How to Ace Your Next Food Safety Audit: A Step-by-Step Guide

Audits (sigh). They’re a thorn in the side of many food safety professionals, taking our time and attention away from proactive work and getting in the way of important projects. It often feels like we’ve barely finished one audit before the next one starts. Add in the time it takes to stay on top of all the different audit requirements and it’s no wonder food safety professionals find audits a disagreeable part of their jobs.

However, with the right preparation and mindset, you can turn your next audit into an opportunity for improvement rather than a source of stress. This short guide describes actionable steps to ace your next food safety audit and reduce the scramble. Let’s dive in!

1. Understand the requirements

It’s almost too obvious to include in this guide, but understanding the audit’s requirements is an absolute must-have for success audit. That means having a thorough understanding of the standard or regulation your company is being audited against.

External audits can come in the form of regulatory checks (often called ‘inspections’ rather than audits), second-party audits, which are audits by customers, and third-party audits, which are audits by certification bodies.

The requirements for each of these types of audits, and their durations are quite variable. A customer audit, for example, can take the form of a short visit to check your facility and systems or an in-depth and time-consuming process based on a long checklist or complicated standard.

For this step, you’ll need a copy of the audit standard or checklist and familiarity with its contents. To stay on top of changes to standards, keep a lookout for free webinars from the standard owner or certification body.

Keep up to date with the standard if you want to ace your audit. Image: kues1 on Freepik

If you’re new to food safety systems, consider formal training in the relevant standard(s). Also, keep an eye out for guidance documents published by standards owners on specific topics such as food fraud or food safety culture which are usually very helpful for audit preparation.

2. Conduct a self-assessment

Most standards require food businesses to conduct internal audits which check that systems are working as they should throughout the year. However, internal auditors can easily overlook key areas of non-compliance, especially if they are very familiar with the system.

A self-assessment means checking that your systems meet the requirements of the standard. It allows you to identify gaps and correct areas of potential non-conformity before the audit. A self-assessment includes activities such as checking that documents are up to date; records are available; procedures reflect what is actually being done and the physical environment is clean and organised.

Top tip: If you don’t have time to do a complete self-assessment, check industry news for articles that list common non-conformances and focus your efforts on those areas. See past posts Top 5 Audit Non-conformances: BRCGS spills the beans on a year of audits and Top Food Safety Non-Conformances and How to Avoid Them for inspiration.

3. Get your docs ready

Auditors love an organised set of documents! It saves them from having to waste their time searching through mounds of paper or digital files looking for answers and allows them to focus on important food safety issues rather than navigating paperwork tangles.

If your system is organised so that auditors can easily find their way around, they’ll be more relaxed and you won’t need to sit and hold their hand throughout the audit, freeing you up to get on with other tasks.

Whether your food safety program is published with sophisticated software or filed in simple paper folders, it should have a contents page (or electronic file) that names all the elements of the program and includes links or guidance to where each section is located.

If some of your records are supplied electronically by contractors, such as cleaning contractors or pest management professionals, be sure to include instructions or links for access to their records.

It goes without saying that you should make sure that all documents referenced in your program are available and accessible at the time of your audit. For example, make sure all paper folders are where they should be, check that you can log in to your contractors’ portals and ensure that electronic folders can be accessed from the right devices.

4. Borrow a colleague for a walk-through

If it has been a while since your last audit, it might be worth borrowing a fresh set of eyes to take on a walk-through of your facility. It’s easy to miss areas of non-compliance if you see them every day.

Tell your colleague – ideally someone who doesn’t go into food handling areas often – to help you look for problems such as inaccessible hand wash sinks, open ingredient containers, doors propped open, improper wearing of PPE, unlabelled WIP (work in progress), temporary maintenance solutions like cardboard or sticky tape, peeling paint, condensation drips, non-functioning lights, uncovered waste containers, empty hand soap dispensers and the like.

If you find something, fix it before the audit.

5. Reframe the audit for yourself and your team

If you’re anxious about an upcoming audit, or treat it as nothing more than an unwanted intrusion, your attitude is likely to rub off on your team. Auditors have a sixth sense for bad attitudes, and will not only pick up on it, but may also unwittingly reflect it back to you in their approach.

An auditor who feels unwelcome and unappreciated might even imagine that your company’s food safety culture is not up to scratch.

A good auditor will raise issues in a way that promotes a positive, rather than a defensive response from the auditee. But not all auditors are good. The trick to dealing with a difficult auditor is to imagine that the auditor has highlighted an issue with the aim of helping your business do better, not so they can give you a fail.

Most auditors are in the job because they want to use their expertise to help food businesses do better, and most genuinely want their work to result in better food safety outcomes for consumers. They are auditing to help your business make food safer every day – they certainly aren’t in it for the money.

Tips for reframing: Remind yourself that the auditor’s primary role is to help your business do better. Also remind yourself that auditors are subject to an unconscious bias that means they can feel like they haven’t done their job properly if they haven’t raised at least a few non-conformities.

6. Prepare your colleagues

This step is about making sure everyone knows what to expect on the audit day(s). Assign roles and responsibilities for various topic areas so everyone knows who is responsible for answering questions about each aspect of the food safety program.

Warn senior managers they may be asked questions about food safety culture, such as how they prioritise resources or handle staff turnover.

Top tip: Don’t forget that auditors are people too. Offer them a drink, make sure they have a space to work that is not too hot or cold, arrange a comfortable chair, check that they have brought something to eat, and arrange something for them if they haven’t.

7. Aim for transparency

The surest way to make an auditor suspicious is to try to hide problems or deny evidence. Be open and honest and make sure your colleagues know that this is the approach you want to take with auditors. When issues are pointed out, avoid acting defensively, but stay calm.

8. Correct problems on the spot if you can

Most auditors are fine with instant corrections to minor problems, so don’t hesitate to fix problems while you are with the auditor if you can. For example, if you are authorised to update a document where the auditor has found a minor error, you could make the correction during the audit.

Instant corrections save the auditor from having to write up a non-conformance and they save you from having to document a corrective action process after the audit.

9. Get clarification and push back if needed

Auditors make mistakes, and different auditors have different ideas about how things should be done. If you don’t agree with something an auditor says, make sure to discuss it with them as soon as they say it. This can help prevent small misunderstandings from becoming big ones.

For example, if an auditor says they have found a problem with something that previous auditors did not highlight, it’s fine to question their opinion. They could be working with an incorrect assumption or may have misjudged the evidence.

When you seek clarification you are giving the auditor a chance for them to provide you with current best practices and help your business improve. On the other hand, if they realise they have misunderstood a situation, your input might save them from an embarrassing mistake. Either way, you are doing them a favour.

If you are not one hundred percent clear on any findings the auditor describes at their closing meeting, ask them to clarify before they leave. If you still aren’t satisfied, request more details in writing too, and check that the auditor has evidence to back up their findings.

Truly problematic audit results and auditor behaviour can be discussed with your certification body if you are not able to resolve issues with the auditor.

Final thoughts

Food safety audits are not just about compliance, they are an opportunity to get feedback on your systems and stay up to date with best practices in food safety. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can transform potential stress into a structured process that fosters confidence and promotes teamwork.

Embrace the feedback from audits as a pathway to continuous improvement, remembering that the ultimate goal is to improve food safety outcomes and protect consumers. And remember, if you aren’t convinced about the auditor’s findings, be sure to seek clarification.