Self-monitoring system audit
We audit your self-monitoring system on site: we check the documents and how they are actually applied on a walk-through of the premises, then deliver an audit report with corrective proposals.
Request a quoteWhy and when you need an audit
The audit is the sixth HACCP principle: verifying that the system works. The PTA's guideline requires a periodic assessment of whether the working system matches what the plan lays down, and whether what the plan lays down matches the real situation on the premises.
The same guideline says that, for an objective result, the person who developed the system cannot audit their own work: someone else has to. In a small business where the plan was written and is run by the same person, an external audit is often the only way to meet that requirement.
During the audit we work through a checklist covering the prerequisite programmes and the HACCP principles, check on a walk-through whether the described routine actually works, and write a report with corrective proposals. The report is also the evidence the PTA asks for at inspection.
You need an audit when
- a year has passed since the last audit, or there has never been one
- the business has changed significantly: new equipment, products, technology or processes
- the plan was written and is run by the same person and there has been no independent review
- a PTA inspection, a client audit or a certification is coming and you want to find the gaps yourself first
- there has been a complaint or a suspected foodborne illness and you need to establish where the system failed
What the service includes
- Checklist covering the prerequisite programmes and HACCP principles
- Documents and their implementation checked on site
- Audit report with corrective proposals
How it works
We agree the audit
We confirm the business's activities, sites and a date; you send us the current plan to read in advance.
Document check
We go through the plan and the records against a checklist covering the prerequisite programmes and the HACCP principles.
Walk-through of the premises
We check on site whether the described routine actually works: monitoring, cleaning, temperatures, traceability, staff hygiene.
Report
You receive the audit report with findings and corrective proposals, documented with the auditor's name, the date and a signature.
Questions about the audit
The PTA's guideline recommends planning audits periodically, for example once a year, and in addition whenever the business changes significantly: new equipment, products, technology or processes.
You can, if you have someone with sufficient HACCP knowledge who did not write the plan themselves. Under the guideline the person who developed the system cannot objectively audit their own work; the exception is a business where only one person works. An external audit gives an independent view and a report you can show at inspection.
The checklist covers both the prerequisite programmes and the HACCP principles: whether the described products, premises and equipment match reality, whether the hazard analysis and critical control points are adequate, whether monitoring is done as prescribed and the people doing it know what to do when a limit is exceeded, whether corrective actions and deviations are documented, whether the cleaning, pest-control and waste plans work, whether traceability is assured, and whether staff have sufficient hygiene knowledge.
The necessary changes are made to the self-monitoring plan and system on the basis of the report. If you wish, we make them ourselves: smaller fixes as an update, ongoing upkeep as the management service. Keep the audit report with the plan: the guideline counts audit results as evidence and recommends keeping them for at least three years.
Request an audit offer
Describe the business and the number of sites. We will make an offer and agree a date.
Request a quote