SQF Internal Audits

We are trying to achieve SQF certification.  Do you know if we will be required to conduct an entire system audit prior to our initial desk audit?  Or will the Internal Audit schedule, procedures, and evidence we are following the schedule & procedures (including corrective actions) be enough for compliance to the standard?

Any information will be very much appreciated!  :helpplease:

No but it will be a Good Idea to have a list of what you have so during the desk audit the consultant can review and tell you what is missing or what to add.  For the SQF certification Audit then Yes you must show evidence of the SQF System Audit of all the things you mentioned.  For what I read, you have a good start.

Good luck!

We are hoping to have at least 10 sections of the standard audited by the time our initial desk audit is scheduled.  We were just concerned we would have to show evidence of all 18 sections being audited and between training internal auditors and setting up the rest of the system I wasn't sure we would have time. 

This is a huge help & I will make sure our consultant concurs.  Thank you so much!     :spoton:

^{From our experience during our first SQF audit, I believe you will need to have a full internal audit complete before your SQF audit.}

^{For our desk audit we had our internal audit format, schedule, etc., all in place.  Then in the month between the desk audit and the facility audit (we had split our audit to gain those 30 days of preparation time), we completed the physical internal audit.  The auditor accepted it but stated it should have been done well in advance of the audit as true corrective actions could not be completed.  As we had a pre-existing internal audit program (just without any SQF linkage), we were able to provide some evidence that we would normally follow a format of not cramming it all in in one month!}

When we had our first audit, we had to have everything completed at least once.  Internal audits, verifications and validations all had to be completed at least once, or it was a minor non-conformance.  That was one thing our consultant had left out, but luckily I had everything completed before then.

Yes it is recommended that you do so. In addition to having your audit schedule. Please ensure that all the non-conformances, if any, are closed out and you have the report and close outs verified by the authorized person(s). Ensure that the internal audit is done by persons that are independent of the areas being audited. Please ensure that your entire SQF System is reviewed also.