What Is a Food Supplier Audit?
A food supplier audit is an on site or remote assessment of a supplier's food safety and quality controls against your requirements. Alongside risk assessment, certificates and document review, it helps you decide whether to approve a supplier and how closely to monitor them afterwards.
In the US, onsite audits are one of the supplier verification activities listed in 21 CFR 117.410(b): "(1) Onsite audits; (2) Sampling and testing ...; (3) Review of the supplier's relevant food safety records; (4) Other appropriate supplier verification activities". A supply chain program must cover approved suppliers (117.420), determining verification activities (117.425), conducting them (117.430 and 117.435) and documenting them (117.475). Verification is required "before using the raw material ... and periodically thereafter" (117.430(a)).
When to Audit a Supplier (Risk Based Approach)
Not every supplier needs a visit. Use your supplier risk assessment to decide:
- Higher risk: raw materials with significant hazards, suppliers without a recognized certificate, poor history or recent incidents. Consider an audit.
- Medium risk: suppliers holding a GFSI benchmarked certificate, with occasional issues. Document review and questionnaires may be enough, with an audit if concerns arise.
- Lower risk: suppliers holding a GFSI benchmarked certificate, supplying low risk materials with a good record. Monitor certificates and performance.
For US facilities, where a hazard in a raw material will be controlled by the supplier and there is a reasonable probability that exposure will result in serious adverse health consequences or death, the appropriate verification activity is an onsite audit before first use and at least annually, unless a written determination says other activities or less frequent audits give adequate assurance (21 CFR 117.430(b)(1) and (b)(2)).
Supplier Audit Checklist: Sections and Questions
| Section | Sample Questions |
|---|---|
| Food Safety System | Is there a current HACCP or food safety plan, reviewed and signed off? |
| Certification | Which standard is the site's certificate issued against, what is the scope and when does it expire? |
| Premises and Hygiene | Are the building, equipment and cleaning in good condition and controlled? |
| Allergen Control | Is there an allergen risk assessment, with segregation and validated cleaning? |
| Pest Control | Is there a contracted program with current records and trend reviews? |
| Traceability | Can the supplier trace a batch back to its raw materials and forward to customers? See our recall and traceability guide and, for US supply, our FSMA 204 guide. |
| Foreign Body Control | Are glass, metal and hard plastic controlled, with detection where appropriate? |
| Specifications | Are specifications agreed and current for the materials you buy? |
| Staff and Hygiene | Are hygiene rules followed, and is food safety training recorded? |
| Corrective Actions | Are nonconformances closed with root cause analysis? |
| Food Defense and Fraud | Are there TACCP and VACCP assessments for the site? |
Scoring Findings and Setting Approval Status
| Finding | Meaning | Typical Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | Direct risk to food safety or legality | Do not approve, or suspend |
| Major | Significant failure of a control | Conditional approval pending corrective action |
| Minor | Isolated lapse with no immediate risk | Approve, with corrective action |
Set the approval status from the overall result: approved, conditionally approved or not approved. This grading is a common convention; align it with your own procedure.
Following Up Nonconformances
- Agree each nonconformance with the supplier at the closing meeting.
- Ask for root cause analysis and a corrective action plan with dates.
- Review the evidence and verify each fix.
- Update the supplier's approval status and risk score.
- Record everything, as auditors will ask to see it.
If you also audit against a certification standard, our IFS Food Version 8 checklist covers the requirement areas auditors look at.