- Compliance Activities
- Audits
Audits
Why you are audited, how to get an auditor and how PrimeSafe can help you comply.
Summary
- Audits check if you are meeting the standards that ensure food safety.
- All licensed meat and seafood processing facilities are audited.
- You must have a contract with a PrimeSafe approved third party auditor.
- The number of audits each year is based on your business type.
- PrimeSafe can help you meet your licence requirements.
Audits and your licence
Audits show that the food you are handling and processing is safe to eat.
To get a PrimeSafe licence, you must have a contract with a PrimeSafe approved auditor. The auditor is independent of you and independent of PrimeSafe. They are a ‘third-party’.
Your licence type sets out the number of times you will be audited each year. It will depend on the type of food processing you are doing and the risk to food safety. The greater the assessed risk, the greater the number of audits required.
You pay your third-party auditor for the audits they perform.
Check your licence type to see how many times you need to be audited at About your licence.
Your first audit
Your third-party auditor must audit your food safety program within seven days of your business starting to operate for most licence types.
If your food safety program is not compliant, your third-party auditor will tell us that a major or critical non-conformance has been raised.
Non-conformance or failing an audit
Non-conformance means you have not met the required standards.
There are three types of non-conformances:
- Minor non-conformance. A low-risk situation. There is little or no risk to meat or seafood safety. You need to address the problem by the next audit.
- Major non-conformance. A potential high-risk situation. Meat or seafood safety is at risk if no action is taken within a the time period given to you.
- Critical non-conformance. A high risk-situation. You need to take immediate action to prevent serious risk to meat or seafood safety.
When there is a major non-conformance, your third-party auditor may conduct another audit within seven days to check that all issues have been fixed. You will pay the auditor for this extra audit.
If it is a critical non-conformance, PrimeSafe will tell you what action you must take.
Find a third party auditor
Contract one of these auditors to be your third-party auditor.
BSI Group ANZ Pty Ltd
Suite 3, Level 6, 412 St Kilda Road
Melbourne VIC 3004
Contact: Kin Wong
(02) 8877 7199
DQS Certification AUSNZ Ltd
Level 3, 480 Collins Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Contact: Ms Katarina Aleksijevic
(03) 8804 4940
SGS Australia Pty Ltd
Unit 10, 585 Blackburn Road
Notting Hill VIC 3168
Contact: Ms Belinda Moutsos
(03) 9574 3269
These auditors are Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ) accredited.
PrimeSafe can help you meet your licence requirements.
Ask us any questions about:
- licensing requirements (new or existing licensees)
- clarification or interpretation of Standards, legislation and guidelines
- general food safety information
- food safety issues
- food safety programs
- alternative processes
- construction requirements
- auditing functions
Complete our online form to submit your enquiry to PrimeSafe.
There is no cost for us to answer your questions unless a review or audit is needed. If a review or audit is needed, we may suggest that you use our Audit and review services.
Use our Audit and Review services
We offer an audit service and a review service to help you comply with your licence requirements.
We will not provide these services when a non-compliance has been identified from a third-party audit.
We charge $273 per hour for these services.
Audit service
We can audit:
- your food safety program to ensure compliance with the Standards
- your activities and records to assess compliance with the Standards and food safety program.
We will identify any problems and support you to fix them.
Review service
We can:
- give you advice about the design and construction of your facilities before they are inspected
- help you to understand the Standards and design your food safety program when you have a new procedure or product
- make specific recommendations about how you can comply with the Standards
- help you understand the Standards for your particular activities and processes
- advise you on product or process design to meet the Standards, including alternative procedures and techniques for determining the shelf life of your product.
To find out about our Audit and Review services Contact us.
Audits at PrimeSafe licensed facilities are conducted by PrimeSafe approved third-party auditing companies (or Conformity Assessment Bodies).
Email us your written proposal to PrimeSafe to become a certified third-party auditing company. The proposal must include details and evidence confirming the following:
- Accreditation with the Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ) or be pursuing such accreditation. Accreditation must be achieved within six months of applying for such accreditation.
- The third-party auditing company and the auditors employed by the third-party auditing company must meet the fit and proper person requirements of the Meat Industry Act 1993 and the Seafood Safety Act 2003.
- The third-party auditing company and the auditors employed by the third-party auditing company must be qualified to national competency standards.
You will enter into a Quality Assurance Audit Agreement with PrimeSafe when you are approved to perform independent audits of food businesses.
