Do Finished Food Contact Materials need to be stored separately?
Morning All,
I have been in Food Manufacturing over 14 + years; Now I'm in the food packaging world. Food Contact Packaging & Regular non-food Packaging. I just have a question about storage of such items. Can finish product ( food contact ) be stored in / on / below / or above the same shelf / rack with in coming raw material that has not been converted & Non-Food packaging? Or does these items need to be stored separate?
We are in the process of seeking, SQF level 2 certification.
Thank you,
Standard practice would be to have any non-food contact stuff stored away from food contact items finished or unfinished. They may not be manufactured in a food safe way. Away being, in my mind, a different rack.
Mr. Incognito,
Thank you for your rapid response. I'm also from Western New York ( Buffalo )
Ah that's cool I'm only about 30-40 minutes to the east right near Rochester.
Ah!!! very cool...first time around in manufacturing of Food Contact Packaging. Thanks for your help... keep in touch...
Morning All,
I have been in Food Manufacturing over 14 + years; Now I'm in the food packaging world. Food Contact Packaging & Regular non-food Packaging. I just have a question about storage of such items. Can finish product ( food contact ) be stored in / on / below / or above the same shelf / rack with in coming raw material that has not been converted & Non-Food packaging? Or does these items need to be stored separate?
We are in the process of seeking, SQF level 2 certification.
Thank you,
:welcome: NoahChris97
Please refer to part 11.7 Separation of Function of SQF
11.7.1.1 The process flow shall be designed to prevent cross contamination and organized so there is a continuous flow of product through the process. The flow of personnel shall be managed such that the potential for contamination is minimized.
Just note that packaging doesn't follow Module 11 - they use Module 13. However - the wording is the same. Bottom line is that the code does not specify the exact segregation requirements. The company should design the system to minimize risk. If you have concerns, others will too! Recognize that and conduct a risk assessment. You will find that either you can logically defend your practices by showing they are effective - or you may discover that you should improve. The code really is based on risk.
I work for a company that produces food contact packaging. We recently acquired SQF Level 2 certification. We faced the same issue - SQF code talks about storing raw materials separately from finished goods.
We interpreted this as not letting raw materials contaminate finished goods. For example, raw eggs breaking and contaminating baked goods.
Our risk analysis states that film or resin will not contaminate our finished goods (plastic film packaging). Nothing will transfer from raw materials to finished goods if both are contained properly. Therefore we do not require film or resin to be stored separately from finished goods. However, we do store inks, solvents, etc. separately since they could be a contaminant in the case of a spill.
I concur with CMHeywood. I also work in food packaging and we wrote a similar risk assessment as long as materials are packaged to prevent contamination (i.e. dust, etc.), we do not distinguish storage areas between raw materials, WIP, and finished goods.