The new Poultry Scheme audit cycle
In this section we explain what the new assessment cycle looks like, and the principles behind them.
Audits will be a mixture of both physical and remote audits. Between mid-November and until mid-April, audits may have to be conducted via remote off-site audits to reduce the risk of HPAI transmission between farms. This will of course vary by factors such as geography and severity of outbreak (see figure 1 illustrating typical HPAI risk over 12 months).
Taking HPAI high-risk months into account, the new audit cycle will ensure that all members of the scheme are audited at least twice in a 24-month period, with at least one of those audits being conducted physically on farm. The aim is for these to be conducted as much as possible within the Green Period, however, the sector board have also agreed that where necessary, on-farm audits can be conducted on-farm within the Red Period, under certain conditions, such as within the last 72 hour period before depopulation, or where assessors do not enter the bird area for scenarios where flocks are due to be depopulated, such as parent stock, or seasonal turkey.
Each year will be different
Under the new cycle for assessment, members should not expect an audit at the same point every year, as there will not be a consistent average time between audits. Under the new audit cycle, your certification body will ensure that the maximum interval between audits should be no more than 21 months, and the minimum between audits will be 6 months. This will be informed by the type of audit you need to have, which your Certification Body will inform you of.
Flexibility of Audit Interval: The audit cycle structure prioritises flexibly over regularity of assessments, to allow the right type of assessment to take place.
Flexibility of Audit Type: Assessments can be carried out in the form of both physical and remote audits. The default cycle of audit type will alternate between an on-farm one year and an off-farm remote audit in the next. However, the Certification Bodies will be balancing several factors, including the farm’s compliance history in determining the appropriate audit type for your farm.
Biosecurity: The change, especially industry agreement to allow on-farm assessments to go ahead during periods when stringent biosecurity measures and potential housing orders are put in place, will enable all poultry schemes to meet the requirement of one physical audit in every 21 months.
Consumer confidence: No farm will go without a physical audit for more than 21 months as a minimum. Members with high number of nonconformances can still expect to receive additional unannounced spot checks as part of Red Tractor’s commitment to improving compliance.
