Interview with a Cheese Auditor

We talked to Sarah De Wit, an expert in the cheesemaking industry and SALSA Auditor and Mentor.  She gave us her tips for a successful audit and the issues facing cheesemakers.

How long have you worked in the food industry?

To be honest I try not to think about it!   I have worked in the Foods industry for 29 years, considering that I took time out to travel & work in Australasia & Asia following my initial graduate jobs.  Little did I know that I would end up working in cheese & dairy.

At the age of 9, I went to France for the first time, Roquefort became a firm favourite on this holiday,  eaten with our imported digestive biscuits.   

What was your first food job? 

I was a Northern Foods Graduate working at sites manufacturing for M&S only. My first job was at Pennine Foods in Sheffield. 

I received training in the best technical, quality & new product development systems in the industry. I will be forever grateful for this opportunity at the start of my career.

How long have you worked for SALSA?  

I have been working as a SALSA auditor for over 2 years now.

I was approached to join the SALSA plus cheese team back in 2019 to work with the cheesemakers in the North, however, due to the pandemic it took a while longer to make this happen.

What is the most important advice you can give a Supplier preparing for an audit?

My advice is to give yourself enough time to work through the preparation process for your audit, it may take longer than you realise.

Use resources & mentors to make the journey easier for yourself. There are valuable resources in the Tools & Tips section on the SALSA website.  In addition, you may choose to use help & support of an experienced SALSA mentor.  Details of mentors may be found on the SALSA website too.

What do you enjoy most about SALSA auditing and mentoring?

I find it rewarding to share my expert knowledge to help & support small & and medium-sized businesses to build confidence, improve food safety / quality systems and grow. Gaining accreditation can be the difference of being accepted to supply new customers and being able to maintain a supply to customers or not.

What is a key issue facing British Cheesemakers in 2023?   

2022 & 2023 have been particularly challenging years to make the books balance & make a profit. High milk prices have been hard, especially for those makers buying in milk for cheese making.  For cheesemakers with their own animal herds, feed & fertiliser costs have also been high.  As we have all experienced, energy costs rose fast too, which is significant when using heat treatments such as pasteurisation.

You are a Specialist Cheese Auditor, tell us about how the Plus Cheese Standard can benefit British cheese makers.

Salsa Plus Cheese is a bespoke certification standard designed specifically for Small Cheesemakers; no other standard is written specifically for Cheese! It includes all clauses of a standard SALSA audit, plus clauses written by the SCA Technical team to cover all aspects of cheesemaking from raw milk supply, raw milk hygiene for raw milk cheeses, milk processing for pasteurised cheeses, best cheesemaking practice and control of ripening/maturation.

SALSA plus Cheese certification assures your customers and enforcement officers that food safety and legal requirements are met. The certification provides recognition that the Business is following the SCA Assured Code of Practice; the standard for best practice for artisan cheesemaking, this is approved by the Primary Authority.

Audits and mentoring are carried out by a small team of expert cheese auditors and mentors, hand-picked by the SCA for their experience with the SALSA standard and knowledge in cheesemaking. The SCA offers additional support for SALSA plus Cheese certification and all members through access to a wide range of resources, including technical guidelines, mentoring, training webinars and events only available through the SCA.

Businesses that have achieved SALSA plus Cheese certification have had many opportunities open up to supply larger Wholesalers and Retailers, who stipulate that SALSA plus Cheese certification is a requirement for supply.

Food Heaven?  I love every type of cheese &  I’m always keen to try new ones on my travels, almost as high in my food heaven is cake, especially one which pairs well with cheese.

Food Hell?  Prawns, in fact all crustaceans  are a definite NO from me.  

For more information about the SALSA plus Cheese Standard please visit SALSA (salsafood.co.uk)