Food Safety Magazine, October/November 2009

a number of problems at the processing plant. It was apparent that the plant did not take the actions necessary to eliminate the root cause of these problems. This is one area where the internal audits developed by large companies have a distinct advantage over all others.

Expertise in the Field, Processes or Product Being Audited – The Times piece noted that one of the persons who audited the PCA plant was “an expert in fresh produce, who was not aware that peanuts were susceptible to Salmonella.” It is absolutely imperative that auditors understand the products and processes that they are auditing, in addition to understanding the audit process itself. How can someone give proper service if they don’t know industry concerns and how they are addressed?

This is the most important issue of all. It is an embarrassment to the industry when a publication such as The New York Times prints a quote such as this from an auditor, “I never thought that this bacteria would survive in a peanut butter-type environment. What the heck is going on?” ConAgra had a recall on peanut butter one year earlier that cost in excess of $100 million. Kraft had a similar problem in Australia in the late 1990s.

This is not a domestic issue only. There are firms around the world that have been recognized as certifying bodies and are reputed to have the expertise to conduct audits to certify that a company meets the requirements of the International Organization for Standardization. In the food industry, ISO certification is an important part of doing business. Yet, I have been in many food companies that were ISO-certified for quality (ISO 9001), food safety (ISO 22000) and environmental responsibility (ISO 14001), but the auditors who certified them were experts in car batteries and electric light bulbs. This has been a bone of conten-tion with ISO 22000 in particular. How can one audit a food safety program without specific knowledge in that area?

One does not become a good auditor by attending a class and having a few years of experience in the industry. Good auditors have years of experience with a range of

products, have seen many different operations and have the ability to find the “skeletons in the closet.” They also make a conscious effort to eliminate biases. Too many auditors tend to focus on an area in which they feel comfortable, and assign too much weight to that area during an audit.

IS THERE A SOLUTION?

So, is there a solution to the many audits and requirements currently in the market? The solution will have to not only incorporate food quality, safety and sanitation issues, but also consider that auditing is now a big business. Companies that do audits for profit will not want to give up their piece of the pie. As noted, work by food safety professionals at Cargill showed that most audit components are similar. The industry should work together to bring all audits into harmonization. However, the real key is the auditor. How does a company ensure that its auditor is truly competent?

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