, and other files associated with quality assurance and inspection tasks.
- Collaborated with production and R&D teams to address quality-related issues and drive process optimization.
- Participated in internal and external audits to assess compliance with regulatory requirements and company policies.
- Oversaw inventory materials monitoring, requisitions, and supply restocking.
Education
Master of Science - Food Safety And Quality Assurance
University of Guelph
Guelph, ON12-2023
Post Graduate Diploma - Food Safety And Quality Systems Engineering
IGMPI
India07-2020
Bachelor of Science - Food Science
Vignan University
India07-2019
Skills
- Labeling Requirements and Consumer Management
- Auditing and Inspection
- Risk Assessment and Mitigation
- Time Management and Communication
- Analytical Problem-solving
- Strong Leadership
- Critical Thinking
- Collaborative team player
- Process Optimization
Certification
- HACCP Certification
- BRCGS & Internal Auditor Certification
- WHIMS Certification
- Internal Auditor Training on HACCP Manager & Food Safety System Certification
- Training on Development of FSMS plan as per FSSA, GMP, GLP, HACCP, and ISO 22000
Timeline
Quality and Food Safety Specialist (Multi-Sites)
Bimbo Bakehouse
01.2023 - 08.2024
Food Safety and Quality Assurance Co-Ordinator
Pure Edibles
12.2021 - 01.2023
Graduate Teaching Assistant
University of Guelph
09.2021 - 12.2022
Technical Sr. Executive, Quality Control and Assurance Analyst
Acara Bioherb Private Ltd
06.2018 - 08.2021
Master of Science - Food Safety And Quality Assurance
University of Guelph
Post Graduate Diploma - Food Safety And Quality Systems Engineering
IGMPI
Bachelor of Science - Food Science
Vignan University
- HACCP Certification
- BRCGS & Internal Auditor Certification
- WHIMS Certification
- Internal Auditor Training on HACCP Manager & Food Safety System Certification
- Training on Development of FSMS plan as per FSSA, GMP, GLP, HACCP, and ISO 22000
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