SQF - Raw Material Specifications - AGREED UPON, Signature Required?
We use approximately 200 different raw materials.
In SQF level 3, 2.4.5.Incoming Goods and Services 4 I. Agreed Specifications are a requirement.
1) Do we need to develop our own specifications, on our company letterhead, and have the supplier/manufacturer sign off on "our specification" -- which we generally develop directly from the manufacturer's spec - in essence we copy their spec onto our format then ask them to sign it
OR
2) Can our company sign and date the specification provided by the manufacturer of the raw material, return a copy to the manufacturer, file this as our agreed specification and verify the COA that is sent with every shipment against the manufacturers specification?
AND
3) If a Broker supplies a specification on their letterhead, can we sign, file this and verify the COA received with very shipment against the Broker's Specification?
IS there a requirement in SQF for a company to develop their own RAW MATERIAL specification on the company's letterhead.
My question extends to packaging and labels also.
Finished good, for sure, raw material is what I am looking at here.
Short answer: No. As long as they are specifications you agree to, you do not need your raw ingredient specs on your letterhead.
I too agree with Setanta.
Dear GIH,
Perhaps it depends on SQF phraseology which I haven't studied but in all my non-SQF audits, every auditor has invariably required to see My Company's Purchasing Specifications (co-signed) for raw materials. So No.1.
So i guess i disagree in principle with previous responses.
The other items mentioned are a different situation again, for obvious reasons, eg foreign languages, legislation at destination, etc., etc
Rgds / Charles.C
We use approximately 200 different raw materials.
In SQF level 3, 2.4.5.Incoming Goods and Services 4 I. Agreed Specifications are a requirement.
1) Do we need to develop our own specifications, on our company letterhead, and have the supplier/manufacturer sign off on "our specification" -- which we generally develop directly from the manufacturer's spec - in essence we copy their spec onto our format then ask them to sign it
OR
2) Can our company sign and date the specification provided by the manufacturer of the raw material, return a copy to the manufacturer, file this as our agreed specification and verify the COA that is sent with every shipment against the manufacturers specification?
AND
3) If a Broker supplies a specification on their letterhead, can we sign, file this and verify the COA received with very shipment against the Broker's Specification?
IS there a requirement in SQF for a company to develop their own RAW MATERIAL specification on the company's letterhead.
My question extends to packaging and labels also.
Finished good, for sure, raw material is what I am looking at here.
As long as they are current and you have agreed them (you & customer signed) they can be in any format as long as they are adequate in specifying food safety requirements.
Regards,
Tony
Funny we just went through our SQF re-certification audit, finishing it yesterday, and this topic arose during the process. What I understand from our discussions on this is that as long as you control the document it does not have to be on your letter-head. You can use the vendors spec as your spec as long as it fits your requirements, but you need to show proof of control of that document. that is the most important thing. If you cannot verify control, it does not matter if you use the vendor spec or put it on your own letterhead. Proving document control is very simple though, which is the good news. Control can be as simple as signing and dating the document or utilizing an "approval" stamp and sign and date. As long as you can show control of that document it does not matter what format it is in. You can even maintain them electronically as long as you keep them locked and limit who has editing powers with them. Hope that helps.
PS: YES!!! We passed our audit!
Hi,
we do not have SQF, but we have specification of raw materials on own letterhead. Why we do this?
We want to have signed docs. These docs include much more things normally included in a supplier spec with respect to Allergens, GMO, our own quality policy, packaging details etc.
Rgds
moskito
Funny we just went through our SQF re-certification audit, finishing it yesterday, and this topic arose during the process.
PS: YES!!! We passed our audit!
Congratulations Jus'me :beer:
Any issues/non-conformities?
Regards,
Tony
Funny we just went through our SQF re-certification audit, finishing it yesterday, and this topic arose during the process. What I understand from our discussions on this is that as long as you control the document it does not have to be on your letter-head. You can use the vendors spec as your spec as long as it fits your requirements, but you need to show proof of control of that document. that is the most important thing. If you cannot verify control, it does not matter if you use the vendor spec or put it on your own letterhead. Proving document control is very simple though, which is the good news. Control can be as simple as signing and dating the document or utilizing an "approval" stamp and sign and date. As long as you can show control of that document it does not matter what format it is in. You can even maintain them electronically as long as you keep them locked and limit who has editing powers with them. Hope that helps.
PS: YES!!! We passed our audit!
Dear Jus'me,
Congratulations from me also. :thumbup:
I deduce from yr "discussion" that this issue is not exactly a "home run". It looks suspiciously to me like another potential SQF auditor variable in-the-waiting. :smile:
Rgds / Charles.C
I keep all our raw material specifications in a master document list detailing which vendor it is from and when I've received it. I will ask the supplier to update them annually (I schedule these in outlook so I don't forget.)
Good luck!