Quality Assurance Technician

Company Overview:

We are passionate about making simply the best cakes Our roots go back to 1960s Naples, Italy where our family's passion for the art of baking and enjoying great food inspired us to create the bakery we have today. In 1986, La Rocca Bakery opened its doors in a suburb of Toronto, Canada. Today, the tradition of offering classic, memorable recipes lives on as we continue to innovate with new and exciting flavors. Our cakes are now available in thousands of grocery, food service, and fine food distributors across North America.

Summary:

The QA Technician ensures employee compliance with all Company, Brand Reputation through Compliance (BRC) internationally recognized food safety standards, regulatory requirements such as Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), partnership with our suppliers of Kosher and Halal requirements. To consistently meet all customer, food safety, quality, integrity, legality, and industry standards and requirements.

Shift:

4:00pm - 1:00am

Responsibilities:

• Active member of the BRC Team, responsible for food safety and quality through the enforcement and promotion of our BRC and HACCP Programs.
• Monitor adherence to GMP, CCP and SOP on the production floor and work with production to correct identified deviations, document all activities accurately and timely.
• Complete daily inspection checks as per the QA Inspection Checklist, document in Asana and followup on issues identified.
• Observe and verify production processes to ensure compliance with company quality standards and regulatory requirements.
• Assist production with finished product labels, metal detector troubleshooting, finished product adherence to Finished Product Specifications, recipe completion and organized filing.
• Liaise with 3rd party lab for sample submissions, shelf life programs, raw material and environmental testing according to the Sampling Matrix.
• Perform in-process checks, such as weight, temperature, specific gravity and visual inspections to identify deviations.
• Collect and test product samples according to defined procedures.
• Various swabs & other sampling at pre-op to validate sanitation practices are effective.
• Maintain accurate records of all quality checks, tests, and verifications.
• Report non-conformances to QA leadership and assist in root cause analysis and corrective actions.
• Support traceability exercises and ensure proper labeling, coding, and allergen management.
• Ensure and order plant PPE via day shift employee weekly inventory counts.
• Inspect incoming materials/record and maintain all necessary documentation per various Approved Supplier registers.
• Inspect in-process procedures/flow, finished goods/packaging – troubleshoot issues for raw materials and follow up with suppliers.
• Support R&D trials and FPRs.
• Assist product development when necessary. For example, online plant trial weights, etc.
• Support QA Dept in all food related audits in the company.
• Liaise with the third-party sanitation contractor company to manage chemical ordering, validate usage, maintain required documentation and training records, and oversee sanitation schedules—including daily, weekly, deep cleans, pre-op inspections
• Report on chemical usage and initiate cost savings initiatives
• Perform other duties as assigned

Required Education, Skills, and Qualifications:

• Minimum 1 year of experience in quality assurance and/or quality control at a food manufacturing facility.
• A Food Science diploma or degree is highly desirable.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and superior organizational skills.
• Ability to record data legibly and accurately produce concise technical reports, findings and documents are required.
• High attention to detail and accuracy with the ability to prioritize; able to work in a time sensitive, fast paced, deadline driven environment.
• Proficiency with Google and overall technology.
• Ability to work in a fast paced environment, with the flexibility to tend to the needs of the business.
• Experience working in a unionized environment is an asset.
• Strong knowledge of applicable Health and Safety regulations.