Templates and records · BRCGS · Clause 3.4

BRCGS internal audit and inspection programme

BRCGS asks for internal audits to be spread across the year and for frequent site inspections on top. Two different records that complement each other.

In one sentence

The BRCGS internal audit and inspection programme spreads audits over at least four different dates across the year, so that every activity in the system — HACCP plan, prerequisites, food defence and food fraud, procedures — is audited at least once a year, and adds documented inspections of hygiene and the condition of the premises, because clause 3.4 is a fundamental requirement.

Content reviewed on 17 October 2026

Where the standard requires it: BRCGS · Clause 3.4 Clause references follow the numbering of BRCGS Food Safety Issue 9. If your audit is already against a later issue, check the correspondence on brcgs.com.
Type of information: Mandatory record Record to be retained (3.4, fundamental requirement)
Who fills it in: Trained internal auditors Hygiene inspections can be carried out by floor managers with specific training
When: At least four dates a year Inspections at the frequency set by the risk of each area
How long it is kept: Shelf life plus 12 months, at least BRCGS requires a retention period to be set taking into account legislation, the customer and the product's shelf life, and as a minimum records must be kept for the shelf life plus twelve months (3.3).

What the standard requires

What BRCGS demands and what it leaves to your judgement

The programme must cover the HACCP plan, prerequisites, food defence and food fraud prevention plans and the procedures that implement the Standard. Each activity is audited at least once a year, more often depending on risk and previous results, and the programme is spread over at least four separate dates so the site is not prepared only once.

Auditors must be competent and independent of the area audited. Reports identify conformity and nonconformities, and results are reported to those responsible, who agree corrective actions with deadlines.

In addition, BRCGS requires a programme of documented inspections of hygiene and of the condition of buildings and equipment, more frequent than the audits and at a frequency based on the risk of each area.

Read it in context: Food safety and quality management system, in the BRCGS Academy

Structure

Fields the template should include

Annual programme with activities, planned dates and risk criterion
Assigned auditor and independence from the area
Report: scope, evidence, conformities and nonconformities
Corrective actions agreed with owner and deadline
Inspection programme by area and frequency
Record of each inspection: hygiene and fabrication findings
Follow-up of closure of what was found

Example

Example: annual programme for a fictitious bakery plant

Company, people and figures are fictitious: the example only shows what a properly completed record looks like.

Field	Content
Date 1 · February	HACCP plan and allergen management · external auditor
Date 2 · May	Suppliers, traceability and recalls · maintenance manager
Date 3 · August	Prerequisites: cleaning, pest control, maintenance · logistics manager
Date 4 · November	Food defence and food fraud, control of operations · external auditor
Inspections	Hygiene in open-product areas weekly · fabrication monthly
Year outcome	14 internal nonconformities · 13 closed on time · 1 rescheduled due to building work

At the audit

Mistakes auditors commonly flag

All internal audits on one or two dates just before certification.
System activities not audited during the year, typically food defence or food fraud.
Hygiene inspections presented as if they were internal audits.
Auditors reviewing their own area.
Internal nonconformities with no deadline and no follow-up to closure.

In Kimobox

How this record is kept in Kimobox

1The annual programme is planned with each audit assigned to an auditor and a date.
2The BRCGS checklist and the hygiene inspection checklist are completed on the platform, with photos of what was found.
3Each finding becomes an action with an owner and a deadline, with a warning if it slips.
4The certification auditor can review the programme and how far it has been completed with a read-only user.

Frequently asked questions

What people ask us before getting started

Why four different dates?

So that internal audit is a continuous control and not a dress rehearsal before certification. Each activity is audited at least once a year, but the whole is spread over a minimum of four points in time.

Do hygiene inspections count as internal audits?

No. BRCGS requires them separately: they are frequent, short walk-rounds on hygiene and the condition of the premises, complementing the audit programme.

What if a planned audit does not take place?

It must be recorded as postponed, with its reason and new date. An activity left unaudited during the year is a nonconformity against a fundamental requirement.

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Sources

Where each figure comes from

References to the official text in force. If a standard is revised, this page is updated and the review date says so.

BRCGS Global Standard for Food Safety, Issue 9 BRCGS · Published August 2022