Austin Food Safety Consultant
Audit-ready HACCP, Preventive Controls, and SQF programs, built with your team and ready for inspection day.
From East Austin production spaces and South Congress commissaries out to Round Rock, Pflugerville, Georgetown, and Kyle and Buda, buyers and inspectors expect audit-ready food safety programs. If you are searching for a food safety consultant near you in Austin, our consultants do the hands-on work: building or upgrading HACCP and Preventive Controls (PCQI) plans, tightening GMPs and prerequisite programs, organizing documentation, and running mock audits so certification day is predictable. We are a done-with-you consulting partner, not a training provider. Our focus is preparing your facility, your people, and your records to meet the standard on time and without disrupting production.
Food safety consulting shaped by how Austin brands actually scale
Austin is a launchpad. Home to SKU, the nation's first consumer packaged goods accelerator, and a pipeline into Whole Foods, Central Market, and H-E-B, the city has produced brands like Siete, Epic, Austin Eastciders, and High Brew Coffee. Most local operations are not legacy plants but growing brands: kitchen and commissary producers, craft beverage and cider makers, snack and tortilla CPG, and the co-packers who make their product. The pressure point here is different. It is the moment a brand outgrows cottage or shared-kitchen production and a retail buyer asks for a HACCP plan, a food safety plan, or an SQF certificate. We help brands cross that line without stalling growth.
The regulators Austin-area producers answer to
As a brand scales from direct sales into wholesale and retail, the rules change, and Texas runs its manufactured-food program at the state level. Getting the jurisdiction right early is often the difference between a smooth first audit and a stalled retailer launch. Here is how it usually breaks down for an Austin producer.
Texas DSHS (state license and inspection)
Once you sell wholesale rather than only direct to consumers, the Texas Department of State Health Services licenses food manufacturers, wholesalers, and warehouse operators, and inspects manufacturers on roughly a 12-month cycle. Facilities must meet the Texas GMP rules in 25 TAC Chapter 229.
Cottage food versus manufacturing
Texas cottage food rules let some home producers start small without a license, but that exemption ends fast as you add products, wholesale accounts, or a commercial space. We help you map when you cross into licensed manufacturing so a retailer launch does not catch you unlicensed.
FDA and acidified or canned foods
Interstate sales bring FDA jurisdiction and FSMA Preventive Controls. Popular Austin categories like hot sauce, pickles, salsa, and shelf-stable drinks can fall under acidified food rules (21 CFR Part 114), which require a filed process and process authority review.
Craft beverage and local health
Breweries, cideries, and distilleries carry TABC licensing alongside food safety expectations, and the City of Austin and Travis County cover retail and direct sale under the Texas Food Establishment Rules. Producers who both sell direct and wholesale need programs that satisfy both tracks.
Grow your Austin food business with programs your team can sustain
Whether you are a ready-to-eat producer in East Austin, a beverage co-packer in North Austin or Round Rock, a bakery in South Austin, or a distributor near the airport corridor, we build food safety plans your team can actually run at production speed. We review your current documentation, complete a gap assessment, and then create or refresh the core of your program.
We help companies located in: East Austin, South Congress, North Austin / Round Rock, Pflugerville, Georgetown, Kyle and Buda, Airport corridor, Travis, Williamson, Hays.
What we build or refresh
- HACCP and Preventive Controls plans
- Hazard analysis and CCP or PC limits
- GMPs and prerequisite programs
- Allergen control programs
- Supplier approval and verification
- Recall and traceability procedures
- Sanitation, SSOPs, and pest control
- Acidified food process filings
- Calibration and maintenance programs
- SOPs, forms, logs, and version control
One team across every scheme your buyers ask for
We prepare Austin producers for the certifications and regulatory frameworks that retail buyers and auditors expect, then keep the program running between audits.
HACCP
FSMA Preventive Controls
SQF
BRCGS
FSSC 22000
GMP and cGMP
GFSI-aligned
USDA
Co-Founder & Chief Food Safety Officer
Meet the Lead of Our Expert Austin Food Safety Consultant Team
Driven to ensure organizational requirements meet the challenges of technology integration with sound food safety and quality planning with focus on risk mitigation and prevention. Technical expertise in audit standards, lead instructor via accredited programs, and community leader to advance local / national food ecosystems.
A practical system that passes the audit and works on the floor
Our objective is simple: give Austin facilities a practical, sustainable program that passes certification and is easy to run. We bring templates, workflows, and auditor-level insight, without the bloated paperwork. Our consultants partner with QA, operations, and leadership to launch procedures, coach recordkeepers, and verify the system performs before the auditor arrives.
- Improved food safety and consistent product quality
- Alignment with recognized certification standards and regulations
- Reduced risk of non-compliance, fines, and audit findings
- Stronger risk management and hazard control across your process flow
- Program design built around your products, people, and budget
- Faster retailer approvals backed by credible documentation
How our AI food safety & compliance platform supports your program
Our platform is more than a compliance tool. It is built with food safety guidance from experts and tailored to different food industries, so the system stays organized between visits and produces the evidence auditors and buyers want to see.
AI HACCP Builder
Pre-built templates cut HACCP plan development from hours to minutes, with expert guidance built in.
AI SOPs and Checklists
Automatically generates SOPs and checklists, flags missed tasks, and keeps protocols on track.
Batch and Inventory
Real-time tracking of production, inventory, and cost, reducing errors that create compliance gaps.
Traceability and Recall
Links ingredients to finished products for fast mock recalls and clean, defensible audits.
Supplier Compliance
Automates supplier document management and updates, cutting manual effort and adding transparency.
Live Monitoring and Alerts
Dashboards track KPIs in real time and send instant alerts on incidents so you can act quickly.
How we get Austin clients through a certification audit
Gap Assessment
We tour your facility or meet virtually to map product and personnel flows, zoning, and controls, review your documentation, and identify gaps against your target standard. You receive a prioritized action plan built around your audit date.
Document Development
We build or refresh your food safety plan: hazard analysis, CCPs or preventive controls, monitoring, verification, and validation, plus SOPs, allergen control, supplier approval, and recall and traceability, with practical forms and version control.
Environmental Monitoring
For RTE and higher-risk areas, we design a monitoring program: zone mapping, swab frequencies, Listeria and Salmonella strategies, trending, and corrective actions, supported by digital scheduling and capture.
Mock Audit
We run a focused mock audit before the real one, verify the system performs on the floor, coach your recordkeepers, and help close any remaining gaps with effective CAPAs so certification day is predictable.
Results food and beverage teams can point to
"Peace of mind, safety, and accountability. With all of these things and the FoodReady team (especially Dustin!), we felt confident and ready for the USDA and about our product safety."
"You cannot build a holistic food safety program without capturing every piece of data that’s important to every aspect of business, from accounting to logistics, to warehousing. What’s really cool is because of that FoodReady is becoming an even greater and more powerful tool as it adds on additional modules. If you buy into the Enterprise program from start to finish as we did, you can almost run your whole business through FoodReady with very minimal other input necessary,” Josh Svenhard, Owner of Eurobake."
"The hierarchy of our food safety/quality control team was changing, and we wanted a system that would grow with us. Being a newer company as well, FoodReady was the perfect companion. As a company grows, needs ebb and flow and changes, FoodReady has been more than accommodating to that. The software effortlessly keeps track of all of our changes to stay in compliance with the regulations set forth by the BRC standard for Documentation."
Frequently asked questions
Do you support food safety consultants near me in Austin?
Yes. We provide on-site food safety consulting across Austin's production districts and suburbs, from East Austin to Round Rock, Georgetown, and Kyle and Buda, with hybrid remote sessions between visits to keep momentum and minimize disruption.
Which certifications and standards do you prepare us for?
We prepare facilities for HACCP, FSMA Preventive Controls, SQF, BRCGS, FSSC 22000, GMP and cGMP, and GFSI-aligned schemes, plus USDA documentation where it applies. Our focus is consulting and implementation to get you audit-ready. We do not provide certification training.
A retailer is asking for a HACCP plan or SQF certificate. Where do we start?
This is the most common reason Austin brands call us. We start with a gap assessment against the specific standard your buyer requires, then build the plan, documentation, and records, and run a mock audit so you can pass on the timeline the retailer set.
When do we move from cottage food to a licensed manufacturer?
Texas cottage food rules let some home producers start without a license, but that exemption ends as you add products, wholesale accounts, or a commercial space. We help you map when you cross into licensed manufacturing under Texas DSHS so a wholesale or retail launch does not catch you unlicensed.
We make hot sauce, salsa, or a shelf-stable drink. Do acidified food rules apply?
Often yes. Acidified and low-acid canned foods fall under FDA rules that require a filed process and process authority review. We help you determine whether your product qualifies and get the process documentation in place.
How quickly can we be ready for an audit?
After the gap assessment we set a realistic schedule that tackles high-impact items first: hazard analysis, CCP and PC controls, supplier approval, and sanitation and allergen documentation, so you can meet your target audit date.
Speak with our expert consultants
Get a free consultation with our food safety and quality experts, and a clear path to your next Austin audit.