Best Food Safety Consultancy in South Africa? The Evidence

No regulator ranks food safety consultancies in South Africa, and a firm that calls itself the best without showing evidence is asking you to take its word for it. The better question is which consultancy can prove, on public records you can check today, that it knows the standards, knows South African food law and gets clients through audits and inspections.

Jump to: the nine checks, reviews, prices, where to start

This guide gives you nine checks to run on any consultancy before you sign, then shows how ASC Food Safety Consultants measures up on each, with a link for every figure. These checks work on any consultancy, including us.

Already know what is due? Get a free, no obligation quote or WhatsApp us. Consulting is charged hourly.

How do you choose a food safety consultant in South Africa?

Run these nine checks. Each one has a place to verify it that does not depend on the consultancy’s own website.

Is ASC properly registered and accredited?

The numbers are public. The SAATCA register of online training course providers lists ASC Food Safety Consultants as No. 065, and ASC is a FoodBev SETA Accredited Provider under No. 587/00337/1900. ASC is also an Exemplar Global Recognised Training Provider and is ISO 9001 certified.

SAATCA’s register of R638:2018 implementers lists two ASC people: founder Mthokozisi Nkosi (RG003) and trainer Onele Kutu (RG004). Our R638 courses end in a proctored final assessment, and every certificate carries a QR code an inspector can scan.

ASC is a consultancy and training provider, not a certification body, so it never certifies a site it has advised.

Who actually does the work?

ASC is led by Mthokozisi Nkosi, a food scientist with a BSc (Agric) Honours in Food Science and Technology, a Master of Public Health and an MBA, who is completing a PhD in Public Health. He is registered with the HPCSA as an Environmental Health Practitioner, is an Exemplar Global and IRCA registered lead auditor and a PCQI, and is on the GLOBALG.A.P. trainer register.

The HPCSA registration is personal to him, not a company accreditation, and we say so because the difference matters when you are checking. His food science degree is also why reformulation and shelf life work sits in the same team as audits and labels. He works with food scientists, biochemists, FSSC 22000 lead auditors and accredited trainers and assessors across our three offices.

SABC News, eNCA, Newzroom Afrika, Cape Talk, SAfm and Daily Maverick have carried ASC’s commentary on food safety. The interviews are on our media page.

What do ASC’s Google and course reviews say?

Of the 2,579 course reviews, 2,397 are five star, 144 are four star and 38 are three star or lower. We publish them all, newest first, good and bad, because a wall of perfect scores tells a buyer less than an honest spread.

Here is what people wrote this month, as published:

“The course covers all the basic information required to ensure I produce and supply safe, high-quality products to consumers. I feel very confident in my preparation and food handling methods after taking the R638/COA course.”

Angelique Turner, Google review, 4 stars, October 2026

“This training helped me to realize and understand the importance of food safety and food safety handling and regulations guiding them according to South African safety rules.”

Lekhotso April, Google review, 5 stars, October 2026

“The videos helped a lot with the explanations of the lessons; it is detailed and on point.”

Nabeel S., Persons in Charge course, October 2026

Which businesses trust ASC?

Training. KFC, Jack’s Bagels and the Spur Corporation group, including Spur Steak Ranches, Panarottis, John Dory’s, RocoMamas and The Hussar Grill, train their teams with ASC through dedicated programmes, each with a manager dashboard. Environmental health practitioners, the inspectors who issue Certificates of Acceptability, also train with us.

Regulatory and labelling. ASC is the official food safety and compliance advisor to Kellogg’s, and Adcock Ingram, KFC Africa (Yum! Brands), the Spur Group, SPAR, Pick n Pay and Shoprite use ASC for regulatory and labelling work. These clients are named with their agreement.

Audits. For TotalEnergies, ASC carried out a remote IFS ACE camp audit at the Afungi LNG site in Mozambique, across five full kitchen operations.

Want this team on your site? Get a free, no obligation quote. Consulting is charged hourly.

Does ASC know South African food law?

Our regulatory pages are dated and signed. As at 8 September 2026, ASC’s last check against the Government Gazette recorded on the labelling and regulatory advisory page, R146 of 2010, the Regulations Relating to the Labelling and Advertising of Foodstuffs, remained the labelling law in force, and draft R3337 had not been finalised. Every finding in an ASC label report quotes the regulation it comes from.

The same applies on the factory floor. We write R638 and Certificate of Acceptability guidance from inspection experience, and we build food safety systems to the scheme edition your certification body audits against.

What does a food safety consultant cost with ASC?

Most of our prices are published, because you should know the figure before you call.

ASCloud subscription fees carry a 60 day money back guarantee. Weigh R499 a month against a failed inspection, a re-audit fee and the trading days lost waiting for the revisit.

Where should my business start?

Not sure? Where do I start walks you to the right service in a few questions.

Can ASC help businesses in neighbouring countries?

It can. Online courses work anywhere, ASCloud has country guides for Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia with prices shown in local currency, and remote audits are possible, as the TotalEnergies camp audit in Mozambique showed. On site work outside South Africa is quoted with travel. Our offices are in Gqeberha, Johannesburg and Cape Town.

Still searching under our old name? Read ASC Consultants is now ASC Food Safety Consultants.

Questions we are often asked

Which is the best food safety consultancy in South Africa?

No official ranking exists, so judge on evidence you can check: registered training provider numbers, registered lead auditors, independent reviews, named clients and published prices. As at 8 November 2026, ASC Food Safety Consultants has 454 Google reviews rated 4.9 to 5.0 across three offices, 4.9 from 2,579 course reviews, SAATCA registration No. 065 and FoodBev SETA Accredited Provider No. 587/00337/1900.

Is ASC registered with SAATCA?

ASC is a SAATCA registered training course provider, No. 065, and two ASC people are on SAATCA’s register of R638:2018 implementers (RG003 and RG004). Check both on saatca.co.za.

Can ASC guarantee that my business gets certified?

No consultancy can. Certification decisions are made by your certification body, and Certificates of Acceptability by your municipality. ASC builds and audits the system so that it is ready for that decision, and tells you plainly what is still open before the auditor arrives.

How much does a food safety consultant cost in South Africa?

At ASC, a virtual consultation is R480 an hour, courses start at R420, risk assessments at R690 and ASCloud at R499 per site per month plus a once-off setup fee. Quotes for implementation and audit projects are free and carry no obligation. Consulting is charged hourly.

Does ASC work only in South Africa?

Our offices are in South Africa, but online courses and ASCloud are used across Southern Africa, and work in neighbouring countries is done remotely or quoted with travel.