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The Food Safety Audit Handbook

A Guide to Avoiding Common BRCGS and SQF Non-Conformities

Food safety audits play a crucial role in substantiating proper food safety practices at food and beverage processing facilities. Companies use audit report data to help select suppliers, demonstrate due diligence for customers, and validate internal policies and procedures.

When it comes to audits, there are plenty of reasons for failing, especially in the food and beverage industry. Whether it’s an audit for the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), FDA, or an audit required by any of your customers, the consequences of failing can be very costly.

Before any food safety audit, it’s essential to set proper expectations within your facility to ensure everyone involved in the audit process understands what auditors will be looking for.

We sat down with Food Safety Auditor Nancy Scharlach, President and Chief Technical Director of FSMA International, for an inside perspective. She helped us produce this handbook, highlighting the top reasons for non-conformities with the two most popular GFSI schemes – BRCGS and SQF – while helping to shed light on some of the reasons companies don’t pass audits and what companies can do to prevent future failure.