Retailer Audits

Mock audit: run your own in one afternoon

A four-hour plan you can run with your own team, a checklist of what to test, and how to grade what you find the way an auditor would.

4 min read

The short answer

Block out four hours, pick an auditor who doesn’t run the area, and test the site the way a real auditor would: start on the floor, not in the office, sample records from random days, ask staff about their own tasks, and run a trace test on one batch. Grade every finding as minor, major or critical, give each an owner and a due date, and run it six to eight weeks before the real audit so there’s time to close them properly.

The plan

Four hours, start to finish

Our suggested running order. Run it while production is on, so you see the site working.

1:00

Brief the auditor

Agree the scope, the standard you’re auditing against, and the checklist. Pick someone independent of the area: a supervisor from another section, your QA lead, or a consultant.

1:15

Straight onto the floor

Real auditors start with production, and under BRCGS an unannounced auditor should be on the floor within 30 minutes. Walk the process from goods-in to dispatch.

2:15

Ask the people doing the work

Ask operators what their CCP is, what the limit is and what they do if it’s missed. Ask a cleaner how they know a surface is clean. Write down the answers word for word.

2:45

Trace one batch

Pick a finished batch at random. Trace back to the raw material lots and forward to the customers, and time how long it takes.

3:30

Sample the records

Pick three random days in the last two months and pull every record for them. Gaps, late entries and missing signatures are what you’re looking for.

4:30

Grade and assign

Grade each finding, agree an owner and due date for each, and log them in your corrective action register before anyone goes home.

The checklist

Twelve things to test

Test, don’t ask. “Do you calibrate?” gets a yes. “Show me the last calibration record for that probe” gets the truth.

On the floor

Hand washing and protective clothing rules followed
Allergen segregation and labelling at storage and production
Cleaning standard of food contact surfaces, including hard-to-reach areas
Pest control devices in place and checked

In the records

CCP records complete, signed and verified
Corrective actions closed with evidence
Supplier certificates current for every approved supplier
Calibration and training records in date

In the system

HACCP plan matches what the floor actually does
Procedures are the current, controlled versions
Trace test done within your target time
Last internal audit’s findings all closed

Need the full record list? See the 10 records auditors ask for first.

Grading

Grade findings the way an auditor would

A mock audit that finds “a few things to tidy up” is wasted. Grade each finding honestly, using the same scale your certification body uses:

Minor: a gap or lapse that doesn’t put food safety at immediate risk, such as one missed signature.
Major: a requirement that isn’t being met, or a system that has broken down, such as CCP records missing for a whole shift.
Critical: an immediate food safety risk, such as product released after a CCP deviation without a decision.

Exact definitions vary by scheme. See major vs minor non-conformance, then close them with a four-week close-out plan.

Don’t stop at one

A mock audit isn’t your internal audit program

Certification schemes expect internal audits all year, not one rehearsal before the auditor arrives. BRCGS, for example, expects every activity in your system to be audited at least once a year, and open product areas to be inspected at least once a month. SQF also requires scheduled internal audits of the whole system with findings closed out.

Record your mock audit like any internal audit, with scope, findings, owners and close-out evidence, and it can count towards that program.

Where EthicalHub fits

Findings that don’t get lost after the mock audit

Log each mock audit finding in EthicalHub as a corrective action with an owner, due date and evidence, and see what’s still open on one screen. Your records are already in one place for the records sample, and the audit pack shows what the real auditor will see.

Not sure where to start?

Answer 11 questions and get a readiness score with your biggest gaps.

Check your readiness

Related guides

Unannounced audits →How to be ready on any day. Your first supermarket audit →A 12-week run-up, and what happens on the day. Major vs minor non-conformance →What each finding means for your certificate. Closing out audit findings →A four-week plan from finding to evidence.

Questions

Mock audits: common questions

What is a mock food safety audit?

A practice audit you run on your own site, set up like the real one: a floor walk, a records check, staff questions and a trace test, with findings graded the way an auditor would. It shows you what the real auditor is likely to find while there’s still time to fix it.

Who should run a mock audit?

Someone who doesn’t run the area being audited. That could be a supervisor from another area, your QA lead auditing production, or an outside consultant. People rarely spot gaps in their own work.

Is a mock audit the same as an internal audit?

Not quite. Internal audits are a scheme requirement: BRCGS, for example, expects every activity in your system to be audited at least once a year. A mock audit is a one-off, whole-site rehearsal, usually before a certification or retailer audit. It can count towards your internal audit program if you record it properly.

How long before the real audit should I run a mock audit?

Six to eight weeks before is a good point. That leaves time to close the findings with root cause and evidence, which usually takes around four weeks, and to check the fixes are working.

Find it first. Fix it first.

See how EthicalHub tracks every finding from mock audit to closed.

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