Table 3.

Food safety competencies along with required safety knowledge and food safety skills and systems thinking approach Source: Adapted from “GFSI Food Safety Auditor Competencies Edition 1” November 2013 [31].

Task	Required Food Safety Knowledge	Required Food Safety Skills
Systems Thinking “Includes”: Problem Solving “Critical Thinking”	Knowledge of: Principles of systems thinking– Identification of issues as part of an overall system, rather than reaction to specific parts system improvement-special and common causes the relationship of quality management and productivity to food safety	Ability to: big picture thinking. Standing back and looking at the system as a whole, rather than just looking at the individual parts, explain the inter-relationship between quality management, operations, productivity and food safety Identify special and common causes