This Bulletin has been produced to ensure that accredited certification bodies providing food safety certification services are aware of the Guidance on Remote Auditing Activities published by the IAF Food Working Group Task Force on April 23th 2020.
The IAF Task Force document explains which are the steps that should be considered in accredited certification for food safety when using remote auditing activities to support the certification process.
Please note this guidance will only be applicable for all of those schemes that do not have additional requirements set by the scheme owner and/or regulator that specifically restrict the use of remote activities, which in that case, will supersede the above.
To access the IAF publication click here
Likewise, in order to prevent an impact on accreditation renewals and to continually support our customers in the food and farm certification sector, UKAS will wherever possible use post-audit reviews, as detailed in GEN 1 General Principles for the Assessment of Conformity Assessment Bodies, in order to continue evaluating competence in those schemes in which restrictions on the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) have been imposed by scheme owners.
For further information regarding auditing during the COVID-19 crisis, please also refer to:
- IAF COVID-19 FAQs list: https://iaffaq.com/
- UKAS TPS 73 – UKAS Policy on Accreditation and Conformity Assessment During the COVID-19 Outbreak: TPS 73
- UKAS TPS 62 – Management of Extraordinary Events or Circumstances Affecting UKAS Accredited Certification Bodies and their Certified Organisations: TPS 62
Should you require any clarification on the above, please contact one of the following:
- Your Assessment Manager
- Kevin Belson: Technical Manager – [email protected]
- Marta Vaquero: Accreditation Specialist – Food & Farm Certification – [email protected]
To download a PDF version click here.