Standard-based internal audits shall cover the inspection of packing house, fields, harvesting and food handling practices in place and related documentation at least annually during production against the current Primus GFS standard that the site location will be audited against. The compliance specialist will fill out the appropriate standard.
Any corrective actions found during the internal audit will be documented on Appendix L. Corrective Action Log. Standard-based internal audits, self-audits and all associated corrective actions will be maintained on file for each ranch and packing facility by uploading the audit to Internal and External Audit Results tab of this site.
It is the policy of this company that the General Manager will be notified and present, if possible, for any and all regulatory inspections (federal, state , and local) to accompany the auditor and answer questions .
Inspection policies will be communicated to key field staff and supervisors and office members and will not contradict bio terrorism laws or restrict access to documents that have been covered by the laws.
Procedure
Politely request that the Regulatory Representative provide you with proper identification and ask them what they intend to inspect.
Contact the General Manager and Administrative Director notifying them that an unannounced inspector is on premise to conduct an inspection. If these individuals are not available, please leave a message for each with the following information :
Your Name
Your Phone Number
Inspector’s Name
Inspector’s Employer (Organization Name)
What will be inspected
The current date and time
If one or more of the above individuals can participate in a timely fashion, try to wait with the representative in a sheltered waiting location, offering them available beverages and restroom until the other parties have arrived.
If none of the above individuals are available, find at least 1 other employee to accompany you and the inspector (Minimum of 2 employees shall be present for inspections).
Conduct a pre-inspection discussion, documenting in writing
The reason for the unannounced inspection (complaint, observed problems, or just random).
The work areas to be inspected.
Any specific materials, operations, or equipment to be targeted.
The expected amount of time the inspector would like to spend on site.
Request the inspector provide an estimated time within which the inspector's report will be made available.
Take good notes of the areas and operations inspected, making note of any specific concerns or comments expressed by the inspector.
If the Regulatory Representative needs photos or samples taken, the company personnel accompanying the Regulatory Representative shall take the same photos and the same samples for analysis. These shall be presented to the General Manager, if not present.
If they will need any specific documentation related to Food Safety (unless they were present for the inspection) after the inspection to convey all notes and inspector requests.
Regulatory agencies that may conduct inspections, either announced or unannounced include, but are not necessarily limited to the following agencies:
Department of Labor
OSHA
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
FDA
USDA
Records
Appendix N. Regulatory Inspections shall be filled out for each regulatory inspection. (see below)
The food safety consultant will fill out Appendix. J Internal Audit Worksheet for all fields and packing houses at least quarterly. This entails reviewing all records, and controlled documents of each field and facility to ensure compliance with company policy.