When it comes to SQF (Safe Quality Food) certification, the internal audit is not just a requirement; it’s a powerful tool for discovering whether your food safety program is truly working. Yet many facilities treat SQF internal audits like a one-time compliance checkbox. This approach misses the opportunity to use the audit as a meaningful review of your day-to-day operations.

In this blog, we’ll walk through a practical, step-by-step approach to conducting an internal audit that adds real value—not just paperwork. We’ll focus solely on the SQF internal audit process itself, using evidence-based techniques like documentation review, observation, and interviews to evaluate the effectiveness of your food safety and quality systems.

Step 1: Prepare Your Internal with Purpose

Before launching into your internal audit, it’s essential to prepare intentionally. This starts with understanding your audit scope and objective. Are you auditing a specific module of the SQF code? A particular department? A production process?

Clarify the following:

• Scope: What part of the business or which requirements are being audited?
• Timeline: When will the audit occur, and how long will each section take?
• Audit Team: Who will conduct the audit? Do they have the right training and objectivity?

Establish a clear audit plan that outlines:

• Audit areas
• Applicable SQF code elements
• Documentation to be reviewed
• Process steps to observe
• Key personnel to interview

Tip: Use your previous audit reports, CAPA logs, and production records to help identify focus areas.

Step 2: Gather the Right Tools for Your Internal Audit

Your audit tools will help you collect meaningful data. Avoid rigid checklists that just verify “presence or absence.” Instead, prepare your internal audit team to look for (or look through a combinations of the records and checklist below):

• SQF Code and/or internal standards checklist
• Interview guides
• Observation notes template
• Documentation request forms
• Audit record forms

Make space for open-ended observations and notes. Don’t limit yourselves to the scope. Use your curiousity.

Real improvement happens in nuances.

Step 3: Start your Internal Audit with Food Safety Plan and SQF Documentation Review

Begin the internal audit by requesting and reviewing documents related to the scope of your audit. Look for alignment between documented procedures and SQF requirements.

Examples of documents to review:

• SOPs and SSOPs
• Monitoring and verification records
• Employee training records
• Maintenance and calibration logs
• Internal and external lab results

Ask yourself:

• Are these procedures current?
• Do records show consistent implementation?
• Are any trends or recurring issues visible?
• Do any of the deviations leads to food safety issues

Documentation tells you what should be happening. It sets the baseline.

Step 4: Observe the Process in Action During Your Internal Audit Processes

Once you understand the documented process, observe the work environment and people. Observation is where you see whether your procedures are being followed as written.

Focus on:

• Personnel hygiene practices
• Line setup and changeover procedures
• Sanitation practices
• Labeling and allergen controls
• Process controls such as CCPs and quality checks

Compare observations with the SOPs:

• Are people following the instructions as written?
• Is there any deviation from procedures?
• Are control points verified consistently?

This step helps confirm whether your written procedures reflect real-life practices.

Step 5: Interview Employees for Understanding -Test that Internal Audit Process

Interviewing is an often overlooked but crucial part of the audit process. Conversations with employees help validate what you’ve seen in documentation and observation.

Ask questions like:

• What do you do if a thermometer shows a temperature outside of spec?
• How do you clean and sanitize this area?
• When was your last training on this procedure?
• Who do you report deviations to?

Good interviews uncover training gaps, system misunderstandings, or areas of improvement.

Important: Keep interviews casual and non-threatening. You’re not testing people; you’re testing the system.

Step 6: Record and Organize Evidence for Your SQF Internal Audit

As you move through the audit, keep detailed notes that connect each finding to:

• The SQF code requirement
• Evidence type (document, observation, or interview)
• Date/time of audit
• Location and personnel involved

Use clear and factual language. Instead of saying “Staff were careless,” say “Observed employee not washing hands after removing gloves before entering processing room.”

Be specific.

This documentation will become the foundation for audit reporting and eventual follow-up actions.

Internal Audits Are More Than Compliance

The SQF internal audit isn’t just about being “audit ready.” It’s your opportunity to step back and evaluate how your systems really work. By focusing on evidence through documentation, observation, and interviews, you move beyond checklist auditing and toward meaningful process improvement.

In the next blog, we’ll walk through how to analyze findings, assign root causes, and close out non-conformances effectively. But for now, mastering the audit process itself is the best place to start.

Internal audits done right give you the confidence to face any external audit—and more importantly, ensure your food safety systems are working every single day.

We provide internal audit training and can help to cater to your team’s needs. Hope these tips are helpful for you to get started. If you need help or just a checklist to get started, book a quick meeting here: https://tidycal.com/sfpmconsulting/strategy-call

Let’s get you the support you need to be successful for your SQF internal audit.