Understanding the Differences: Documentation vs Records

Documents and records are the backbone for ensuring the food safety, most people think documents and records are same.

Are they similar? NO! both are different and serve different purposes.

What are documents?

Documents are the fixed principles and SOP of the organisation.They are prepared by the organisation and revised if necessary, so the documents can have many versions; the organisation follows the current version of the documents.

Documentation is an integral part of the food industry serving as a systematic approach to ensuring the safety and quality of food products.

What are records?

Records are the paper work that are recored during the process records have the actual values recored during the production. For example we have various checklist to note the critical values during the process. Records provide evidence of compliance with regulatory requirements and traceability through out the production process.