Quality Analyst

Company Overview

Louis Dreyfus Company is a leading merchant and processor of agricultural goods. Our activities span the entire value chain from farm to fork across a broad range of business lines, leveraging our global reach and extensive asset network to serve customers and consumers worldwide. Structured as a matrix organization of six geographical regions and ten platforms, we are active in over 100 countries and employ approximately 18,000 people globally.

The Quality Analyst ensures the quality, safety, and regulatory compliance of products through microbiological, physical, analytical, and sensory testing for the new Louis Dreyfus Company Pea Protein Isolate ("PPI") Facility under construction in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada. The role includes environmental monitoring, method validation, equipment calibration, and collaboration with R&D to define product specifications. The Quality Analyst plays a critical role in maintaining food safety standards and ensuring product consistency.

• Manage inventory of laboratory equipment and chemicals using LIMS and/or SAP.
• Participate in proficiency testing programs to validate lab methods.
• Lead/Conduct sensory evaluations for batch release.
• Lead the metrology program for site labs, including control rooms and grading stations.
• Perform microbiological testing using conventional and rapid test methods on finished products and environmental monitoring samples.
• Lead microbiological testing of finished products, potable water, air samples, and environmental monitoring swabs for pathogenic organisms (Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus, Clostridium perfringens) using conventional, rapid, and PCR‑based assays.
• Evaluate Environmental Monitoring Program (EMP) results to identify trends and proactively address contamination risks.
• Develop and optimize test methods for the QC laboratory, ensuring methods are validated for accuracy, repeatability, specificity, and robustness.
• Monitor temperatures of incubators and fridges.
• Maintain laboratory records, including logbooks and computerized systems.
• Oversee autoclave maintenance and ensure sterilization using biological and chemical indicators.
• Log samples into LIMS and/or SAP for traceability.
• Manage retain and shelf‑life samples.
• Lead foreign material hazard risk assessments for metal detector, magnetic, and particulate contaminants across critical control points, applying HACCP principles.
• Conduct formal verification and validation of physical hazard control systems:
  • Metal Detectors:
    Perform challenge testing using calibrated test pieces to confirm detection thresholds across product matrices.
  • Magnets:
    Validate magnetic flux density and efficacy of retention under production conditions using Gauss meters.
  • Sieves:
    Execute mesh integrity testing and evaluate separation performance against product specifications.
• Perform analytical testing for food and feed using AOAC or other applicable accredited methods.
• Audit food safety documentation including inspection logs, CCP monitoring records, and corrective action reports for completeness, accuracy, and regulatory alignment (e.g., FSMA, GFSI, CFIA).
• Deliver food safety orientation and GMP training to new hires and cross‑functional teams, reinforcing hygiene, sanitation, and CCP awareness.
• Conduct GMP audits across production and laboratory areas, identifying non‑conformities, documenting findings, and initiating CAPA processes.
• Draft detailed CAPA documentation with root‑cause analysis, containment actions, corrective measures, and preventive strategies; ensure timely communication and implementation across departments.
• Lead batch release decisions using integrated results from analytical, microbiological, and sensory testing.
• Execute positive release protocols and initiate product hold procedures when out‑of‑spec results or quality concerns arise, triggering inspection and cross‑functional review.
• Provide after‑hours guidance to operations personnel on food safety deviations, urgent lab results, and resolution of production‑floor food safety issues in real time.
• Inform Quality Supervisor of out‑of‑spec results…