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Section 4.4 Attaining Food Safety - Internal Audit Requirement

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jlk

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Posted 13 February 2012 - 01:38 PM

I'm interested in knowing what others are doing for an internal audit schedule for SQF 2000 Level 3, what items do you have on your schedule. I'm also looking for sample checklist for all items under Section 4.4 - Attaining Food Safety. I know the "Internal Audit Risk Assessment" is available, but I'm not looking for that. I'm looking for something to use after you have been certified and you use to cover the "Internal Audit requirement"

Thanks-

Jason



Katja

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Posted 16 February 2012 - 01:47 PM

I'm interested in knowing what others are doing for an internal audit schedule for SQF 2000 Level 3, what items do you have on your schedule. I'm also looking for sample checklist for all items under Section 4.4 - Attaining Food Safety. I know the "Internal Audit Risk Assessment" is available, but I'm not looking for that. I'm looking for something to use after you have been certified and you use to cover the "Internal Audit requirement"

Thanks-

Jason

Ironically i just had a training session on this yesterday, I had developed a procedure that was approved by our auditor during our certification audit which was based on SQF points. I grouped relative points together and spread them out over the year so that the entire SQF was covered. Our trainer who is also a consultant suggested that he prefers to have internal auditors audit a department. To me this means that someone with relative inexperience in SQF must audit a department and know the entire system instead of just the bit they are auditing. I cannot audit as i am the practitioner but trained members of out Food Safety team will and up till know they know only the bits of sqf that applies to them not everything.
To answer your question my checklist is basically the checklist available on the SQF website for auditors. I basically re-worded the questions to be clearer.


jlk

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Posted 16 February 2012 - 02:38 PM

Katia

Thank you for your comments. I am a little confused by your post. You state "To me this means that someone with relative inexperience in SQF must audit a department and know the entire system instead of just the bit they are auditing." The items I have marked in bold contradict each other, I don't think you can be inexperienced in SQF and know the entire system. I also do not know of anywhere in the code that it is stated an SQF practitioner cannot conduct internal audits. Is the checklist you are referring to the "Internal Audit Risk Assessment" ? If so, I see most of this checklist applying prior to setting up you SQF system.

Thanks-

Jason

Ironically i just had a training session on this yesterday, I had developed a procedure that was approved by our auditor during our certification audit which was based on SQF points. I grouped relative points together and spread them out over the year so that the entire SQF was covered. Our trainer who is also a consultant suggested that he prefers to have internal auditors audit a department. To me this means that someone with relative inexperience in SQF must audit a department and know the entire system instead of just the bit they are auditing. I cannot audit as i am the practitioner but trained members of out Food Safety team will and up till know they know only the bits of sqf that applies to them not everything.
To answer your question my checklist is basically the checklist available on the SQF website for auditors. I basically re-worded the questions to be clearer.



Rodriguez-Gonzalez

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Posted 21 February 2012 - 03:42 AM

I understand that is part of the irony.

But to audit one Department they just need to know that one Department and the section of the SQF code that applies to them.

Is that right?



esquef

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Posted 21 February 2012 - 03:08 PM

The way I interpret this is that the SQF Practitioner (who presumably knows the Food Safety/Quality Management system well) is responsible for creating the audit schedule, assembling a cross-functional team of trained internal auditors, and creating checklists for each individual audit.

Auditors should not audit their own departments. Each audit is set up with this in mind. The auditors meet with the SQF Practitioner and review the part of the FSQMS that will be audited. Relevant docs are handed out for review of policy, procedures, records, etc. and the department(s) to be audited are notified and a date/time is agreed upon.

The auditors determine whether that who they're auditing are doing what the FSQMS docs say they should be doing (interviews and observation), and each question on the associated checklist is rated much like an actual SQF audit. A post-audit report is then put together by the auditors and given to the SQF Practitioner. Any significant non-conformances are entered into the company's CAPA Register, and the department head is notified and agrres to a date of expected correction. At that date the auditors follow to see if the correction(s) have been made, and verify their effectiveness. Ifthe corrections were effective the item is taken off the CAPA register and audit is complete.

I conduct an audit for each element of the SQF program (Sections 4,5, and 6 for us), so that means a lot of internal auditing. But I do think that the benefits outweigh the pain: continuous improvement, both the internal auditors and those audited gain insight as to how other parts of the company work, the exercise makes it easier to be prepared for recertification audits and the 2nd party audits that are bound to pop up trroughout the year, etc.



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Katja

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Posted 21 February 2012 - 03:27 PM

I agree with your system, it sound much like mine. The exception is that my internal auditors will do a point of the code and verify it company wide, instead of per department. I want to make sure i understand this well. At your company, your internal auditors audit other departments to make sure they respect FSQMS procedures and additionally you audit all elements of the referential as well. If this is true, it makes more sense because then only the practitioner must be very familiar with the whole code. Assuming of course that the FSQMS was well built and accomplishes the intent of the relevant referential elements.
As the SQF practitioner is auditing each element of the SQF program allowed because can we audit our own systems...


The way I interpret this is that the SQF Practitioner (who presumably knows the Food Safety/Quality Management system well) is responsible for creating the audit schedule, assembling a cross-functional team of trained internal auditors, and creating checklists for each individual audit.

Auditors should not audit their own departments. Each audit is set up with this in mind. The auditors meet with the SQF Practitioner and review the part of the FSQMS that will be audited. Relevant docs are handed out for review of policy, procedures, records, etc. and the department(s) to be audited are notified and a date/time is agreed upon.

The auditors determine whether that who they're auditing are doing what the FSQMS docs say they should be doing (interviews and observation), and each question on the associated checklist is rated much like an actual SQF audit. A post-audit report is then put together by the auditors and given to the SQF Practitioner. Any significant non-conformances are entered into the company's CAPA Register, and the department head is notified and agrres to a date of expected correction. At that date the auditors follow to see if the correction(s) have been made, and verify their effectiveness. Ifthe corrections were effective the item is taken off the CAPA register and audit is complete.

I conduct an audit for each element of the SQF program (Sections 4,5, and 6 for us), so that means a lot of internal auditing. But I do think that the benefits outweigh the pain: continuous improvement, both the internal auditors and those audited gain insight as to how other parts of the company work, the exercise makes it easier to be prepared for recertification audits and the 2nd party audits that are bound to pop up trroughout the year, etc.





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