New Supplier Onboarding
Verifying that a new raw material, ingredient, or packaging supplier meets your food safety requirements before the first purchase order is placed and before their materials enter your production line.
Supply Chain Risk Management
Supplier and Subcontractor
Food Safety Audits
Your food safety system is only as strong as the weakest supplier in your chain. Industry data shows that over 48% of food recalls trace back to a supplier failure that an audit could have caught. ANFSI conducts independent, on-site second-party audits of your suppliers, subcontractors, and co-manufacturers across Australia, verifying that raw materials, packaging, and outsourced services meet the food safety and quality standards your business requires.
Independent Second-Party Auditors
Photographic Evidence Reports
Nationwide On-Site Service
Response Within 1 Business Day
The Supply Chain Reality
Your Supplier's Problem Becomes Your Recall
A contaminated raw material, an undeclared allergen in a compound ingredient, or a failed cold chain at a co-packer's warehouse does not stay at the supplier. It becomes your product recall, your brand damage, and your regulatory investigation.
Why Self-Declared Compliance Is Not Enough
Many food businesses rely on supplier questionnaires, self-assessments, and certificates of analysis to manage supply chain risk. These documents tell you what the supplier claims about their operations. A second-party audit tells you what is actually happening on the factory floor, in the warehouse, and in the dispatch area. There is often a significant gap between the two. ANFSI closes that gap with independent, on-site verification conducted by experienced food safety auditors who know exactly what to look for.
What the Standards Require
Every major food safety certification scheme mandates a documented supplier approval and monitoring programme. BRCGS requires risk-based supplier performance management (Section 3). SQF mandates approved supplier programmes with defined monitoring activities (Module 2). FSSC 22000 and ISO 22000 require management of externally provided processes, products, and services. Coles CFMSR and Woolworths WSEP both require documented evidence that suppliers meet defined food safety standards. An ANFSI supplier audit provides the objective evidence your programme needs. View all ANFSI auditing services.
Audit Triggers
When Should You Audit a Supplier?
Any of these situations should trigger an independent supplier or subcontractor assessment before risk materialises in your finished product.
Non-Conformance or Complaint
Investigating a supplier following receipt of non-conforming raw materials, foreign body contamination, allergen undeclaration, customer complaints linked to incoming goods, or a failed Certificate of Analysis.
Scheduled Annual Review
Conducting the periodic risk-based supplier audit required by your food safety management system, GFSI scheme, or retailer standard. Frequency is determined by supplier risk classification in your approved supplier programme.
Retailer or Certification Requirement
Meeting a Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, or GFSI certification body requirement for documented, independent supplier verification evidence as part of your ongoing compliance programme or vendor onboarding process.
Co-Manufacturer or Co-Packer
Auditing an external facility that manufactures, packs, or stores your finished product under contract. The food safety risk transfers to your brand regardless of who produced it. Your name is on the label.
Subcontractor Service Provider
Verifying food safety standards of outsourced service providers including pest control operators, cleaning contractors, transport and logistics companies, waste management operators, and cold storage facilities.
Scope of Assessment
What ANFSI Assesses at Your Supplier's Site
A comprehensive on-site supplier audit covers every critical control point from raw material receipt through to finished goods dispatch.
HACCP and Food Safety Management System
Verification that the supplier operates a documented, implemented food safety system with valid hazard analysis, critical control points, monitoring procedures, and corrective action protocols appropriate to their product and process risk profile.
HACCP / FSMSAllergen Management and Cross-Contact Controls
Assessment of allergen identification, segregation, cleaning validation, labelling accuracy, and cross-contact prevention measures. Verification of VITAL or equivalent risk assessment processes where applicable to the supplier's product range.
Allergen ControlGMP, Hygiene and Facility Condition
Physical inspection of premises condition, equipment maintenance, personnel hygiene practices, cleaning and sanitation programmes, waste management, and general manufacturing practice compliance against applicable standards.
GMP / HygienePest Management and Environmental Controls
Review of pest control programmes, contractor documentation, bait station maps, trend data, structural proofing, and the supplier's response to pest activity. Physical inspection of all production, storage, and external areas for evidence of pest activity.
Pest ManagementCold Chain and Storage Controls
Verification of temperature monitoring systems, cold room calibration records, stock rotation practices (FIFO), storage separation, raw and finished goods segregation, and dispatch loading procedures across the supplier's facility.
Cold Chain / StorageTraceability and Recall Readiness
Testing of the supplier's traceability system (one step forward, one step back) and recall procedures. Verification that batch coding, lot identification, and distribution records allow full product tracing within your required timeframe.
TraceabilityForeign Body Prevention
Inspection of detection equipment (metal detectors, X-ray, sieves, filters, magnets), calibration and test records, glass and brittle plastic registers, and the supplier's response protocols for detected foreign material.
Physical HazardsDocumentation, Training and Competency
Review of supplier staff training records, food safety competency verification, document control systems, specification management, and the supplier's own internal audit programme and management review process.
Training / RecordsHow It Works
Our Supplier Audit Process
A structured five-stage process that gives you objective, documented evidence of your supplier's true food safety performance.
1
Scope and Brief
You brief ANFSI on the supplier, the product or service they provide, and your specific risk concerns or standard requirements. We build a customised audit checklist aligned to your supplier approval programme.
2
On-Site Assessment
An ANFSI auditor conducts the physical on-site audit at your supplier's facility, covering all agreed scope areas with photographic evidence captured throughout the inspection.
3
Detailed Report
You receive a comprehensive written report with findings, photographic evidence, non-conformance classifications, risk ratings, and clear corrective action requirements for each issue identified.
4
Corrective Action and Follow-Up
ANFSI tracks corrective action closure with the supplier, verifies evidence of implementation, and provides you with a close-out report confirming the status of each non-conformance raised.
Your Deliverables
What You Receive After Every Supplier Audit
Comprehensive Audit Report
A detailed written report covering every scope area audited, with findings categorised by severity (critical, major, minor, observation) and referenced to the applicable standard or your internal specification.
Photographic Evidence Dossier
Timestamped photographic evidence captured during the on-site inspection, embedded in the report alongside each finding. Provides undeniable visual proof of conditions observed at the supplier's premises.
Corrective Action Plan
A prioritised corrective action plan with specific remediation requirements, assigned responsibility, and defined timelines for each non-conformance. Ready to issue directly to the supplier for action.
Risk Rating and Recommendation
An overall supplier risk classification (approved, conditionally approved, or not approved) with a clear written recommendation on whether to continue, restrict, or cease purchasing from the supplier.
Corrective Action Close-Out Report
A follow-up verification report confirming whether the supplier has implemented each corrective action to the required standard, with evidence of closure documented for your records.
Supplier Approval Programme Integration
All audit documentation formatted and structured to integrate directly into your existing supplier approval programme, whether aligned to BRCGS, SQF, FSSC 22000, retailer standards, or your own internal framework.
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
A first-party audit is an internal audit conducted by the organisation itself. A second-party audit is conducted by or on behalf of a customer or purchasing organisation to evaluate a supplier's operations. A third-party audit is conducted by an independent, accredited certification body against a recognised standard (such as BRCGS, SQF, or FSSC 22000). ANFSI conducts second-party audits on your behalf, giving you independent verification of your supplier's food safety performance without the cost of deploying your own quality team to every supplier site.
A standard on-site supplier audit typically takes one full day at the supplier's facility. Larger or more complex operations (multiple production lines, high-risk products, cold storage facilities) may require one and a half to two days. ANFSI confirms the audit duration during the scoping phase based on the size and complexity of the supplier's operation and the breadth of the audit checklist.
Yes. ANFSI maintains auditor pools across NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, WA, and TAS. We can deploy auditors to supplier facilities in any capital city or regional area. For remote locations, travel arrangements are scoped and quoted as part of the initial engagement.
That is your decision. Most supplier audits are conducted transparently, with the supplier informed that ANFSI is auditing on behalf of their customer. However, if you require a more discreet approach, ANFSI can conduct the audit without disclosing the commissioning party. The arrangement is agreed during the scoping phase.
A third-party certification audit verifies the supplier's system against the certification standard. A second-party audit verifies the supplier's performance against your specific requirements, which may include aspects not covered by the certification scope. Many food businesses with GFSI-certified suppliers still conduct second-party audits to verify product-specific controls, allergen management relevant to their particular product, or operational practices observed between certification audit cycles. ANFSI can tailor the audit scope to focus specifically on the areas that matter most to your supply chain risk profile.
Costs depend on the supplier's location, the size and complexity of their operation, the scope of the audit checklist, and whether travel is required. ANFSI provides transparent, fixed-price quotes following an initial scoping discussion. There are no hidden fees for report preparation, corrective action follow-up, or post-audit support within the agreed scope.