SQF Ed 9 Audit Preparation - common issues?
I am new to my SQF Practitioner role at my plant and my audit is less than a month away. What are some things that most often get missed in the chaos of getting ready for an audit?
This is difficult to answer, as it depends what they're going to look at. I've had auditors dig into my path testing book for hours, and catch something I missed, and I've had auditors literally not even look at it. I'd double check simple things you know they're going to look at like daily sign offs, etc. This will also depend on your operation, but here they look heavy into that sort of paperwork. Also make sure your HACCP is beyond scrutiny of course. Hazard analysis, etc etc.
My GFSI auditors have always been checking revision dates of SOPs, HACCP forms (you know: product description, ingredients & related hazards, flow charts, hazard analyses, etc.), Organizational structure, Provision of resources, etc. They paid particular attention to this matter making sure the review/revision was done at least annually.
Thanks! I'm not really looking for a specific answer just items in general that get overlooked by the sites. I have combed through the code and I'm pretty sure we have everything covered. Just nervous and don't want to miss anything.
Have you verified that your cooler (if you have one) temps are being monitored in the warmest spot?
Does senior SITE manager sign the management commitment?
We just had our V9 unannounced audit 3 weeks ago----auditor said they've been instructed to spend AT LEAST 50% of the time on the floor
There were many MANY documents that never were looked at, including a lot of mandatory items
Have you verified that your cooler (if you have one) temps are being monitored in the warmest spot?
Does senior SITE manager sign the management commitment?
We just had our V9 unannounced audit 3 weeks ago----auditor said they've been instructed to spend AT LEAST 50% of the time on the floor
There were many MANY documents that never were looked at, including a lot of mandatory items
Yes and yes.
Thank you!
Seems every auditor has different things they zero in on. At my former job, the auditor was big on SQF. She wanted SQF stressed in documents and wanted everyone to know what it meant (I put SQF=Safe Quality Food signs up all over!) She was also big on meetings and trainings.
Make sure paperwork is up-to-date, signed/reviewed within 7 days, no blank spaces. If something is wrong or missing, note on the paperwork why it's wrong or missing. Make sure all protocols are being followed.
Our USDC auditor can pick out tiny changes from our HACCP plan, just skimming it. But he'll let bigger things go in production because he knows I'll take care of it. He DOES mention them, but doesn't usually document them unless they aren't changed by the next time he comes.
Everyone to know what SQF (FSSC, BRC, ISO, HACCP, etc.) means? That's quite a requirement taking into account my floor workers, say, are half Filipino, half Macedonians speaking little English. And secondly, are they really supposed to know what all those abbreviations mean?
Everyone to know what SQF (FSSC, BRC, ISO, HACCP, etc.) means? That's quite a requirement taking into account my floor workers, say, are half Filipino, half Macedonians speaking little English. And secondly, are they really supposed to know what all those abbreviations mean?
She did ask a couple people on the floor what SQF meant, one gal struggled, but one didn't know. She didn't care about the others, just SQF.
But it she wanted more SQF wording in documents. For management commitment, she wanted the words "Safe Quality Foods" rather than more general terms.
Have you verified that your cooler (if you have one) temps are being monitored in the warmest spot?
Does senior SITE manager sign the management commitment?
We just had our V9 unannounced audit 3 weeks ago----auditor said they've been instructed to spend AT LEAST 50% of the time on the floor
There were many MANY documents that never were looked at, including a lot of mandatory items
Wow, we had our unannounced in March and the auditor spent maybe 1 hour on the floor of two facilities. And even then it was a two day audit that really should have been three (not that anyone was complaining!) Different certifying bodies give very different instructions I guess.
Even though we had a lot of things passed over, I just recommend having the mandatory components really solid. Oh, and make sure your floor employees feel comfortable running a metal detector check in front of the auditor :rolleyes:
It was a real struggle, we are not that big----my feet were killing me by the end of day 2! and our CB insists on the auditor being present for Pre op
In my travels I was always running into other auditors who all said they did not agree with these percentages - that included me.
I've been on inspections that took short time to complete and others that were in good to bad shape that took hours.
I even had a couple where I remenber saying to myself... oh God please make this end!
When you see an Auditor just staring at the ceiling or equipment he/she is killing time because of this stupid mandate.
I've found over the years its all based on the auditor. Some hone in on certain things and others on other things. Just make sure the core stuff is handled and make sure your HACCP plan, verification and validation are sound. I had heard with edition 9 they were looking more into Food Safety Culture and I was prepared but our auditor never mentioned it or dove into it. I also find it helpful to set up a book that follows the code and has the SOPs and documents we say are in place for that section of the code in order. Helps the audit go a but smoother.
If I were you I'd find out who the audtor was last year at your plant. If its the same one you have this year I'd read last year's report and make sure all nc's were corrected as you said they were going to be. Look for trends on their findings. If its a new auditor, honestly look them up on Linkedin and see what kind of background they have. Just knowing the type of auditor you have can really help you prepare. With a timeframe of less than a month this will help you prioritize. Best of luck.
I've found over the years its all based on the auditor. Some hone in on certain things and others on other things. Just make sure the core stuff is handled and make sure your HACCP plan, verification and validation are sound. I had heard with edition 9 they were looking more into Food Safety Culture and I was prepared but our auditor never mentioned it or dove into it. I also find it helpful to set up a book that follows the code and has the SOPs and documents we say are in place for that section of the code in order. Helps the audit go a but smoother.
I would second this. I'm on my 4th audit with my facility and we're circling back to the auditor I had the first time. Each auditor focused on a different thing- one laid into maintenance for an entire audit. One focused on me having Spanish translations for literally every document under the sun- yes even my Hazard Analysis, because I had Spanish speaking employees, another was all about verbiage- if SQF left it as an "option" to add to a procedure, to him it was not optional but required. He lectured me about interchanging version and revision in my Document Control Program...
One year I got super unlucky and they had to send their technical writer to audit us (my first time leading an audit at that), and he was ALLL about Water. Tried to get permission to knock out walls to look for internal back flow on a 70yr old building's pipes, gave us a major for ingredient order (lost that argument somehow), and he went through all our external micro swabs checking codes to make sure they used the right one at the labs, when he made a mistake he got giddy and started singing about issuing us a point. Its almost fun to see what they come up with.
Every auditor has that one thing that makes them tick- sometimes its easy, sometimes its not. Just make sure all the new Risk Analysis they came out with for V9 you've done, and always always utilize Guidance Documents- auditors love to reference them!!!