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SQF internal audit checklist for food manufacturing

An SQF internal audit is the site's own check that its food safety system and its good manufacturing practices work as the SQF Food Safety Code for Manufacturing asks. Trained staff do it before the certification body comes. More broadly, a food safety audit is any planned, recorded check of a food plant against a standard: by the plant itself, by a customer, by a certification body or by a regulator. This checklist has 54 questions in plain words, in the two parts the Code is built from. The system elements cover management commitment and culture, documents, suppliers, the HACCP food safety plan, verification and corrective action, traceability and recall, food defense and fraud, allergens and training. The GMP module covers the production floor. Each group names its BRCGS Issue 9 section and FSSC 22000 counterpart, so a site certified to one scheme, or moving between them, can use the same list. The Excel version grades every question Conforms, Minor, Major, Critical or N/A, lists the findings with owners and due dates, scores each group and part, and plans the year's audits. SQFI published Edition 10 in March 2026 and expects audits to it to start on 2 January 2027, subject to GFSI benchmarking; until then sites are audited to Edition 9, so check each question against the edition your audit is to. The checklist supports internal audits beside your own food safety system. It does not quote the Code, and a good score does not certify a site or make it compliant.

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Page 1 of the SQF internal audit checklistSite, edition, date and auditor fields, the five grades, and the first questions on management commitment, documents and suppliers with their BRCGS and FSSC 22000 counterpart, grade circles and space for evidence.
54 questions in 16 groupsSystem elements and GMP moduleBRCGS and FSSC 22000 crosswalkFive grades with days to closeEvidence, finding, owner, due dateScore by group and partFindings listYearly audit planWorked example (granola bar plant)
Filled-in SQF internal audit checklist for food manufacturing: an internal audit of a two-line granola bar plant
The same sheet filled in with the worked example (page 7 of the PDF, illustrative numbers). Open full size (opens the picture in a new tab)

When to use it

When to use an SQF audit checklist

  • For the internal audits the SQF Code asks for, on a plan that covers every requirement through the year.
  • As a gap check before a certification, recertification or customer audit, with time left to close the findings.
  • When moving from Edition 9 to Edition 10, or between SQF, BRCGS and FSSC 22000, to see what each group maps to.
  • After a recall, a customer complaint trend or a major finding, to audit the groups it touched again.
  • Not as the monthly floor walk: the food GMP inspection checklist is shorter and built for that.

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    Plan the year

    List every group on the plan sheet and say how many times a year it is audited. The example audits higher-risk groups (HACCP, verification, allergens, cleaning, personnel practices, foreign matter) twice and the rest once. Check the minimum your edition of the Code sets.

  2. 2

    Choose auditors who are not auditing their own work

    Trained in internal auditing and in the Code, from another area. A supervisor from line 1 audits line 2, and QA's own records are audited by someone outside QA.

  3. 3

    Start on the floor, then go to the records

    Watch a changeover, a CCP check, a hand wash. Then pull the records for what you saw and sample others: 10 changeovers, 8 operators' training files, the last three corrective actions.

  4. 4

    Grade each question with the evidence

    Conforms, Minor, Major, Critical or N/A. Write what you saw for a conformance too, not only for findings: "records for 10 of 10 sampled CCP checks signed and reviewed" is evidence; a tick is not.

  5. 5

    Give every finding an owner and a date

    The example settings close a Major in 14 days and a Minor in 30, and a Critical means stopping and holding product the same day. Set your own in the Excel settings.

  6. 6

    Close with a check and report the trend

    A finding closes when someone has checked the fix worked. Take the score by group, the open findings and any repeat findings to management review.

What is a food safety audit?

Four kinds of food safety audit

The same plant can see all four in a year. This checklist is for the first one, and gets you ready for the other three.

  • Internal audit (first party)

    Who does it
    Your own trained staff, not auditing their own area
    Against what
    Your food safety system and the scheme you are certified to
    What it gives you
    Findings you fix before anyone else finds them. SQF, BRCGS and FSSC 22000 all ask for internal audits.
  • Customer audit (second party)

    Who does it
    A customer's auditor, or your team at a supplier
    Against what
    The customer's own requirements, often on top of a GFSI-recognised scheme
    What it gives you
    Approval to supply, or approval of your supplier
  • Certification audit (third party)

    Who does it
    A certification body licensed for the scheme
    Against what
    SQF, BRCGS, FSSC 22000 or another scheme GFSI recognises
    What it gives you
    A certificate that many retailers and brand owners ask for
  • Regulatory inspection

    Who does it
    FDA, USDA FSIS or state inspectors
    Against what
    The law, such as 21 CFR 117 or 9 CFR 416 and 417
    What it gives you
    Enforcement, not a certificate. It can come without notice.

What's on the checklist

The 54 questions on the SQF internal audit checklist

Nine groups of system elements, then seven for the GMP module. Under each group is its BRCGS Issue 9 section and FSSC 22000 counterpart, named, not quoted. On the sheet each question is graded Conforms, Minor, Major, Critical or N/A with the evidence seen.

Management commitment and food safety culture

BRCGS Issue 9: section 1. FSSC 22000: ISO 22000 clauses 5 and 9.3, plus the FSSC culture requirement

  1. 1Is there a signed food safety policy, and can operators on the floor say in their own words what it asks of them?
  2. 2Are the SQF practitioner and a substitute named, and is there evidence they meet the training the Code asks for, including HACCP training?
  3. 3Is there a written plan for food safety culture with measures, and are the results reviewed and acted on?
  4. 4Did management review the food safety system at the planned interval, with records of inputs, decisions and actions?
  5. 5Are customer complaints logged, investigated for cause, trended and closed with corrective action?

Documents and records

BRCGS Issue 9: section 3. FSSC 22000: ISO 22000 clause 7.5

  1. 6Is the food safety manual or document register current, with every procedure in use at its latest approved version?
  2. 7Are changes to documents approved before use, and are obsolete copies removed from the floor?
  3. 8Are records legible, complete, signed where required and kept for the period the site has set, and can they be found within minutes?

Specifications, suppliers and contract services

BRCGS Issue 9: sections 3 and 5. FSSC 22000: ISO 22000 clause 7.1.6

  1. 9Are there current specifications for every raw material, ingredient and packaging material, including allergen status?
  2. 10Is supplier approval based on risk, and are supplier certificates, audits or test results current for every approved supplier?
  3. 11Are contract service providers (cleaning, pest control, laboratories, maintenance) approved and their work checked?
  4. 12Are finished product specifications and customer requirements current and available where they are needed?

Food safety plan (HACCP)

BRCGS Issue 9: section 2. FSSC 22000: ISO 22000 clause 8.5

  1. 13Does the HACCP team cover the needed skills, and was the flow diagram checked on the floor against how the line runs today?
  2. 14Does the hazard analysis cover biological, chemical (including allergens), physical and radiological hazards for every step?
  3. 15Is there evidence that each critical limit was validated, and were controls revalidated after a change to the product or process?
  4. 16Is each CCP monitored at the stated frequency by a trained person, with records signed and reviewed?
  5. 17When a CCP was out of limit, was the product held, its fate decided and recorded, and the cause corrected?

Verification, internal audits and corrective action

BRCGS Issue 9: sections 3, 4 and 6. FSSC 22000: ISO 22000 clauses 8.7, 8.8, 9.2 and 10, plus the FSSC environmental monitoring requirement

  1. 18Is there a verification schedule for monitoring, records review and testing, and was it followed this period?
  2. 19Do internal audits cover every requirement of the Code on a set schedule, done by trained auditors who do not audit their own work?
  3. 20Do corrective actions record the cause, the action, who closed it and the check that it worked, within the due date?
  4. 21Is there an environmental monitoring program based on risk, with zones, sites, frequency and limits, and are the results trended?
  5. 22Are monitoring and measuring devices (thermometers, scales, detectors) calibrated or checked on schedule, with records?
  6. 23Were the findings of the last internal and external audits closed, and did the same finding come back?

Product identification, traceability, withdrawal and recall

BRCGS Issue 9: section 3. FSSC 22000: ISO 22000 clauses 8.3 and 8.9.5

  1. 24Are raw materials, work in progress, rework and finished product identified with a lot code all the way through?
  2. 25Can the site trace one finished lot back to its suppliers' lots and forward to its customers, with quantities that reconcile?
  3. 26Is the recall and withdrawal plan tested on the schedule the Code sets, with the result and the time taken reviewed?

Food defense and food fraud

BRCGS Issue 9: sections 4 and 5. FSSC 22000: the FSSC food defense and food fraud requirements

  1. 27Is there a food defense threat assessment and plan, with access controls that work on the floor?
  2. 28Is there a food fraud vulnerability assessment covering ingredients and packaging, with the controls it calls for in place?

Allergen management

BRCGS Issue 9: section 5. FSSC 22000: the FSSC allergen management requirement

  1. 29Is there an allergen risk assessment and a list of every allergen on site, by ingredient, line and product?
  2. 30Are allergen ingredients stored and handled apart, and is the changeover clean checked and recorded before the next run?
  3. 31Are labels and packaging checked against the product at line start, at every changeover and when a new label stock is loaded?

Training

BRCGS Issue 9: section 7. FSSC 22000: ISO 22000 clause 7.2

  1. 32Is there a training plan that covers GMP, hygiene, allergens, cleaning and each CCP task, including for temporary staff?
  2. 33Do training records exist for a sample of operators on the floor, and is there a check that the training worked?

Premises and equipment

GMP module. BRCGS Issue 9: section 4. FSSC 22000: ISO 22000 clause 8.2 and ISO/TS 22002-1

  1. 34Are floors, walls, ceilings, doors and lighting in repair, cleanable and protected where product is exposed?
  2. 35Is equipment made of food-grade materials, in good condition and designed so it can be cleaned?
  3. 36Are temporary repairs controlled and removed on time, and is equipment cleared for hygiene after maintenance?
  4. 37Is the glass and brittle plastic register current, with the items checked on schedule and breakages handled?

Cleaning and sanitation

GMP module. BRCGS Issue 9: section 4. FSSC 22000: ISO 22000 clause 8.2 and ISO/TS 22002-1

  1. 38Are written cleaning procedures (SSOPs) in place for each area and machine, and are they followed as written?
  2. 39Are pre-op inspections and cleaning verification (visual, ATP, microbiological) recorded, with failures recleaned before release?
  3. 40Are cleaning chemicals approved for food plants, labelled, stored apart from food and issued under control?

Pest prevention

GMP module. BRCGS Issue 9: section 4. FSSC 22000: ISO 22000 clause 8.2 and ISO/TS 22002-1

  1. 41Is there a pest prevention program with a device map, a qualified provider and reports reviewed by the site?
  2. 42Is the building proofed against pests, and was activity found on the walk or in the reports followed up?

Personnel hygiene and practices

GMP module. BRCGS Issue 9: section 7. FSSC 22000: ISO 22000 clause 8.2 and ISO/TS 22002-1

  1. 43Do people wash and sanitize their hands at the right times, at sinks that are stocked and working?
  2. 44Are protective clothing, hair and beard covers, jewelry and personal items handled as the site rules say?
  3. 45Do staff know they must report illness, and is there a record of who was excluded or moved?
  4. 46Do visitors and contractors follow the same hygiene rules, with a sign-in and a briefing?

Water, ice and air

GMP module. BRCGS Issue 9: section 4. FSSC 22000: ISO 22000 clause 8.2 and ISO/TS 22002-1

  1. 47Is water used in product, for cleaning and for ice tested on schedule, with results that meet the site's limits?
  2. 48Are compressed air and other gases that touch product filtered and checked on schedule?

Receiving, storage and transport

GMP module. BRCGS Issue 9: section 4. FSSC 22000: ISO 22000 clause 8.2 and ISO/TS 22002-1

  1. 49Are incoming loads checked for condition, temperature where it matters, and the right documents before they are accepted?
  2. 50Is stock stored off the floor, rotated, kept apart by type and at the right temperature?
  3. 51Are vehicles and containers checked for cleanliness, condition and temperature before loading?

Foreign matter, separation and waste

GMP module. BRCGS Issue 9: section 4. FSSC 22000: ISO 22000 clause 8.2 and ISO/TS 22002-1

  1. 52Are metal detectors, X-ray units, sieves or magnets checked at the stated frequency with test pieces, and do rejects go to a locked bin?
  2. 53Are raw and ready-to-eat, and allergen and allergen-free, kept apart by layout, flow or timing as the plan says?
  3. 54Is waste collected in marked containers, removed often enough and kept from attracting pests?

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example (illustrative): the full internal audit of a made-up granola bar plant with two lines, peanuts and almonds on line 2. The QA lead and the line 1 production supervisor audit over two days, and neither audits their own area.

The example audit, conforms by part

  1. System elementsLowest29 of 33
  2. GMP module18 of 20
  3. All questions graded47 of 53

Bar chart of the example internal audit at a granola bar plant: system elements 29 of 33 conform, 87.9 percent; GMP module 18 of 20 graded conform, 90.0 percent; all 47 of 53, 88.7 percent. 2 Major and 4 Minor findings, 1 N/A.

Illustrative. Score 47 ÷ 53 = 88.7%, with 2 Majors (allergen changeover records, late corrective actions) and 4 Minors.
  • 54 questions. 1 is N/A (no compressed air or gas touches product), so 53 are graded: 47 Conforms, 4 Minor, 2 Major and no Critical.
  • Major: 2 of 10 sampled line 2 changeovers have no record that the allergen clean was checked before the next run, and 3 corrective actions from the last internal audit are past due, one with no cause recorded.
  • Minor: the oat supplier's certificate ran out three weeks ago, 1 of 8 sampled operators has no allergen training record, tape on a line 1 conveyor guard is not on the temporary repair log, and one weekly glass check was missed.
  • System elements: 29 of 33 conform (87.9%). GMP module: 18 of 20 graded conform (90.0%).
  • The year's plan: 16 groups, 6 audited twice and 10 once, 22 group audits in all.

Score 47 ÷ 53 = 88.7%. Both Majors are due in 14 days and the four Minors in 30 (this template's example settings). The allergen changeover record goes first because it is closest to the product, and the late corrective actions show the plant's own loop is not closing, which is the next audit's first question.

Common mistakes

  • Auditing the manual, not the floor

    A procedure that exists is not a procedure that is followed. Start every group on the floor, then check the records against what you saw.

  • Auditing your own area

    QA auditing its own records, or a supervisor auditing their own line, misses what they no longer see. Swap auditors between areas.

  • Ticks with no evidence

    "Yes" with nothing written cannot be checked later, by you or by the certification auditor. Write the sample and what you found for every question.

  • Closing findings on a promise

    A finding closed because the owner said it was fixed comes back at the certification audit. Close it when someone has seen the fix work, and find the cause for every Major.

  • Using an old edition's list

    Checklists copied from Edition 8 or 9 drift from what the auditor will use. Check every question against the edition your next audit is to, and add your own site's requirements.

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FAQ

SQF internal audit checklist for food manufacturing: common questions

  1. A planned, recorded check of a food plant against a standard, with evidence for each finding. It can be internal (the plant's own staff), a customer's audit, a certification audit against a scheme such as SQF, BRCGS or FSSC 22000, or a regulatory inspection by FDA, USDA FSIS or the state. Internal audits find the gaps before the others do.

  2. The SQF Code asks for internal audits on a planned schedule that covers the whole system; check the minimum interval in the edition you are certified to. This template's example plan audits every group at least once a year and higher-risk groups twice, with a monthly GMP floor walk on top.

  3. All three are certification schemes that GFSI recognises. SQF is run by SQFI, part of FMI, and is common in North America; BRCGS started in the UK; FSSC 22000 is built on ISO 22000 plus the sector program for prerequisites (ISO/TS 22002-1 for manufacturing) and its own extra requirements. They cover much the same ground in different structures, which is why each group on this checklist names its counterpart in the other two.

  4. SQF audits grade findings in those three levels: broadly, a lapse that does not threaten food safety on its own, one that could if left, and one where food safety is at risk now or records were falsified. The Code defines them and sets the time to close each; this template uses the same three words with its own example days so internal findings read the same way.

  5. The one your next certification audit is to. SQFI published Edition 10 in March 2026 and expects audits to it to start on 2 January 2027, subject to GFSI benchmarking; audits before that date are to Edition 9. Check sqfi.com for the current dates.

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