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Well said!
What a critical topic- I'm happy to have been able to contribute to this paper!
Dear All - I have received from Erica Sheward GFSI Director some clarifications around the GFSI discussions in the recent auditing roundtable which I am sharing below for you to digest and share your thoughts on - I hope you find them helpful.
They are her comments and she has asked me to pass them on.
From Erica Sheward GFSI Director. They are her comments and she has asked me to pass them on.
Dear All - I am very happy to see this group discussing auditing and also delighted to see such a constructive debate which I would very much like to encourage to continue.
I have some clarifications around GFSI that I need to add and I hope you find them helpful.
1/ There is not in fact a GFSI standard - There are GFSI Benchmark Requirements which the Certification Program Owners (CPOs) use to develop their standards. The comment around lack of flexibility of the GFSI Standard is therefore difficult to understand. However I do agree that it is debatable as to whether strict adherence to checklists is the best way of delivering rigorous audit outcomes.
2/ The comment in the document about auditors not always having the technical knowledge matching the processes being employed at the food facility and the suggestion that auditors experience should match the facility being audited should be addressed by our up-coming Auditor Technical Professional Development program (ATPD) - at least for 3rd party audits carried out under GFSI recognised programs. More on this will be announced at the conference in Dublin.
3/ I found the question raised about root cause analysis and the link to pass/fail audits extremely interesting. It would be an interesting debate to look at this in more detail at least from the point of view of 3rd party audits. I strongly support the sentiment around the desire to promote learning from and resolution of issues with the goal of prevention.
Wishing you all the best and I hope the debate continues and hope to see some of you at GFSI.
Great to get this feedback, and looking forward to thoughtful engagement on point #3!