Suits a business with several sections or sites and a food safety lead.
Internal audit: the standard procedure
Sample document. Adapt it to your own business and have it reviewed.
- Programme
- One yearly plan covering every activity, weighted by risk. The food safety lead owns it. Changes are dated, with a reason.
- Auditors
- Trained staff from other sections. Nobody audits their own work. Keep a list of who is competent in what.
- Preparation
- Read the last report, open actions, recent complaints, breaches and changes to the process.
- On the floor
- Audit during production, including a late or weekend shift at least some of the time. Trace records to food, and probe food for yourself.
- Findings
- State the requirement, evidence, place and time. Rate by risk to the consumer. Anything unsafe goes straight to .
- Review
- A second person reads the audit before release. Rejected answers say what is wrong.
- Actions
- Each has an owner who can fix it, a and a date. Actions that cross departments go to whoever controls the fix.
- Verification
- The auditor or lead checks each fix on site before closing.
- Reporting
- Monthly: done, missed, late and repeat findings. Summary goes to management review.