What does a standard Operational Audit Schedule for a typical food company look like?

Organizations involved in the manufacturing and distribution of food are required by law to audit their processes and equipment to ensure basic levels of food safety. The details of these audits are governed by regional legislation.

Food processors and manufacturers are usually required to maintain additional auditing schedules to be compliant with regulatory bodies, which rewards them with membership and access to more sales and distribution opportunities (i.e. Safe Quality Food (SQF) and ISO).

Recently, there has been a growing push by food retailers to demand even more stringent food safety auditing requirements. This process is usually grounded in HACCP (Hazard and Critical Control Points) principles, whereby the organization starts by identifying the major risk areas, creates SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) to mitigate them and then audits periodically to ensure compliance.

With all of these requirements, it can be hard for food organizations to determine what they need to audit and how often. In a general sense, audit frequency should be based on the risk assessment of each control point - if the risk of contamination is high, then audits should be more frequent (and the inverse is true).

Here is a basic overview of the types of audits you should consider and their relative frequency. Please note that if you require assistance in setting up your auditing schedule, please consult with a food safety compliance expert. This list is intended for basic educational purposes only.