Effective food safety management system auditing Dr. David Rosenblatt Sher Consulting and Training
Effective food safety management system auditing
Dr. David Rosenblatt
Sher Consulting and Training
An audit is not an inspection
1. Passion
2. Professionalism
3. Attitude
5. Tactics
The principles of an effective food safety audit
If the auditor
doesn’t love what
he or she is doing,
then they
shouldn’t be doing
audits!
Auditing passion
Having a food safety
audit is like going to
the doctor for a
routine check-up.
It’s not supposed to
be fun.
Auditing passion
Audit professionalism – be prepared
Know the technology
Know the lingo
Know the criteria
Use generic HACCP plans
Use known food safety incidents
Auditor attitude
Auditee cooperation is crucial to
performing an effective food safety audit.
Auditor attitude
Even if auditees are candid in their
intention to fully cooperate, in the face of
an inquisitive auditor, normal people will
tend to build defenses and hide their
weaknesses.
Auditor attitude
Ensuring cooperation
is even more
challenging when
facing a reluctant
auditee.
Auditor attitude
Auditors can break down resistance and
obtain cooperation using attitude alone.
Auditor attitude
Body language
Tone of voice
Lilt
Demeanor
Try to act
curious without
being
inquisitive
Auditor tactics
Follow-up questions
Most observations of
non-conformity are
the manifestation of
an underlying cause
Auditor tactics
Without a follow-up question the reply to
most non-conformities will be:
• “The employees were re-trained”
• “The procedure was updated”
Auditor tactics
Neither of these will drive improvement…
Remember: any finding that indicates a
deviation from procedure is a symptom of
underlying “disease”….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnQZ2ZHmi60
Lack of Motivation
Lack of Awareness
Lack of Capability
Lack of Knowledge
Auditor tactics
Verification of verification
Routine verification
activities should be
sampled and audited:
Auditor tactics
Verification of verification
1. Show me how it’s done
2. Show me the records
3. Show me your reaction to
deviations
4. Show me the data analysis
Sheila Weatherill
“What was missing was the big picture - recognizing the repeated pattern of presence of Listeria on the same production lines several weeks after the problem was presumed to have been fixed. Although data were being collected to note such instances, they were not being analyzed by the plant or company headquarters to detect trends over time. Had such analyses been conducted, the re-emergence of Listeria on a regular basis would have become obvious much sooner.
Auditor tactics
One of the most effective ways to gather objective evidence for many audit aspects is to create an audit trail. This strategy demonstrates a high level of control of the audit process and shows how all parts of the FSMS are interconnected.
Audit trail
It is often beneficial to start the audit trail from the end of the process and proceed up the process flow.