Internal Audit in a Meat Processing Plant USDA certified

Hello everyone,

I am trying to implement a monthly internal audit by QA department here at my facility. I was wondering if you could share a sample with me. I am having difficult to put one together because we do operational inspection twice per day. 

Thanks in advance for your help,

Have a wonderful day!

I am no longer in poultry, however, the internal audit we did took me 2 full days each and every month (1 QA manager, 1 HACCP coordinator and 4 techs)

It was split into areas of the plant (facility included cut up as well as slaughter) and then broken down into it's parts (doors, floor, ceilings, chemicals, evis machines, chilling etc etc etc)

Your operational inspection IS NOT a replacement for the monthly IA, it should include things like GMPs proper handwashing, hairnets, gloves aprons etc

The monthly IA looks deeper.......traffic flow, colour use by department (we had 4 different PPE colours depending on what part of the plant), close inspection of maintenance SHOP.......where are the knives sharpened?? Is it sanitary?  Screens on air intakes, chemical storage locked, dosatrons working,

So start by walking thorugh the plant and REALLY looking at the BUILDING.........this is your best chance to catch nonconformities before USDA inspectors do

Oh and walk ins (cooler and freezer) .......when were they defrosted last etc

Labels on products in the walk ins.......clear/correct

Dry storage----clean, covered 

Hope that gives you a good place to start

break your facility down into rooms and do a monthly infrastructure, sanitation, personal hygiene and operational practices audit per room once a month. Don't be afraid to 

get into more details on these audits and include a compliance scorecard with different observations weighing in at different point deductions. A leaking ceiling pipe in a production

room should out weigh an employee not wearing their hairnet properly.