Beyond Trust: How to Hold Suppliers Accountable for Compliance

04/08/25 • 45 min

Food & beverage manufacturers are under increasing pressure to obtain needed supplier data to meet regulatory, certification, and customer requirements. With many long-established supplier relationships, how should manufacturers be collaborating with suppliers to help reduce food safety risk, and establish proof of end-to-end food safety?

Cameron Prince, Executive VP of Regulatory Affairs at The Acheson Group, joins us to share tips to help you not only receive timely and accurate compliance data from across your supply chain, but also proactively monitor supplier food safety risks.

In this episode we cover:

Recent FDA guidance on supplier control management
How to improve supplier data access for compliance requirements
Best practices for supplier training and ongoing monitoring
Steps to ensure FSQA has a voice in supplier selection

FSMA Friday is a collaboration with SafetyChain and The Acheson Group.
Want to join the conversation? Register for the next live FSMA Friday webinar for your chance to ask the food safety experts at TAG your questions directly.

In this episode we cover:

Recent FDA guidance on supplier control management
How to improve supplier data access for compliance requirements
Best practices for supplier training and ongoing monitoring
Steps to ensure FSQA has a voice in supplier selection

Previous Episode

The Cost of Quality: Reducing Risk to Protect Customer Relationships

When it comes to food safety and quality processes, a missed step can be costly. Audit failures, recalls, and supplier compliance issues don’t just hurt operations, they can tarnish your brand and put customer relationships at risk.

We talk to Lacey Keesee, Director of Food Safety at The Acheson Group, who shares examples of what processes you can improve today to ensure food safety compliance and drive down the total cost of quality.

In this episode we cover:

The hidden costs of poor quality and food safety failures
Where supplier compliance and traceability can impact risk
What food safety metrics help to drive down overall costs
What tools manufacturers are adopting to improve compliance and process efficiencies

Next Episode

Tariffs, Testing, & Trust: How Economic Pressures Are Changing Food Safety

Inflation and economic policies, like tariffs, can force manufacturers to adjust their sourcing strategies that may lead to increased food safety risks.

Dr. Ben Miller, Executive Vice President of Regulatory and Scientific Affairs at The Acheson Group, discusses how food companies can re-evaluate their food safety programs - from supplier quality to workforce management - amidst rising costs and regulatory shifts.

In this episode we review:

• Where economic disruptions can weaken food safety
• What control points should be reviewed and updated
• How to strengthen supplier evaluation, testing, and verification programs
• The role of customers in setting food safety expectations

Related Resource:

A Guide to Supplier Quality Management: Benefits, Processes, and Measurement