Introduction to Internal Audit Internal audit is the process of which food safety systems are analyzed against the written program to ensure the program is properly implemented. Internal audit is a required component to meet food safety audit requirements for GFSI recognized certification schemes such as SQF, BRC and FSSC 22000. It is recommended that the internal audits are conducted by another department independent from the audited department. This makes perfect sense as it eliminates bias from the inspector. However, these also create multiple challenges for completing internal audit including a high level of commitment from another department, etc. benefit
Besides being the most tedious task to manage, the internal audit is one of the best indicators for the status of food safety program implementation. It can also be used to measure the readiness of a food facility to move towards process improvement and reap the benefit of a properly implemented food safety program. Drawback
Internal audit is a highly resource-intensive process, which often is managed by Quality Assurance Managers, on top of their normal day-to-day firefighting activities. As such, internal audit inherited the challenges of a project management which include
Process
Here is a typical internal audit processes:
Reality
Often, Quality Assurance Manager are tasked to be the Internal Audit Coordinator because ultimately, it is part of their responsibility. Due to the tedious nature of the internal audit process, it is hard to get resources from another department to commit to the internal audit process. The personnel from another department are usually focused on their own day-to-day role. It is also extremely difficult to set a meeting to ensure team members are not left out. Perhaps, the hardest is to follow up to ensure the department is committed to complete corrective and preventative actions within the agreed timeline. helpful strategies
Here are few tips to make internal audit less stressful:
Bottom line
Internal Audit is an important tool to ensure our food safety program is what we said they are. If not, we know that what is wrong so that we can work on it. Personally, I use internal audit to assess the readiness of a facility to go to the next level for process improvement. If the facility isn’t ready for the basic food safety program, adding additional processes can be a burden to the facility. Thus, a priority should be given to set the foundation of the food safety program Don’t stress out your food safety team. Let them focus on the actual organization goals and shift internal audit focus on us. We’d like to help you make the best out of your food safety program and leverage the existing program to deliver exceptional return on investment -book a meeting with us.
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AuthorFelicia Loo, CFS is a Certified Food Scientist and qualified SQF Practitioner. She has worked with numerous food businesses to develop customized and improved food safety programs. She has worked with different food safety and regulatory schemes such as SQF, ISO 22000, Primus GFS, Organic, Kosher and Health Canada (Natural Health Product). Categories
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