Effective Change Management (CM) for a strong Food Safety Management System (FSMS)
Change is inevitable, but uncontrolled change creates risk. A strong change management program is critical to maintaining food safety and compliance. This webinar provides practical guidance on evaluating, approving, and documenting changes to reduce risk, strengthen your FSMS, and support continuous improvement.
Broadcast: September 17th, 2026: 1:00PM – 2:00PM EDT
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Sponsored by:
Effective change management is one of the most critical and most overlooked elements of a strong Food Safety Management System (FSMS). In the webinar we will be outlining the foundational principles that every organization must follow to ensure that changes to products, processes, equipment, materials, or personnel do not compromise food safety. This webinar will explore those core principles and connect them to today’s regulatory and industry expectations.
We will emphasize that a robust FSMS must take the identification, communication, and evaluation of changes seriously to protect product safety. Any modification whether simple or complex must be assessed for its potential impact on hazards, controls, procedures, and verification activities. Organizations must maintain an effective, documented method for managing change, ensuring consistency and preventing unintended consequences.
A key component is the requirement that records related to change management be identified, controlled, and retained in alignment with the organization’s record control program. Documentation is not optional; it is evidence that changes were evaluated, approved, implemented correctly, and verified for effectiveness.
The webinar stresses the importance of assigning responsibility to qualified individuals who have both competence and authority to ensure that changes are properly reviewed and validated before implementation. Food safety cannot rely on assumptions; changes must be evaluated and addressed for their food safety impact prior to going live with records maintained to confirm compliance.
Changes must be evaluated through a food safety lens, ensuring that hazards are identified, controls are updated, and employees are trained before the change takes effect. This structured, proactive approach prevents gaps, reduces risk, and strengthens the overall management system.
The importance of change management has only increased as time goes by. Modern regulatory and industry frameworks reinforce and expand on these principles. FSMA’s Preventive Controls rules clearly defines that facilities are expected to reassess their food safety plans when significant changes occur. The FDA’s New Era of Smarter Food Safety emphasizes data-driven decision making, digital traceability, and proactive risk reduction all of which depend on disciplined change management. GFSI-benchmarked schemes (SQF, BRCGS, FSSC 22000) require documented change control programs that evaluate risks, update prerequisite programs, and verify that changes are effective. Additionally, the rise of automation, supply chain complexity, and new technologies has increased the need for structured evaluation, cross-functional communication, and documented approval processes.
This webinar will connect timeless principles with today’s regulatory expectations, offering practical guidance for building or strengthening a change management program that protects product safety and quality supporting continuous improvement, and aligns with current industry standards.
Learning Objectives:
- Explain the core principles of Change Management, including the identification, communication, and evaluation of changes that may impact food safety.
- Apply a structured, risk‑based approach to assessing changes in products, processes, equipment, materials, or personnel, consistent with FSMA, GFSI-benchmarked schemes, and current FDA expectations.
- Define roles, responsibilities, and documentation requirements for an effective change management program, including record control, approval workflows, and verification of effectiveness prior to implementation.
- Integrate change management into the broader Food Safety Management System, ensuring alignment with preventive controls, prerequisite programs, HACCP plans, and continuous improvement activities.
Speaker:
Debby Newslow | President/Owner
D L Newslow & Associates, Inc
Secure your spot for this webinar. The webinar will be recorded and all registrants will receive a link to the recording. Attendees to the live broadcast will be able to ask questions and receive a certificate of attendance.
