Does Your Food Safety Auditor Have the Right Stuff?

Food safety weighs heavily on all companies that produce, handle, or sell food. A single incident can cost a company, and sometimes an entire industry, serious reputational harm and business disruption. The ripple effects of a food safety scare can be enormous. A recent (June 2026) outbreak of listeria associated with soft cheese products in the United States caused the death of one person and hospitalized eight others. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) is now releasing official warnings and initiating product recalls. These are serious and significant developments that put food safety concerns back in the headlines and exact a far-reaching array of consequences across the country's dairy supply chain.

One of the many goals of food safety is to reduce probability of such outbreaks and to reduce harm if outbreaks do occur. Fortunately, demonstrated conformance with food safety standards is now de rigueur throughout the food supply chain and has become an accepted fact of doing business. Auditable certification standards targeting farms, facilities, and retailers — such as those administered by SQF, GLOBALG.A.P,  BRCGS, ISO 22000, FSSC 22000, Harmonized Good Agricultural Practice (GAP), and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) — all provide guidance to help companies and customers steer clear of food safety crises.

Dig a little deeper, however, and you’ll discover one key factor that is often overlooked, namely, auditor competence. Ultimately, it’s up to the auditor to interpret the standard’s intent during the farm or facility assessment. It’s like the difference between a good cook and a great chef — following a recipe does not guarantee success. Instead, it’s about bringing a critical eye to the process, a combination of expertise and instinct.

Here’s Where Experience Counts

It goes without saying that the best food safety auditors are those with lots of experience in the field. Experienced auditors take an early read on whether senior management treats the audit seriously, which team members are best prepared, and even how smoothly the audit itself is likely to proceed. They pay attention to lack of attention. Teamwork is vital, as is competency and ability to lead. Seasoned auditors recognize that just because a person has been named Director of Food Safety or something similar, this title alone may not be indicative of qualifications or ability to implement and enforce the rigorous measures needed to clamp down on risk.

Professional auditors and auditing firms know that there are no real shortcuts. Sufficient time must be dedicated to the audit for it to be thorough. Lack of thoroughness — what I call “fly-by” audits — may save a company money in the short-term, but are short-sighted and can easily lead auditors to overlook critical details, resulting in increased risk. The best auditors are curious, with a knack for digging into the details.  

Collaboration and mutual respect are crucial in the auditor-client relationship. The key for the auditor is to maintain integrity without compromising independence. This means not getting too cozy with clients. Some GFSI-level benchmarked schemes require a change of auditors. It means asking very direct, sometimes uncomfortable questions.  

Expect the Unexpected

Discovering and plugging potential holes to reduce food safety risk is the essence of the auditor’s job. Below are three examples of findings that the client wasn’t expecting. 

1. Discovering an allergen not disclosed on the package - This finding resulted in a temporary suspension of production and a voluntary recall of the product. The recalled product was destroyed, and product labels were updated to include the allergen. The client recognized that the cost of recall and relabeling was far less than the potential cost to brand reputation and sales had the allergen not been uncovered.
2. Problems with the facility itself - A knowledgeable auditor recognizes building structures, such as ceilings, walls, floors and fixtures, that do not meet food safety requirements due to material permeability or incompatibility or poor maintenance. In this case, the auditor’s findings led the company to invest in the necessary building upgrades to mitigate risk.
3. Inadequately trained team members - The team was not properly trained to recognize and assess food safety issues and therefore could not effectively manage the company’s food safety program. Based on this audit finding, senior management was reengaged and committed to prioritizing food safety culture within the organization. As a result, the food safety team undertook additional training so as to implement an improved practice of food safety culture.

Other examples of common “fixes” arising from effective food safety audits include segregation of storage and production areas, streamlining production flows to minimize risk of accidental contaminations, and rerouting employee shifts and workflows to minimize risk of re-contamination.

Preparing for the Audit

Companies being audited often rely too much on auditors to put them on the right track. The smartest companies can do their best by putting the auditor’s hat on long before the auditor arrives. In preparation for the audit, your interests will be best served by:  

1. becoming familiar with the certification program requirements;
2. reviewing the audit checklist; and  
3. conducting your own internal audits in advance of the auditor’s arrival, being as strict as possible.  

Remember, findings come in four flavors: critical non-conformances (automatic failure), major non-conformances, minor non-conformances, and opportunities for improvement. The number and percentage of major and minor conformances that must be addressed prior to certification vary by program, and opportunities for improvement can become non-conformities over time.

The auditor’s report isn’t the end of the line. Audit reports undergo technical review, and the ultimate decision as to whether or not to issue a certificate is not made by the auditor. But as you can see, your choice of auditor and auditing firm can make a huge difference for your company’s food safety program. 

Heena Patel serves as Director of Food Safety Consulting & Technical Services for SCS Consulting Services. Prior to joining SCS Consulting Services, Heena worked for SCS Global Services and was named SQF Auditor of the Year in 2015. Her food safety auditing and certification expertise includes SQF, BRC, FSSC 22000, ISO 2001, HACCP, GMP, farm audits, organic, ethical sourcing, food security, and quality, and she is an experienced food safety trainer. Heena earned her triple Bachelor of Science degree in Food Microbiology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. Learn more about our food safety consulting services.