What Is The Difference Between Auditing and Certification?

Posted: Thursday, January 20, 2011 by Tina Brillinger

While auditing is a key aspect of any food safety certification program, there are additional components which can provide greater assurance requirements are being met.

Traditional 3^rd party audits are typically a one day-audits, resulting in an audit report that notes areas of conformance and non-conformance against established criteria. The supplier could then share the audit report with their customer to demonstrate food safety measures had been taken. At that point, it was typically up to the customer to evaluate the audit report to determine if it meets their needs.

However, in a certification program, the end result is a certificate that indicates a supplier has undergone a more comprehensive audit (often 2 or more days) which looks closely at the food safety systems they have in place.

Following the certification audit, the supplier must demonstrate it has taken action to resolve any non-conformances identified. Only after the corrective actions are verified by the certification body can a certificate be issued.

The certificate demonstrates to a customer that the supplier is in compliance with an international food safety standard. Re-certification audits are typically conducted annually to demonstrate on-going compliance.