GMP Auditing in the Food Industry: A Complete Guide to Compliance and Safety

Introduction: What is GMP Auditing?

GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) are essential standards required in the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and medical device sectors to ensure product safety and quality.

GMP Auditing is the systematic examination of procedures, personnel, equipment, and documentation to verify that they conform to GMP standards—especially in food production and processing.

For food manufacturing consultants and safety officers, GMP audits serve as a critical control mechanism for risk management and regulatory compliance.

1. Purpose and Importance of GMP Auditing

GMP audits help to:

Identify gaps in hygiene, sanitation, and documentation
Reduce contamination risks
Ensure regulatory and customer compliance
Promote a culture of food safety and accountability

Audits must be thorough, and all staff involved in production should maintain evidence of compliance with food safety protocols and SOPs.

2. Role of GMP Auditing in Daily Operations

Key GMP practices that auditors check include:

2.1 Employee Hygiene and Training

Proper clothing and PPE (no jewelry or loose garments)
No food, smoking, or unauthorized materials in production areas
Verified food safety training and education

2.2 Ground and Facility Maintenance

Waste treatment and drainage systems
Cleanliness of surroundings and pest control

2.3 In-Plant Sanitation

Controlled chemical storage and proper handwashing facilities
Measures for pest prevention and sanitation

2.4 Equipment and Processing Zones

Clean and food-grade equipment to avoid contamination
Maintenance logs and cleaning validation reports

2.5 Warehouse and Distribution

Well-sanitized, temperature-controlled storage
Traceability of inbound and outbound products

3. Types of GMP Audits

There are three types of audits in the food and beverage industry:

3.1 First Party Audit (Internal)

Conducted by the company’s own staff or hired consultants
Ensures internal compliance before external scrutiny

3.2 Second Party Audit

Conducted by a customer to verify their supplier’s quality and GMP compliance
Useful when third-party certifications don’t fully cover custom requirements

3.3 Third Party Audit

Carried out by certification bodies like ISO, BRCGS, or SQF
Leads to formal certifications like ISO 22000, HACCP, or ISO 9001

A qualified food business consultancy can help prepare facilities for all three audit types through mock audits, CAPA planning, and SOP development.

4. Common GMP Certifications for Food Industry

To comply with global food safety expectations, the following certifications are commonly required:

HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points)
ISO 22000 (Food Safety Management System)
SQF (Safe Quality Food Program)
ISO 9001 (Quality Management System)

These certifications provide structured frameworks for safe food production, record keeping, and personnel hygiene.

5. GMP Audit Checklist: Key Focus Areas

A typical GMP audit includes checks in the following seven categories:

Buildings and Facilities
Equipment and Utensils
Production and Process Control
Packaging and Labelling
Warehouse and Distribution
Documentation and Records
Organizing and Personnel

Each element is evaluated against defined GMP standards and regulatory requirements.

6. Conclusion: Why GMP Audits Are Non-Negotiable

GMP auditing is not just a compliance requirement—it’s an operational safeguard. It ensures that food products are safe, consistent, and fit for consumption.

By implementing GMP audits regularly, companies can:

Enhance product quality
Minimize recall risks
Meet customer and export market expectations
Foster a culture of accountability and hygiene

If you're setting up or improving a food manufacturing unit, working with a professional food consultant or food processing consultant ensures readiness for audits, certifications, and long-term success.

PMG Engineering Private Limited The End-to-End Engineering Company in Food Industry info@pmg.engineering | www.pmg.engineering Competent People. Smarter Work Systems. Exceptional Customer Interactions. PMG Engineering Private Limited The End-to-End Engineering Company in Food Industry info@pmg.engineering | www.pmg.engineering Table of contents About GMP Auditing Role of GMP Auditing Types of Audits GMP Certifications Audit Checklist Conclusion References Competent People. Smarter Work Systems. Exceptional Customer Interactions. Competent People. Smarter Work Systems. Exceptional Customer Interactions. 2 PMG Engineering Private Limited The End-to-End Engineering Company in Food Industry info@pmg.engineering | www.pmg.engineering 1. About GMP Auditing 1.1 About GMP • GMP stands for Good Manufacturing Practices. • and It is mainly required in all food processing sectors like dietary pharmaceuticals, supplements and medical devices to maintain the standards of safety and quality. organizations cosmetics, other • So, taking the example of GMP auditing in food there are some limitation and industries guidelines to follow. Competent People. Smarter Work Systems. Exceptional Customer Interactions. Competent People. Smarter Work Systems. Exceptional Customer Interactions. PMG Engineering Private Limited The End-to-End Engineering Company in Food Industry info@pmg.engineering | www.pmg.engineering 1.2 About Auditing • Food safety auditing is a vast area. • Auditing requires covering up of financial records or management and requires knowledge in different food fields which helps in assessing the risk of production, processing and distribution. • In a simpler form auditing is an activity where every single individual involved must keep in evidence that every standard and quality should be maintained in order to compile up with food safety hazards and management system. • This helps in safe production and supply of food products. Competent People. Smarter Work Systems. Exceptional Customer Interactions. Competent People. Smarter Work Systems. Exceptional Customer Interactions. 4 PMG Engineering Private Limited The End-to-End Engineering Company in Food Industry info@pmg.engineering | www.pmg.engineering 1.3 About GMP Auditing • Safety and quality of the product is the first and the foremost thing to keep in record and following it anytime when required. • The standards needs guidance on how to perform GMP auditing. • GMPs helps in maintaining food safety hazards and ensures that product is safe and ready to eat. are • Current GMPs by FDA(food and drug administration) where generally practices and procedures ensures the quality of the product. recommended Competent People. Smarter Work Systems. Exceptional Customer Interactions. Competent People. Smarter Work Systems. Exceptional Customer Interactions. PMG Engineering Private Limited The End-to-End Engineering Company in Food Industry info@pmg.engineering | www.pmg.engineering 2. Role of GMP Auditing 2.1 Employs knowledge • The employs should have proper information about plant and hygiene practices, have good food education and food safety training • They should have proper clothing i.e., Should not wear loose clothes and jewelries or anything which not required in food plants. • There should be no smoking or eating in production areas. 2.2 Ground maintenance • Ground maintenance must include waste removal and treatment, and drainage. Competent People. Smarter Work Systems. Exceptional Customer Interactions. Competent People. Smarter Work Systems. Exceptional Customer Interactions. PMG Engineering Private Limited The End-to-End Engineering Company in Food Industry info@pmg.engineering | www.pmg.engineering 2.3 In plant processing • Maintaining proper sanitation in chemical storage , pest control and handwashing. 2.4 Equipment section • The equipment measures which contamination of food. sections also require preventing helps in 2.5 Warehouse distribution • There should be proper update of work regarding loading and unloading of the products to be dispatched. The employs should check whether the warehouse is properly sanitized or not. 7 Competent People. Smarter Work Systems. Exceptional Customer Interactions. Competent People. Smarter Work Systems. Exceptional Customer Interactions. PMG Engineering Private Limited The End-to-End Engineering Company in Food Industry info@pmg.engineering | www.pmg.engineering 3. Types Of Audits • There are basically three different types of audits to be maintained in food and beverage industries:. 3.1 Third Party Audits • Third party audit is required when company decides to create quality management systems(QMS) that sets standards of the company like ISO 9001. • This improves the auditing system and verifies that the company is succeeding in meeting the required standards. Competent People. Smarter Work Systems. Exceptional Customer Interactions. Competent People. Smarter Work Systems. Exceptional Customer Interactions. PMG Engineering Private Limited The End-to-End Engineering Company in Food Industry info@pmg.engineering | www.pmg.engineering 3.2 Second Party Audits: 3.3 First party audits: • Second party audit customer and suppliers. is between • • It is not necessary that second party audit could not be performed after getting certifications by third party audits. It totally depends upon the customer if they want to perform the second audit, especially when the requirements are not sufficiently covered. • First party audits are also known as internal audits. Internal audits are performed by the organization itself. • The audit can be performed by person being an employee of the organization or the by hiring someone on behalf of organization. • They must not include any customer or certification head body. Competent People. Smarter Work Systems. Exceptional Customer Interactions. Competent People. Smarter Work Systems. Exceptional Customer Interactions. PMG Engineering Private Limited The End-to-End Engineering Company in Food Industry info@pmg.engineering | www.pmg.engineering THIRD PARTY AUDITS Independent Examination AUDIT LEVELS SECOND PARTY AUDIT Customer Audits FIRST PARTY AUDITS Internal Audits Competent People. Smarter Work Systems. Exceptional Customer Interactions. 10 PMG Engineering Private Limited The End-to-End Engineering Company in Food Industry info@pmg.engineering | www.pmg.engineering 4. GMP certifications GMP being the most important practices to be applied in food and beverage industries, needs a proper certification to audit the company. The different certifications which needs to be followed includes: • • • • - HACCP - ISO 22000 - SQF and - ISO 9001 Competent People. Smarter Work Systems. Exceptional Customer Interactions. Competent People. Smarter Work Systems. Exceptional Customer Interactions. PMG Engineering Private Limited The End-to-End Engineering Company in Food Industry info@pmg.engineering | www.pmg.engineering 5. Audit Checklists The basic GMP audit checklist must include the 7 factors as mentioned below: • Buildings and facilities • Equipment and utensils • Production and process control • Packaging and labelling • Warehouse, storage and distribution • Documentation and records keeping • Organizing and personnel Competent People. Smarter Work Systems. Exceptional Customer Interactions. Competent People. Smarter Work Systems. Exceptional Customer Interactions. PMG Engineering Private Limited The End-to-End Engineering Company in Food Industry info@pmg.engineering | www.pmg.engineering 6. Conclusion GMP auditing is a necessary step to be practiced in food and beverage industries. • • Its needs different certifications will allow the company to fulfill the requirements of food safety and hazards. It also includes different roles of the employs which helps in maintaining the food industry by proper safety of and personnel sanitization, keeping records of the day-to-day work. hygiene • Auditing needs very careful steps to be could cause risk in followed as maintaining the standards in industries. it Competent People. Smarter Work Systems. Exceptional Customer Interactions. Competent People. Smarter Work Systems. Exceptional Customer Interactions. PMG Engineering Private Limited The End-to-End Engineering Company in Food Industry info@pmg.engineering | www.pmg.engineering About PMG Engineering Competent People. Smarter Work Systems. Exceptional Customer Interactions. Competent People. Smarter Work Systems. Exceptional Customer Interactions. 14 We deliver End-to-End Engineering Design and Construction Management Projects in Food and Beverage Industry. Meeting Global Benchmarks In ENGINEERING DESIGN and PROJECT MANAGEMENT for FOOD and BEVERAGE Industry with SINGLE POINT ACCOUNTABILITY Process Engineering | Project Management | Mechanical | Electrical | Automation | Food Safety Key Clients We deliver End-to-End Engineering Design and Construction Management Projects in Food and Beverage Industry. Meeting Global Benchmarks In ENGINEERING DESIGN and PROJECT MANAGEMENT for FOOD and BEVERAGE Industry with SINGLE POINT ACCOUNTABILITY Process Engineering | Project Management | Mechanical | Electrical | Automation | Food Safety Key Clients We deliver End-to-End Engineering Design and Construction Management Projects in Food and Beverage Industry. Meeting Global Benchmarks In ENGINEERING DESIGN and PROJECT MANAGEMENT for FOOD and BEVERAGE Industry with SINGLE POINT ACCOUNTABILITY Process Engineering | Project Management | Mechanical | Electrical | Automation | Food Safety Key Clients

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