Here is one of the key insights for your SQF Ed. 10 changes. It is called a vertical audit. The way we run an audit may not have been fully structured.
I like vertical audits. They pull a more structured, connected view of how your food manufacturing process actually works, rather than checking isolated pieces in a vacuum.
What a Vertical Audit Actually Is?
A vertical audit is a process-based audit method. Instead of reviewing one topic, like sanitation records, across every product you make, the auditor selects a single product and follows it vertically through every stage of production. Along the way, they pull the policies, procedures, work instructions, and records connected to that product to confirm your system works in practice, not just on paper.
This is different from a horizontal audit, which looks across many products for one specific element. A vertical audit tells a complete story about one product, which is exactly why it is such an effective audit tool. It shows whether your documented system and your daily reality actually match.
Where Module 2 and the GIP Module Come Into Play?
A vertical audit pulls from two places in the SQF Code at once. Module 2, the System Elements, covers things like document control, your HACCP based food safety plan, corrective and preventive action, verification activities, and product identification and traceability. These are the system-level pieces that apply across your entire operation, regardless of what you manufacture.
The Good Industry Practice module relevant to your sector, whether that is Good Manufacturing Practices for a typical food manufacturer or another GIP module specific to your category, covers the prerequisite programs that support the product as it physically moves through your facility. That includes things like receiving criteria, storage conditions, sanitation, pest control, personnel hygiene, and allergen control.
A vertical audit connects these two together. The auditor is not just checking whether your HACCP plan exists, and separately checking whether your sanitation program exists. They are confirming that for this one specific product, every system element and every prerequisite program worked together, in the right order, with the records to prove it.
How a Vertical Audit Typically Works?
The auditor usually starts by selecting a product, often one that is currently in production or one that represents a higher risk category in your operation. From there, they trace it backward and forward through your process.
They will look at receiving records for the ingredients that went into that product, checking specifications, supplier approval status, and any incoming inspection or testing. They move into storage, checking that conditions and rotation practices were followed correctly. Then into production, where they pull your HACCP plan and confirm that critical control points were monitored, limits were met, and any deviations were handled with proper corrective action.
From there, they continue into packaging and labeling, verifying that the correct label was applied, allergen declarations were accurate, and any label verification checks were documented. Finally, they follow the product to shipping, checking lot coding, traceability records, and release documentation.
At every stage, your auditor is cross-referencing your Module 2 system requirements with your GIP prerequisite programs, confirming the two are working together consistently, not just existing as separate documents.
How to Handle a Vertical Audit Well?
The best way to prepare for a vertical audit is to run your own internally, before the real one happens.
- Pick a product, and walk it through your entire process the way an auditor would.
- Pull every record connected to it, from receiving through shipping, and check that everything lines up.
- If there are gaps, inconsistent record keeping, or missing documentation at any stage, you want to find that yourself first.
The other piece that matters is making sure your team understands how the pieces connect. It is not enough for your receiving clerk to know their own checklist and your production supervisor to know the HACCP plan.
Everyone involved in that product’s journey needs to understand how their piece fits into the larger system, because a vertical audit will test exactly that connection.
A Practical Vertical Audit Step
To help you prepare, I put together a vertical audit download sheet that walks through each stage of the process, from receiving to shipping, along with the records and documentation you should have ready at each point. It is a practical way to run your own mock vertical audit before your real one happens.