Last Updated on July 4, 2023 by Ossian Muscad
Food safety should be the number one priority for any business involved in the food industry. A key factor that can directly affect a business’s ability to meet food safety standards and regulations is its choice of suppliers. To ensure their supply chain meets all relevant requirements, businesses must conduct regular supplier audits.
This guide will provide an overview of what a food supplier audit is, why it’s important, how businesses can benefit from them, and the steps they should take when conducting an audit. It will also provide best practices for managing your supply chain efficiently and effectively while maintaining compliance with regulations.
What is a Food Supplier Audit?
A Food Supplier Audit systematically examines or assesses a food supplier’s operations and processes. Its purpose is to ensure the supplier complies with food safety standards, regulations, and best practices. This audit can cover food handling, storage, preparation, and transportation.
An auditor, typically a third-party professional or an individual from the purchasing company, conducts the audit. They review documentation, inspect facilities, and sometimes interview staff to gather information about the supplier’s food safety protocols.
The audit results help companies make informed decisions about their suppliers, ensuring the food products they purchase are safe, high-quality, and produced in ethical and sustainable ways. It also helps identify potential risks or improvement areas in the supplier’s operations.
Purpose and Importance of Conducting Food Supplier Audits
Suppliers are an important part of a business’s supply chain, so it is crucial to ensure they can meet the needs and requirements of the company. A food supplier audit helps businesses do just that by verifying their suppliers are compliant with relevant regulations and standards. With that said, here are some of the purposes and importance of conducting food supplier audits:
Ensuring Food Safety
One of the primary purposes of conducting a food supplier audit is to ensure that the food products supplied are safe for consumption. This involves checking if the supplier adheres to food safety regulations and standards, such as proper food handling, storage, and preparation.
Quality Assurance
Audits help maintain the quality of the food products. They ensure that the supplier consistently meets the set quality benchmarks and that there’s no compromise on the quality of ingredients used, preparation methods, packaging, etc.
Regulatory Compliance
Many countries have stringent laws and regulations regarding food safety and hygiene. Conducting a food supplier audit helps ensure that the supplier complies with these regulations, thus avoiding potential legal issues and penalties.
Risk Management
Audits can help identify potential risks or threats in the supplier’s operations that could affect the safety and quality of the food products. This could include cross-contamination, improper storage conditions, use of expired ingredients, etc. Once identified, these risks can be mitigated or eliminated.
Sustainability and Ethical Practices
More consumers are now conscious of the sustainability and ethics of their food. Audits can help ensure that the supplier follows sustainable practices and ethical standards, such as fair trade, organic farming, humane treatment of animals, etc. This meets consumer expectations and contributes to the company’s corporate social responsibility efforts.
Areas To Check During a Food Supplier Audit
Conducting a food supplier audit requires thoroughly examining the supplier’s operations and processes. Here are some areas that should be examined during the audit:
Facility and Equipment
The auditor should inspect the physical condition of the supplier’s facilities and equipment. This includes checking the cleanliness, maintenance, and proper functioning of machinery, storage areas, and production lines.
Food Safety Practices
The auditor must verify that the supplier adheres to proper food safety protocols. This includes correct food handling, storage, preparation methods, and measures to prevent cross-contamination.
Quality Control Procedures
The auditor should review the supplier’s quality control processes to ensure they are robust and effective. This can include sampling procedures, testing methods, and quality checks at different stages of production.
Documentation and Record-Keeping
The auditor should examine the supplier’s records and documentation. This can include logs for cleaning and maintenance, training records, product traceability records, and documentation of quality control results.
Regulatory Compliance
The audit should confirm that the supplier complies with all relevant food safety laws and regulations. The auditor should check for necessary certifications and permits and review any previous inspections or violations.
Staff Training
The auditor should assess whether the supplier’s staff receives adequate food safety and quality control training. They may also review training materials and interview staff members.
Ingredient Sourcing
The auditor should review the supplier’s sourcing practices. This includes checking the quality of raw materials, verifying the authenticity of organic or specialty ingredients, and ensuring ethical sourcing practices.
Emergency Procedures
The auditor should verify that the supplier has effective procedures for emergencies or unexpected events, such as product recalls, power outages, or natural disasters.
Waste Management
The auditor should check the supplier’s waste management practices to ensure they are environmentally friendly and comply with regulations.
Product Specification Compliance
The auditor should confirm that the final product meets the buyer’s specifications, including taste, texture, appearance, and packaging.
What is a Food Supplier Audit Checklist?
A Food Supplier Audit Checklist is a tool used during a food supplier audit to ensure all necessary areas of the supplier’s operations are reviewed. It serves as a guide for the auditor, outlining specific items and processes that need to be inspected for compliance with food safety standards, regulations, and best practices.
What Items To Include in a Food Supplier Audit Checklist?
While the specifics of each checklist may vary depending on the nature of the supplier’s operations and the standards they must adhere to a typical Food Supplier Audit Checklist might include the following categories:
- [ ] Facility and Equipment Inspection: Check the cleanliness, maintenance, and suitability of the facilities and equipment used in food production.
- [ ] Food Safety Practices: Review food handling, storage, and preparation protocols to prevent contamination.
- [ ] Quality Control Procedures: Assess the effectiveness of quality control measures like product testing and inspection at different stages of production.
- [ ] Regulatory Compliance: Verify the supplier’s adherence to relevant food safety laws, regulations, and certifications.
- [ ] Documentation and Record-Keeping: Evaluate the thoroughness and accuracy of records related to production, quality control, training, and more.
- [ ] Staff Training: Assess the food safety and quality control training level provided to staff members.
- [ ] Ingredient Sourcing: Examine the quality and source of raw materials, particularly for organic or specialty products.
- [ ] Emergency Preparedness: Review procedures for emergencies or unexpected events such as product recalls or natural disasters.
- [ ] Waste Management: Check the supplier’s waste disposal practices for environmental friendliness and regulatory compliance.
- [ ] Product Specification Compliance: Confirm that the final product aligns with the buyer’s specifications.
Create a Food Supplier Audit Checklist Using a Low-code Platform
If you need to create a Food Supplier Audit Checklist, use a low-code platform like DATAMYTE to quickly build the form and processes you need. With low code, you can design forms for auditors to fill out during the audit process and set up automated workflows that notify quality control teams when issues are identified.
DATAMYTE is a quality management platform with low-code capabilities. The DataMyte Digital Clipboard, in particular, is a low-code workflow automation software that features a checklist and smart form builder. This tool lets you create a comprehensive food supplier audit checklist to use and share with your team.
To create a checklist or form template using DATAMYTE, follow these steps:
- Log in to the DATAMYTE software and navigate to the ‘Checklist’ module.
- Click “Create Checklist.”
- Add a title to your checklist; select the category where it belongs.
- Start adding items to the checklist by clicking “Add Item.”
- Define the description of each item, what type of answer it requires, and other relevant specifications (e.g., reference documents, acceptance criteria, limits).
- Assign a team member responsible for conducting the inspection using the checklist.
- Add signature fields for approvals (e.g., supervisors, quality assurance personnel).
- Save the checklist—you can now access it anywhere, and it will be available on any device.
DATAMYTE also lets you conduct layered process audits, a high-frequency evaluation of critical process steps, focusing on areas with the highest failure risk or non-compliance. Conducting LPA with DATAMYTE lets you effectively identify and correct potential defects before they become major quality issues.
With DATAMYTE, you have an all-in-one solution for creating and implementing food supplier audit checklists. Book a demo now to learn how DATAMYTE can help you streamline your supplier audit process.
Conclusion
Conducting a thorough audit of food suppliers is key for businesses to ensure they are providing safe and high-quality products to customers. The best way to do this is by creating a detailed food supplier audit checklist that covers all the necessary areas of the supplier’s operations. Low-code platforms like DATAMYTE can help you create checklist templates that help streamline the audit process. Get started today!
