Most companies dread the thought of being audited. Understandably so, since even a small error or mishap can lead down a slippery rabbit hole. But that isn’t the case for the Brandenburg team — not even when they only get about an hour’s notice!

That’s because when you have a daily commitment to maintaining the highest Food Safety standards that every member on the team owns, you’re always audit-ready.  And the Brandenburg team certainly proved it on the big-stage when an auditor from the FDA showed up with little warning to inspect their food grade product (PrG-USP), and quickly walked away with zero findings. 

“We conduct continuous awareness training to ensure everyone on site understands all the requirements of a food grade product,” said Bonnie Heffernan, Quality Manager at Brandenburg. “And we offer more in-depth training for those who work more closely with PrG-USP. It’s very important that our entire team is comfortable in coming to us when there is an issue, so we can remedy it before there’s an impact on the site or to our customers.”

While this was the site’s first FDA audit since 2015, it is far from out of the ordinary for the site to be audited.  Not only does the team conduct internal audits every year, but they also use a third party certification body to maintain their SQF certification and provide a fresh perspective to the process.

But that’s not all! “We also have customer audits a few times a year, which involve their companies’ trained auditors coming out to share feedback based on what they’ve seen at other sites and the product applications that are most important to them,” Bonnie commented.

“We take a team approach to this program with multiple internal auditors who are trained in Food Safety auditing,” Blake Saffer, Global Quality Leader, explained. “But when you’re in the day-to-day, it’s possible to miss things, so members from other departments, including me, will also come and perform audits.” 

This audit readiness is just part of the Brandenburg team’s everyday efforts. And it’s only so successful because it involves everyone on the site. “It’s not just our leadership taking the steps to make us compliant — it’s each individual. It’s the people in Shipping filling and inspecting the drums of PrG-USP and labeling them according to procedures. It’s the operators in East Production running the unit, who are following procedures and Good Manufacturing Practices. There’s also the lab crew who ensures they’re calibrating their instruments on the right schedule and following Good Documentation Practices. Even Maintenance and Purchasing all have specific procedures they have to follow. There are just so many moving pieces that have to be just right to enable a flawless audit like this. And it’s all of the players involved who make it possible,” said Blake.   

“I can’t echo that enough,” Bonnie added. “If our front line wasn’t successful, our program wouldn’t be successful. We’ve worked hard to maintain the success we’ve had since the day we became SQF certified. It takes everyone, every day, to keep our program performing at this level.”

A special shout out to our Food Safety Internal Audit Team: 

• Eathan Peach
• Brian Davis
• Rick Amos
• Judy Adkisson
• Blake Saffer
• Drew Esarey
• Adrianne Gatrost
• Lauren Hamilton
• Bonnie Heffernan