ABSTRACT
An effective corrective action/preventive action (CAPA) program is absolutely essential to an effective food safety and quality management system. Each of the GFSI-approved schemes require that the organization has a formalized corrective action process designed to bring any nonconformances back into compliance and to prevent recurrence, but the emphasis on a formalized system overall varies depending on the standard. In my experience, having a system-wide effective formalized CAPA program is critical to the overall effectiveness and sustainability of a management system, no matter which standard is chosen. Corrections and corrective actions related to critical control points and what to do if a deviation occurs are addressed in Chapter 17. This chapter discusses the CAPA program that comprises one of the three legs of the three-legged stool (Chapter 1).
