Building a Compliance Evidence Pack (SALSA / BRCGS) Without the Paper Chase

It's two weeks before your BRCGS audit. Your quality manager is buried in paperwork: batch records, HACCP logs, supplier certificates, cleaning schedules, training records. They're photocopying, highlighting, and assembling binders. Production is asking for sign-offs, but the quality manager is too busy preparing evidence packs.

This is the audit scramble. It happens every year. And it's completely avoidable.

Food safety standards like SALSA and BRCGS require comprehensive documentation. But "comprehensive" doesn't have to mean "chaotic." With the right digital systems, you can generate a complete evidence pack in 30 minutes—any time, for any audit, without disrupting production.

What Auditors Actually Want (and Why Paper Makes It Hard)

SALSA and BRCGS audits assess your ability to consistently produce safe food. Auditors verify this by examining your documented processes and records.

Core Evidence Requirements:

Traceability Records: Can you trace any batch from raw materials to finished product? Auditors will pick random batches and ask you to show the full ingredient chain, production logs, and customer dispatch records.

HACCP Evidence: Are your critical control points monitored consistently? Auditors want to see continuous temperature logs, CCP checks, corrective actions, and verification records—with no gaps.

Supplier Approval: Are your suppliers approved and monitored? You need supplier certificates, audit reports, risk assessments, and evidence of regular reviews.

Cleaning and Sanitation: Are hygiene procedures followed? Auditors need cleaning schedules, hygiene checks, ATP test results, and environmental monitoring records.

Training Records: Is your team competent? You need training matrices, attendance records, competency assessments, and refresher training logs.

Non-Conformance Management: When things go wrong, how do you respond? Auditors want to see incident reports, root cause analyses, corrective actions, and verification that the issue was resolved.

In a paper-based operation, each of these evidence categories lives in a different place: filing cabinets, spreadsheets, email inboxes, and production supervisor notebooks. Assembling them takes days—and you always find gaps.

The Paper Audit Prep Timeline

Here's what audit preparation looks like in a traditional paper-based operation:

Week 3 Before Audit: Initial Document Gathering (8-12 hours) The quality manager starts pulling records from filing cabinets. They create a checklist of required evidence and begin collecting batch sheets, supplier certificates, and HACCP logs. Some records are missing or incomplete.

Week 2 Before Audit: Gap Filling (10-16 hours) The quality manager identifies missing records and chases down production supervisors, warehouse staff, and purchasing managers. Some records are in email inboxes. Some are handwritten notes. Some are missing entirely.

Week 1 Before Audit: Assembly and Review (12-20 hours) The quality manager photocopies, highlights, and organizes records into binders. They cross-check batch records against ingredient receipts, verify HACCP logs against production schedules, and assemble traceability chains. They find inconsistencies and illegible entries.

Day Before Audit: Final Checks (4-6 hours) The quality manager reviews the assembled evidence one last time, looking for gaps. They print last-minute documents and prepare explanations for any missing or incomplete records. Production is running behind because the quality manager has been too busy preparing for the audit.

Total Audit Prep Time: 34-54 hours spread over three weeks.

Total Cost: Lost productivity, production delays, and the ever-present risk of non-conformances due to incomplete records.

The Digital Audit Prep Timeline

Now here's the same audit preparation in a digitally-managed operation:

Day Before Audit: Generate Evidence Pack (30 minutes) The quality manager logs into the traceability platform and selects "Generate Audit Evidence Pack." They specify the audit type (SALSA or BRCGS) and the date range (typically 3-12 months). The system automatically compiles:

• Traceability records for randomly selected batches
• HACCP logs with no gaps or missing signatures
• Supplier certificates and approval documentation
• Cleaning schedules and hygiene check records
• Training matrices and competency assessments
• Non-conformance reports and corrective actions

The system exports the evidence pack as a searchable PDF with an auto-generated index. The quality manager reviews it, confirms completeness, and saves it for the auditor.

Total Audit Prep Time: 30 minutes.

Total Cost: Minimal. Production continues without interruption. The quality manager spends their time improving processes instead of chasing paperwork.

What Makes Digital Evidence Packs Audit-Ready

The difference isn't just speed—it's reliability. Digital systems ensure your evidence is complete, accurate, and audit-ready at all times.

1. Continuous Validation When a HACCP check is recorded digitally, the system validates that all required fields are completed. If a production supervisor skips a temperature reading, the system won't let them proceed. This eliminates the data gaps that cause non-conformances.

2. Automatic Linking When a batch is produced, the system automatically links it to ingredient lots, HACCP checks, cleaning records, and production staff training. Auditors can see the full context of every batch without you having to manually cross-reference spreadsheets.

3. Version Control When you update a form or procedure, the system timestamps the change and maintains a version history. Auditors can see exactly which version was in use during any time period—no more confusion about whether teams were using outdated forms.

4. Instant Search If an auditor asks to see records for Batch #5472, you search for it and pull up the complete evidence chain in seconds. With paper records, the same task takes 10-20 minutes of hunting through binders.

5. No Retroactive Edits Digital records are timestamped and cannot be altered after submission. This provides auditors with confidence that your records are genuine—not hastily assembled before the audit.

Real-World Example: SALSA Audit Preparation

A UK prepared foods manufacturer was preparing for their annual SALSA audit. They had been using paper-based records for years, and audit prep always took 2-3 weeks.

Before Tracesavvy: The quality manager spent 40+ hours assembling evidence. They found gaps in HACCP logs where temperature checks had been recorded on loose paper and subsequently lost. They had to reconstruct traceability chains by cross-referencing handwritten batch sheets with delivery notes. The audit identified two minor non-conformances related to incomplete records.

After Tracesavvy: The quality manager generated a complete evidence pack in 25 minutes. All HACCP logs were complete and digitally timestamped. Traceability chains were automatically compiled. The auditor praised the quality of the documentation and found zero non-conformances related to record-keeping.

Result: The manufacturer achieved their highest SALSA score to date. The quality manager now spends their time on proactive improvements instead of audit prep.

Building an Evidence Pack: Step-by-Step

Here's how digital evidence pack generation works in practice:

Step 1: Define the Scope Select the audit standard (SALSA, BRCGS, organic, Kosher, etc.) and the date range. The system knows which evidence is required for each standard.

Step 2: Automatic Compilation The system pulls all relevant records: - Batch production logs with full traceability - HACCP monitoring records - Supplier certificates and approval documents - Cleaning and sanitation logs - Training records for all staff involved in production - Internal audit reports and corrective actions

Step 3: Gap Identification The system flags any missing or incomplete records. For example, if a supplier certificate has expired, the system alerts you so you can request an updated certificate before the audit.

Step 4: Evidence Formatting The system formats the evidence pack according to audit requirements. For BRCGS, it organizes evidence by the nine modules. For SALSA, it aligns with the four pillars. The evidence pack includes an auto-generated index for easy navigation.

Step 5: Export and Review You export the evidence pack as a PDF. Review it for completeness, add any supplementary documents (like process flowcharts or site maps), and save it for the auditor.

The entire process takes 30 minutes—and you can generate updated evidence packs any time, without disrupting production.

Beyond Audits: Continuous Compliance

Audit-ready evidence packs aren't just for annual audits. They're valuable year-round:

Customer Audits: When a customer requests a supplier audit, you generate their evidence pack in minutes instead of scrambling to assemble records.

Internal Audits: Your internal audit program becomes more rigorous because you can easily review random samples of records every month.

Regulatory Inspections: If environmental health or the Food Standards Agency conducts an unannounced inspection, you're always ready with complete, accurate records.

Certification Renewals: When your certification body requests evidence for renewal, you send it immediately—no delays, no excuses.

Digital evidence packs turn compliance from a periodic scramble into a continuous state of readiness.

Common Concerns (and How to Address Them)

"Our auditor prefers paper." Auditors care about evidence quality, not format. Modern auditors increasingly prefer digital evidence because it's easier to search and verify. But if your auditor prefers paper, you can print the digital evidence pack—it's still faster than assembling paper records manually.

"We've always done it this way." Traditional audit prep works—but it's inefficient. The question isn't whether paper-based prep is possible, it's whether it's the best use of your quality manager's time. Most manufacturers find that switching to digital evidence packs frees up 30-50 hours per year for higher-value work.

"What if we're audited during a system outage?" Cloud-based platforms maintain 99.9%+ uptime. But even if the system is briefly unavailable, you can export evidence packs in advance and keep them saved locally. You can also print key records as a backup. In practice, digital systems have more reliability than paper systems (which are vulnerable to filing errors, lost documents, and illegible handwriting).

Getting Started

You don't need to digitise everything before your next audit. Start with the highest-priority evidence categories:

Phase 1: Digitise HACCP Logs HACCP records are the most frequently scrutinized during audits. Digitising them first ensures you have complete, gap-free monitoring records.

Phase 2: Link Batch Records Connect batch production logs to HACCP records. Now every batch automatically includes the HACCP evidence from that shift.

Phase 3: Add Supplier Documentation Store supplier certificates and approval documents digitally. Link them to incoming ingredient lots so you can instantly show which supplier provided which ingredient.

Phase 4: Connect Training Records Digitise training matrices and link them to production staff. Now you can instantly show which trained staff worked on which batches.

Once these four categories are digitised, you can generate a comprehensive evidence pack in minutes.

The Business Case

The ROI calculation for audit-ready evidence packs is simple:

Cost of Manual Audit Prep: 40-60 hours per year at £25-50/hour = £1,000-3,000/year in quality manager time alone.

Cost of Non-Conformances: A single minor non-conformance can delay certification, require follow-up audits, and cost £500-2,000 in additional fees.

Cost of Lost Customers: If a customer audit reveals poor record-keeping, you risk losing that customer. One lost contract can cost tens of thousands of pounds per year.

Cost of Digital Traceability: Cloud-based platforms start at a few hundred pounds per month. Even at £300/month (£3,600/year), the system pays for itself through time savings alone—before factoring in reduced non-conformances and improved customer confidence.

For most UK food manufacturers, digital evidence packs deliver positive ROI within 6-12 months.

Ready for Your Next Audit?

SALSA and BRCGS audits don't have to be stressful. With digital traceability and evidence pack generation, you're always audit-ready—whether it's an announced audit, an unannounced inspection, or a customer supplier evaluation.

Tracesavvy makes evidence pack generation simple. The platform continuously captures HACCP logs, batch records, supplier documentation, and training records—then compiles them into audit-ready evidence packs in minutes.

Want to see how it works for your operation? [Get in touch](/contact) and we'll show you how to generate your first evidence pack using your own data.