Podcast 5 – An Exciting and Evolving Audit Function With Patrick Koenig

Our interest in learning from other sectors comes from a question: if food safety is a public health field, why not learn from industries like aviation that manage life-critical risks daily? Gaining knowledge from an industry with established auditing practices improves our judgment and recognizes food safety auditing as a crucial safety discipline, comparable to those in the most demanding industries.

Internal quality and food safety audits generate extensive data, but only some of it influences board decisions. When reports focus on findings and compliance, they serve as operational updates rather than governance tools. Boards care about vulnerabilities, potential consequences, and risk trends. Framing audit results around these concerns shifts them toward what they should be.

Organizations often view audit numbers as proof of quality and food safety oversight. Internal audits are conducted, suppliers are assessed, and certification bodies report regularly. Yet serious failures still occur. This highlights an important issue: audit amounts are often mistaken for assurance. More audits do not automatically make systems stronger; coherent audits do. The key is whether audits, collectively, reveal what the organization truly needs to know.