Preparing a FDA Food Processing Audit Checklist

FDA inspections are an integral component of quality management in any business. To prepare for an FDA inspector, management teams should develop a checklist.

Provide food processing companies with adequate documentation and quality tools, such as validation, verification, training records and continuous improvement methods to meet regulatory standards.

Preventive Controls
As part of the new Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) regulations, food processing companies must implement a risk-based preventive control food safety plan. To comply with this requirement, food companies must perform a full analysis of any known or reasonably foreseeable biological, chemical or physical hazards to their human health that threaten to compromise food production.

Preventive controls must be documented in a plan and their effectiveness assessed via monitoring procedures that take into account both their nature and role within a facility’s overall food safety system. This involves tracking critical control points like temperature, acidity and other vital aspects that promote food safety.

Food safety plans must include a supplier program to verify that raw materials and ingredients come only from suppliers who have established written risk-based systems to control any hazards in these materials or ingredients, including audits, monitoring, verification activities and documentation of these activities – something FDA inspectors will require as part of any inspections of these suppliers.

Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs)
GMPs (Good Manufacturing Practices) are procedures designed to guarantee food safety. These may include tracking raw materials, monitoring production processes, conducting final inspections and documenting all activities pertaining to food safety.

This requires making sure all employees who handle food have undergone health screenings and follow stringent hygiene standards, as well as keeping an inventory record of incoming raw materials, safely storing these, and not using rejected goods for production.

GMPs are intended to prevent contamination, mixups and mislabeling by manufacturing. They require taking a quality-centric approach and are one of the main tenets for FDA inspections. Each food processing plant should create its own GMP plan tailored specifically to its operations and hazards – from purchasing and storage through shipping; including sanitation procedures and standard operating procedures as well as addressing complaints received.

Packaging and Labeling
Food packaging can make or break consumer interest in your product; its attractive appearance must not only capture consumers’ eye but also keep food tasting fresh while remaining safe to consume.

Labeling is equally vital. To be effective, labels must be accurate, easy-to-read and clearly display any required information – from allergens and nutritional facts to allergenic alerts – in bold to ensure any potentially allergic customers can easily see them.

Management teams should prepare for FDA inspections by conducting internal audits, implementing SOPs and SSOPS, and prioritizing record keeping. This approach should help eliminate surprises during an actual FDA inspection. A low-code platform can facilitate this process with ready-made templates and drag-and-drop features to easily create comprehensive checklists that adhere to FDA standards – this approach helps companies improve systems while tracking real-time data and identifying compliance gaps before becoming issues during an actual FDA inspection.

Sanitation
Sanitation is one of the cornerstones of food processing. It plays an integral role in mitigating risks from biological, chemical and physical contamination; meeting regulatory requirements; protecting brand image and product reputation; avoiding recall costs; and assuring consumer safety.

The FDA inspects facilities that produce or store human food and drugs to ensure they’re meeting health and safety standards. They perform inspections both as routine checks as well as in response to reports of contamination; failing an inspection has serious repercussions for businesses, both new and established alike.

Managers should ensure their company is prepared for an FDA inspection by gathering their paperwork early and organizing their documents. Doing this will enable management teams to avoid last minute panic and show inspectors they have everything under control. Furthermore, an internal inspection could help identify any potential compliance issues before an official FDA inspection takes place; with our checklist builder this task becomes much simpler.