Jump to content

  • Quick Navigation
Photo

Brand owners will not share raw material details

Share this

  • You cannot start a new topic
  • Please log in to reply
6 replies to this topic

lurah11

    Grade - Active

  • IFSQN Active
  • 5 posts
  • 2 thanks
1
Neutral

  • Indonesia
    Indonesia

Posted 12 May 2017 - 08:26 AM

Dear all, 

 

I am newbie in food Industry. Right now, i am working at toll manufacturing beverage industry ( we produce other company's brand and sell to them). When i came to this company, the top management and customer (brand owner) make a contract that all raw materials are the secret of brand owner. So, the brand owner always re-label and rename the raw materials. In other word, we dont have any idea about that raw materials.

 

Now, i have to deal with HACCP. In hazard analysis of materials, i cant do anything except for material which are common (like tea leaves, sugar ).  

We try to ask them to provide the data, but they decline our request (even though we only ask about the chemical and biological characteristics, not name and supplier of materials ).

 

 

 

This year also the first time our company plan to apply for FSSC 22000. 

 

Does anyone has same problem with me? How do you overcome this problem?



Scampi

    Fellow

  • IFSQN Fellow
  • 5,444 posts
  • 1507 thanks
1,524
Excellent

  • Canada
    Canada
  • Gender:Not Telling

Posted 12 May 2017 - 12:28 PM

Can you elaborate on how your raw materials are labelled when they arrive?

 

Are you actually "selling" the product back or are you simply being paid to manufacture?  This may have an impact on your requirement


Please stop referring to me as Sir/sirs


Thanked by 1 Member:

QAGB

    Grade - PIFSQN

  • IFSQN Principal
  • 685 posts
  • 262 thanks
115
Excellent

  • Earth
    Earth

Posted 12 May 2017 - 01:18 PM

Dear all, 

 

I am newbie in food Industry. Right now, i am working at toll manufacturing beverage industry ( we produce other company's brand and sell to them). When i came to this company, the top management and customer (brand owner) make a contract that all raw materials are the secret of brand owner. So, the brand owner always re-label and rename the raw materials. In other word, we dont have any idea about that raw materials.

 

Now, i have to deal with HACCP. In hazard analysis of materials, i cant do anything except for material which are common (like tea leaves, sugar ).  

We try to ask them to provide the data, but they decline our request (even though we only ask about the chemical and biological characteristics, not name and supplier of materials ).

 

 

 

This year also the first time our company plan to apply for FSSC 22000. 

 

Does anyone has same problem with me? How do you overcome this problem?

 

 

Hi Lurah11,

 

That's a tough one. I know that GFSI has started moving towards making it known the last manufacturer of a given material, especially if you're getting from a broker or distributor. We don't often run into this issue, but even if the vendor won't tell you who the manufacturer of the material is, they should be able to provide you with information at the very least on their own vendor letterhead. That way you get the information you need, without them actually disclosing where they get the material from. It really should be your right to have information about product you use in your facility.

 

 

QAGB



Thanked by 1 Member:

FurFarmandFork

    Food Safety Consultant, Production Supervisor

  • IFSQN Fellow
  • 1,264 posts
  • 590 thanks
206
Excellent

  • United States
    United States
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Oregon, USA

Posted 12 May 2017 - 02:49 PM

At minimum, maybe have them do a blinded specification that just contains pertinent food safety information such as:

 

Is this shelf stable

What is the shelf life

Is it free of allergens or have any allergens

Does the supplier guarantee it to be pathogen free


Austin Bouck
Owner/Consultant at Fur, Farm, and Fork.
Consulting for companies needing effective, lean food safety systems and solutions.

Subscribe to the blog at furfarmandfork.com for food safety research, insights, and analysis.

Thanked by 1 Member:

lurah11

    Grade - Active

  • IFSQN Active
  • 5 posts
  • 2 thanks
1
Neutral

  • Indonesia
    Indonesia

Posted 16 May 2017 - 07:01 AM

Dear all, thanks for the reply : 

 

To Scampi : 

 

We sell back the products to brand owner, the product distribution will be handled by brand owner 

 

To QAGB and FurFarmandFork : 

 

Yeah, i try to ask this blinded specification, but they reply " we will guarantee the compliance of our raw materials using statement letter ". Do you think this kind of letter gonna work at FSSC 22000 audit? 

 

Thank you very much

 

Rgds

Lurah11



QAGB

    Grade - PIFSQN

  • IFSQN Principal
  • 685 posts
  • 262 thanks
115
Excellent

  • Earth
    Earth

Posted 16 May 2017 - 11:48 AM

Dear all, thanks for the reply : 

 

To Scampi : 

 

We sell back the products to brand owner, the product distribution will be handled by brand owner 

 

To QAGB and FurFarmandFork : 

 

Yeah, i try to ask this blinded specification, but they reply " we will guarantee the compliance of our raw materials using statement letter ". Do you think this kind of letter gonna work at FSSC 22000 audit? 

 

Thank you very much

 

Rgds

Lurah11

 

 

Hi Lurah,

 

I can't really speak for FSSC 22000, but being that it is also a GFSI standard, I find it somewhat difficult to fathom the Letter of Guarantee alone would suffice. 

 

QAGB



beadle

    Grade - AIFSQN

  • IFSQN Associate
  • 29 posts
  • 43 thanks
2
Neutral

  • United Kingdom
    United Kingdom
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Colchester

Posted 16 May 2017 - 03:18 PM

Hi,

 

I would say if you are producing for your customer and are not purchasing the material itself your supplier of the material (brand owners) have to make sure they are buying the correct material.

 

You are effectively only packing their material and as such the onus is on them as a company to make sure the product complies, as long as you have specifications/HACCP in place.

 

Regarding your HACCP onsite, you must only be able to carry out HACCP against your process and as you have little information regarding the product - this would be added as a prerequisite on your flow from your brand owner.

 

Otherwise add a mention in your Scope of the HACCP or supplier approval that the fact due to the nature of the business and confidentiality that you cannot have this information, but suppliers used are approved by brand owner and are (audited/ approved, how ever they are approved)

 

another option I have seen some companies instead of giving names to suppliers they give numbers - they do not tell the customer the name but the number and keep the confidential numbering system to them selves, at least then you will have traceability link from yourselves to brand customer.

 

Hope this makes sense.

 

Regards

 

Chris


Regards

 

Chris


Thanked by 1 Member:


Share this


0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users