3 replies to this topic

[QATim]

If you have a contract with a different company to produce products with your companies branded label on it are they required to be SQF certified? We feel that regardless of the code they should but are facing pushback. We have the following situations:

• Plant A takes a bulk form of our product and packages it into our retail containers that are the same products we package at both our facilities that are being required by a customer to be SQF certified.
• Plant B makes completely different products from our two facilities but have our label on them.
• Plant C uses their own ingredients but packages using our label and pays us some fee for using our brand name.

Sorry if this is a silly question or not clear.

[SQFconsultant]

If you have a contract with a different company to produce products with your companies branded label on it are they required to be SQF certified? We feel that regardless of the code they should but are facing pushback. We have the following situations:

• Plant A takes a bulk form of our product and packages it into our retail containers that are the same products we package at both our facilities that are being required by a customer to be SQF certified.
• Plant B makes completely different products from our two facilities but have our label on them.
• Plant C uses their own ingredients but packages using our label and pays us some fee for using our brand name.

Sorry if this is a silly question or not clear.
-------------------

Hi Tim,

Not a silly question at all.

There is no requirement that your contract manufacturer be SQF certified. You may of course make that a requirement as part of your contact agreement with them.

[MQA]

It really is a loop hole when contract manufacturers are not required to have the same certification as yourself, particularly when they are using your brand. It is a risk to your business if their safety and quality standards are lower than your business.

As you would know being SQF certified yourself, SQF does have a Contract Manufacturing section. I suppose as long as they abide by that policy and have a sufficient HACCP program in place, there is a a level of confidence that can be counted upon.

[HACCP Mentor]

From another angle....if your customer requires that any of your 'contracted manufacturing' is only to be undertaken by a company that has similar certification, it would then have to be the case. One of the requirements by a major retailer in Australia states that any business that sub-contracts any part of the manufacturing process must also be certified to their base standard. Aside from this, it makes good busienss sense and good risk management to ensure that any of your sub-contracted manufacturing businesses have adequate and verifiable procedures in place to produce safe, quality food.