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PrimusGFS
audit checklist.

Work through this before you book. Everything here is something an auditor can reasonably ask to see.

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How to use this

Read it as a rehearsal, not a form

This is not the official audit checklist — Azzule publishes that, and you should work from the current version for your scope. This is the practical version: the things farms are most often unable to produce on the day.

For each line, the question is not "do we do this?" but "can I put the evidence in front of someone in under two minutes, with dates on it?" If the answer is no, that is your gap.

Confirm the current standard version and your audited scope with your certification body before you prepare. Requirements change between versions.

Module 1

Management system evidence

Governance

  • Food safety policy, signed and dated by ownership or senior management
  • Organisation chart naming the person responsible for food safety and their deputy
  • Evidence of a management review of the food safety system

Plans and documents

  • HACCP plan matching the products and processes actually in scope
  • SOPs for every routine practice, each with a version number and revision date
  • A controlled list showing which document version is current and where copies live
  • Records retention period defined and actually honoured

Verification

  • Completed internal audit, with findings, corrective actions and closure evidence
  • Mock recall completed within the last year, with the time taken and the percentage reconciled
  • Approved supplier list with current certificates or approval evidence for each
  • Customer complaint log, including complaints that came to nothing
  • Corrective action log with root cause, action taken, who verified it and when
Module 2

Field and harvest evidence

Land and water

  • Land history and adjacent land use risk assessment for each block
  • Water source description and a sampling schedule you actually followed
  • Laboratory results for every scheduled sample, including the ones you would rather not show
  • Documented action taken on any result outside your threshold

Inputs and people

  • Soil amendment records: source, treatment status, application date, block
  • Crop protection applications with product, rate, applicator and pre-harvest interval
  • Worker food safety and hygiene training records, signed, with dates and topic
  • Illness and injury reporting procedure, and any reports it produced
  • Field sanitation servicing records for toilets and handwashing stations

Harvest

  • Pre-harvest assessment for each block, including animal intrusion checks
  • Harvest container and tool cleaning records
  • Lot coding applied at harvest and traceable forward
  • Field equipment cleaning and maintenance logs
Module 3

Facility evidence

Sanitation and pest control

  • Master sanitation schedule with completed records and verification sign-off
  • Sanitiser concentration checks where a wash line or dump tank is used
  • Pest control service reports, device map and evidence someone reviews the trend

Facility condition

  • Glass and brittle plastic register, and breakage procedure
  • Preventive maintenance records for product-contact equipment
  • Chemical inventory, safety data sheets and locked storage
  • Water and ice test results for facility water
  • Temperature records for coolers and cold storage, with an out-of-range procedure
  • Packaging material specifications and protected storage
On the day

The audit day itself

Have one person accountable for the audit and one organised set of evidence. Auditors form an impression quickly, and hunting for a binder in three offices costs you more than a minor finding would.

Practical preparation

  • All records available in one place, indexed by module
  • The responsible person on site and not also running harvest that day
  • Staff who will be interviewed briefed honestly — not coached, briefed
  • Previous audit's corrective actions closed with evidence attached
  • A written answer ready for any gap you already know about

Saying "we identified that gap in our internal audit in June, here is what we did about it" is a much better outcome than the auditor discovering it themselves.

Keep reading

Go deeper on PrimusGFS

The PrimusGFS Modules

Module 1, 2 and 3 explained, and how to tell which ones apply to your operation.

Read the guide →

PrimusGFS Audit Checklist

A module-by-module readiness checklist you can work through before booking the audit.

Read the guide →

PrimusGFS HACCP Requirements

The Module 1 HACCP plan — the section most farms underestimate.

Read the guide →

Cost & Timeline

What drives the price and how long preparation realistically takes.

Read the guide →

PrimusGFS vs Harmonized GAP

Side by side: recognition, HACCP, scoring and who asks for which.

Read the guide →

What GFSI Recognition Means

Why buyers say 'GFSI' when they mean one of seven specific schemes.

Read the guide →
FAQ

Common questions

Is this the official PrimusGFS checklist?
No. The official question set is published by Azzule for the current version of the standard, and your certification body will confirm which version and scope apply to you. This page is a practical readiness aid built around the evidence farms most often struggle to produce.
How far ahead should I start working through it?
Most of these lines are records accumulated over a season rather than documents written in a week. If you are starting from scratch, plan on a full production period before the audit is worth booking.
What if I find a gap I cannot close in time?
Document it, record the corrective action you have started and be upfront about it. An open, managed gap reads very differently from one the auditor uncovers.

Turn the checklist into a live to-do list

GAP APP tracks each of these as readiness items and tells you what is missing or out of date.

Start Free →Try a mock audit

GAP APP provides audit-preparation tools and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or accredited by GFSI, Azzule Systems, SQFI, CanAgPlus, GLOBALG.A.P. or USDA. Certification decisions are made solely by accredited certification bodies and their auditors.