A variety of health issues caused by irregular checks or no checks at all in the food and beverage industry have been noted in the past. Due to this, the government implemented stricter laws to ensure food safety across every food brand. Therefore, the current food supply chain is keenly observed by multiple government regulatory agencies. These agencies have detailed regulations that are difficult to steer clear from; since they were specifically put in place to maintain the overall health and safety of the society. It is known to all and a part of an important procedure in the food and beverage industry that each food item that is accessible to consumers be audited. A regular auditing system in your food business ensures food safety which means lesser complaints and a better customer experience.
WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF AUDITS IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY?
- Compliance audit: the compliance audit is done to make sure that a food business has efficiently adhered to all the safety laws in the food industry, safety standards in the food industry and other relevant laws. It is usually done by the government safety inspector or other external safety auditors in some cases. This varies based on the country’s food safety rules and safety management system.
- Program audit: a program audit is curated so the safety auditor can check the safety programs and their implementations that are planned by the food business or the mandatory program that is set up by the government or other parties involved.
- Safety management system audit: this is an overall audit, wherein the compliance audit and program audit are conducted simultaneously.
These different types of audits for food safety can be done by first, second or third parties that are internally or externally involved in the auditing system in the food industry. Here’s how the classification can be made:
- First-party audit: one can consider this as the first step of internal auditing in food industry. Here the employees of the food brand or food business run the first check on the safety. It is done to evaluate the food safety systems and also to identify all possible areas of improvement. They are generally conducted as a routine check more frequent than the other two types in order to maintain standards and also avoid any chances of risks when an external audit is done.
- Second-party audit: this type of audit is also referred to as the proprietary audit, it is conducted by your food business, which is the primary stakeholder, towards other businesses that are directly related to you in the form of a supplier verification. This type of audit in the food industry check on the suitability of a brand new or existing supplier based on the effectiveness and efficiency of their food safety management systems.
- Third-party audit: these types of audits in the food industry are usually conducted by independent auditors and food safety auditing firms that can wholly assess the status of your food safety management system along with the operation status of your food business. They are also done to get certifications on new food safety requirements in the food industry.
But, what is the significance of Food Safety Audits & Inspections?
Any kind of audit and inspection in your food and beverage business shows your concern about your consumers and your credibility. This is why they are also vital to the success of your company. And of course by law, as a food supply chain, you are bound to these regular audits and inspections in the food industry. Although they have many other benefits as well, let us take a look at the significance of audits in the food industry:
- Improves the management approach and reevaluates the priorities of a food business
- Makes sure that the teams in charge of quality and safety inspections are adhering to the best practises in the food industry
- Creates a culture of excellence and ongoing procressing
- Effectively manages operational and compliance risks
- Takes a proactive approach toward quality issues
- Enhances the processes for planning and making decisions
- Boosts brand reputation and business results
- Analyzes any incidents and pinpoint any problems that must be fixed for increased effectiveness
- Observes all applicable rules and legislation
- Makes the necessary modifications, and evaluates supplier performance and customer feedback/requirements
Using Inspection and Audit Management Software to thoroughly inspect and audit food businesses
The next big challenge in the food industry is to incorporate the right digital tools in the food business and softwares in the food business. Digitalization in food and beverage industry leads us to next-generation software that can help the F&B industry level up its food safety and food safety management procedures. They can also make the process and the decision-making more efficient because they are created to be action-driven.
What are the benefits of using digital technology in food and beverage industry?
Software used in food industry can:
- Reduce compliance risks
- Smoothen the audit and inspection processes
- Save money which can be used elsewhere to help grow the business
- Attain compliance deliverables
- Attain supplier performance insights
- Manage and streamline customer responses.
Hence, digitalization in food industry is not just helpful, it is also necessary!
Food safety audits and food safety inspections are essential to your F&B business. If you are in the food business and want to scale up your growth then it is not only important for you to start incorporating regular audits but also to focus on ways in which you can bring your business at par with the rapidly growing digitalization in food industry. Leading customer experience companies like SonataGBW can help you fully run brand audits in the food industry and compliance audits in food industry in a manner that is efficient. We can also help you analyze the reported data to help make better decisions and improve your product or service.
Our CX solutions are focused on transforming the total customer experience through surveys, metrics, analytics and auditing by using the CXM framework to combine physical measurements with digital Platformation™ capabilities. We are committed to finding the right customer experience strategy that can lead to a competitive advantage.
Sonata GBW is a global technology company specializing in customer experience CX measurement, platform-based digital transformation, supporting businesses to become connected, open, intelligent and scalable. Global coverage of more than 105 markets with over 27 years of market leadership through extensive measurement capabilities, powerful and intuitive reporting and analytics platforms give us the leverage to improve customer experience. It has presence across USA, Canada, EMEA and APAC regions. If you would like to know more about how we can assist you, please fill out the business enquiry form below.