QA Technician

**Company Overview**: OIC Foods (Ontario Impex of Canada Inc.) is a Canadian owned vegetarian ethnic foods solution company based in Mississauga, Ontario. OIC Foods main business activities include ethnic food distribution, manufacturing, co-packing, importing and exporting. OIC Foods is working with some of the most reputed and biggest retail partners in Canada like Walmart, Sobeys, Loblaws, Costco, Save on Foods, Metro, Food Basics and Circle K to name a few. **The Role**: Reporting to the Quality Assurance Manager, the Quality Assurance Technician will complete day to day quality control protocols and processes, execute and enforce quality control protocols on the production floor. Inform Supervisors, Managers, and Sr. Management of any breach of quality control protocols through appropriate management channels. **This role has rotating shifts (day, afternoon, night) and at times includes weekend shifts to meet business requirements. Shift timings and schedules fluctuate on a regular basis.** **Responsibilities**: - Ensure GMP, GHK compliance throughout all stages of production; - Inspect, sample, test and approve incoming raw, packaging materials on regular basis; - Ensure that formulas are converted into recipes for BOM; - Format BOMs and collects all information for SKUs; - Verify quality of products during different stages of production; - Document plant sanitation and hygiene practices of all employees; - Monitor effectiveness of Sanitation before operations starts; - Check product being packed for quality and Food Safety; - Analyze raw, intermediate & finished products samples, using lab equipment such as Moisture Analyzer, Milko scan, pH meter, Salt, Refractive Index, etc.; - Assist QA team in different projects as required; - Perform Micro & Chemical analysis on work in process item, Raw materials and Finished Products; - Ensure all CCP are being met at the time of production; - Collaborate with team members for Hold and Release of products as and when required; - Identify out-of-tolerance and/or potentially hazardous situations, ensure corrective action is taken and properly documented; - Perform data collection, data entry and accurately maintain records; - Complete all necessary paperwork that correlates to the lab and testing methodology; - Inspect equipment both pre and post op and report any findings to the necessary patties to ensure effective sanitation; - Performs quality checks on the packaging lines, label checks, net weight checks and package integrity checks; - Verify sanitation procedures through pre-operational inspection and microbial swab analysis; - Prepare samples and paperwork for outside lab testing; - Reject product that does not meet required specifications, and follow procedures in relation to putting a product on "HOLD"; - Communicate with production employees on any known product deviations occurring while work is in process; - Communicate all hold issues with QA Manager; - Initiate action to prevent the occurrence of non-conformities relating to food safety and quality of product, processes, quality systems, or safety systems; - Manage the sanitation team while they are performing their duties. The above is not an exhaustive list of duties and the incumbent will be expected to perform different tasks as necessitated by their changing role within the organization and the overall business objectives of the organization. **Qualifications & Experience**: - Degree/diploma in Quality Assurance, Food Science, Food Safety or related fields; - 2 to 3 years experience in Quality Assurance or Quality Control in a food manufacturing environment; - Computer skills including Microsoft Office, Microsoft Excel and web-based software programs; - Ability to work effectively both independently and as a team; - Ability to ensure quality of work and attention to detail; - Excellent communication skills; - Excellent organizational skills, with an ability to prioritize important projects; - Able to adapt to changes in the work environment, manage competing demands and able to deal with frequent change, delays or unexpected events.