Good Manufacturing Practices and HACCP Audits

What is a GMP Audit?

A GMP audit is an assessment of your Good Manufacturing Practices. Essentially, these are programs that you need to have in place to prevent or reduce food safety hazards from occurring.

Is there a GMP Food Safety Standard? 

The SCS GMP Standard will be in use for the application of a GMP audit. The standard would communicate the specific requirements a site must have (GMPs) in order to receive a GMP certification. The standard is available from SCS.

What types of companies do GMP audits apply to?

Site and companies requesting GMP audits can be for any handler of food products from packinghouse through to storage and distribution companies. Typically they are food processors handling any products that are categorized as food or beverage.

What types of food safety issues are included in a GMP food safety audit?

The GMP standard outlines programs that would prevent or minimize food safety hazards from occurring. These hazards could be biological, chemical, or physical risks that can occur within ingredients or the processing environment. The types of risks and hazards are dependent upon the types of processes and products being handled.

Are there any social and ethical requirements as part of a GMP audit? 

The GMP audit scope is specific to food safety and does not include any social or ethical requirements. If these are being requested by your customer or buyer, SCS does offer compliance audits to those additional requirements.

Are there specific benchmarks or minimum requirements that need to be achieved in order to receive GMP certification?

There are no specific benchmarks or minimum requirements outside of the audit standards that are required to gain certification.

How does a GMP audit and certification benefit our company in the global marketplace?

The SCS GMP audit will provide you with evidence that your company is meeting industry and regulatory requirements pertaining to making safe products. In many instances, this is a basic requirement for acceptance into retail or food service establishments and purchasing contracts.

How do GMP audits fit within GFSI Level certification?

GMP audits will cover or align with those outlined in the GFSI Global Markets program. That program provides for basic and intermediate levels of assessment that are used as stepping stones toward achieving certification to a GFSI recognized standard.

How long does a GMP food safety audit take to complete?  

For a small or medium-sized business, the GMP audit would typically take 1 day. For more complex operations and where multiple different types of processing are being completed, the audit time can extend to 2 or more days.

How long does GMP certification last?

Certificates are generated with a 1-year expiry, usually from the date of the audit. As such, an annual audit is required in order to maintain certification.

What is the difference between a GMP audit and a HACCP audit?

GMP audits assess pre-requisite programs such as maintenance, sanitation, pest control, premises, training, and recall. These are programs used every day to maintain a food safety program.  A HACCP audit assesses your HACCP or Food Safety Plan. This plan would need to follow the internationally accepted Codex approach to food safety risk assessment or a regulatory preventive control approach.  The outcome of either of those approaches is a plan that assesses risks and hazards specific to your processes and ingredients and outlines the control measures you have in place to mitigate the hazards from occurring.

Is HACCP Certification the same as a GFSI audit?

HACCP certification is similar to a GFSI audit in that it will assess your prerequisite programs (GMPs) and food safety plan. An audit to a GFSI recognized standard (e.g., SQF, BRCGS) includes the same, but also includes added management oversight requirements.  GFSI recognized standards also operate under accredited management systems for the audit provider.