Country of Origin/ Formula Range % per ingredient

Hi everybody!

Recently I have been receiving numerous questionnaires from customers requesting my company to provide a document that lists each ingredient that can be found in our final product, along with the country of origin for each ingredient, and the % of that ingredient in the final product. I am assuming this is because of our customers wanting to do raw material risk assessments? Is this a GFSI required thing?

We are a bulk-foods manufacturer and are not yet GSFI certified. 

My questions are: 

1. Is this a GFSI requirement?

2. Are you currently sending back all of this information to your customers or are you arguing that this information is proprietary?

- Some of our suppliers have played the proprietary card so it's making it difficult for us to turn around and give our customers COO information per ingredient.

3. If you aren't filling out these questionnaires, is there a statement that you send out stating why you are unable to do so at this time? 

On the flip side.. if you are a manufacturer that HAS sent out these questionnaires I would love to hear what your company has done when suppliers tell you they cannot release that information. (ex. find a new supplier, make them a high risk raw material supplier, etc.)

This is all new to me so any information you can give would be great ( from either side of the fence)!  Thank you!!

Hi QAMgr,

Yr product / customers are unspecified so this comment is speculative  but the inquiries might just possibly be related to the recent horsemeat / traceability / food fraud drama and  consequential public / regulatory interests?..

And it is correct that GFSI have issued viewpoints on this topic / context. Along with various FS Standards, Regulatory Bodies, manufacturers, distributors. And consumers..

SQF does not for Level 2 (food safety)