How to Prepare for an SQF Audit

Auditors start with your documents, because everything else hangs off them. Be able to show the current version — and prove the old ones are out of circulation.

• A current, approved document for every SOP, policy, and work instruction your processes rely on.
• Version control that makes the live revision obvious and removes superseded copies from the floor.
• Approval and review dates that are current, each with a named approver.
• A document register or index you can hand an auditor to navigate the system.
• Records stored so they stay legible, retrievable, and protected from loss or damage.

You have to prove people were trained on the current procedure — not just that training happened once, a long time ago.

• Training records tied to the specific SOPs and food safety procedures each role performs.
• Evidence of competency, not only attendance — sign-offs, assessments, or documented observation.
• Re-training triggered whenever a procedure changes or a gap is found.
• Onboarding, GMP, and food safety training completed for new and temporary staff.
• A current training matrix mapping each role to its required training.

Your food safety plan is the spine of the audit. Make sure the document on the shelf matches what actually happens on the line.

• A current hazard analysis covering biological, chemical, physical, and allergen hazards.
• Critical control points with defined critical limits, monitoring, and corrective actions.
• Validation that the plan controls the hazards, plus verification that monitoring is done as written.
• Process flow diagrams confirmed against the real process, end to end.
• The plan reviewed after any process, equipment, ingredient, or supplier change.

Findings happen. What auditors judge is whether you close them out with evidence and stop them from recurring.

• Open and closed corrective actions tracked with clear owners and due dates.
• Root-cause analysis on significant or repeat issues — not just a quick patch.
• Verification that each action actually worked before it is marked closed.
• Each CAPA linked back to its source: a complaint, NCR, inspection, or audit finding.
• No overdue actions sitting open with no status or owner.

Your program is only as strong as what comes through the receiving door. Keep your approved-supplier evidence current.

• An approved supplier list with current certificates, including GFSI-recognized where required.
• Certificates of analysis or conformance for incoming materials, where your specs call for them.
• Specifications on file for raw materials, ingredients, and packaging.
• A supplier risk assessment with a process for re-approval and ongoing monitoring.
• Receiving check records and clear disposition of any non-conforming materials.

Pre-op and sanitation records are often where an unannounced audit goes first. Keep them current, completed, and signed.

• A master sanitation schedule with completed pre-operational inspection records.
• Chemical and SDS records, including approved concentrations and verification checks.
• Pest control logs with trend review and follow-up on any activity.
• Environmental monitoring results with corrective action on positives, where applicable.
• Maintenance and calibration records for equipment that affects food safety.

Be ready to trace a lot in both directions, fast — and to show your recall program is more than a binder on a shelf.

• Lot-level traceability one step back and one step forward across receiving, production, and shipping.
• A recent mock recall or traceability exercise completed within your target time, with the results recorded.
• Hold-and-release procedures, with records of product placed on hold and how it was dispositioned.
• Coding and labeling that lets you tie finished product back to its production records.
• A defined recall team, roles, and contact list that is actually kept up to date.

Labeling and allergen errors are among the most common causes of recalls. Treat label control as a verification step, not an afterthought.

• Allergen controls mapped from raw materials through to finished product.
• Label artwork approval, plus a check that the correct label is on the correct product.
• Verification of allergen statements, claims, and required regulatory label elements.
• Segregation, scheduling, and changeover controls that prevent allergen cross-contact.
• Records of label reconciliation and destruction of obsolete labels.