Unsure of SQF Food Sector Category
This might be my most embarrassing inquiry to date. :uhm: :blush:
We make RTE snack bars and bites that are extruded. We have some recipes which include cocoa powder and chocolate chips and most recipes include nuts and/or nut butter. In the case of our bites, we do toast the chopped nuts or coconut flakes used as coating on the bites for aesthetic purposes only; sometimes, we chop the nuts used for coating but are trying to move toward buying them both pre-chopped and pre-toasted.
I had read through the FSCs in SQF 7.2 (we're going for L2 certification) and concluded that FSC 13, Bakery and Snack Food Processing, applied to us most closely. As I started calling around to CBs to compare pricing and service, I had a couple people make the determination for me. One said we belong to FSC 17, Confectionery, and FSC 22, Processing of Cereal Grains and Nuts and another go with FSC 13 only.
I re-read the FSCs and discussed with another HACCP/SQF team member and we agreed that FSC 22 could apply to us because we presently do chop some of the nuts and toast all of those we are using for coating our bites. But neither of us could figure out how someone would get to FSC 17 for confectionery. The word, by definition, is sweets and candy and we produce neither of those items. While we do use cocoa and chocolate chips in our recipes, we do not process them in any way - there is no baking or other heat treatment or cold storage; all of our raw ingredients and our finished product are able to be stored at ambient temperature.
Based on the information I've provided, do any of you experts see that I'm missing anything or are we on the right track that 13 and 22 are appropriate for us?
Lastly, other than what modules of SQF are required, how does belonging to these FSCs really affect us? If we're following the code for each module, we're good to go, right?
As always, thank you guys!
~Emily~
PS. My SQF Practitioner training is coming up so hopefully I'll be able to bug you guys less with these types of questions! :clap:
I'm not sure if I'll be able to help you out.
As for category, I'm pretty sure that you can discuss with your CB which one applies most to you. You can tell them why you believe it would be this section or not.
Our company is actually in the process of being SQF certified for level 2. We are categorized as module 17. We manufacture chocolate candies. And we do also use peanuts. We were also told that we could be in bakery and nut production because of our recipe. And no, we don't bake, no oven, no heating. Just like your company, we can store product at room temperature.
Module 17 could be applicable because your bites are snacks. They are not really like a meal. Snack bar can be sweet treat.
I do think switching to pre-chopped and pre-toasted nut is a good idea. It would speed up the production and less area to control and clean.
Module 2 and 11 applies to everyone... depending on what else you do in your factory, more module can add up, for example packaging.
Well, at least, that's just my thoughts...
Module 13 sounds right also... as it's titled bakery and snack food processing.
As for module 22, it would try to switch your nuts and pre-prepared, so that you can avoid that category.
But like I said, discuss with CB why they would add and why you think it's no applicable. A lot of the category are no clear cut. So a good discussion with them will help you determine which category will fit your company best.
13 and maybe 22
FSCs are extremely important to know on the front end because of how they determine your modules. Most will fall under 2 & 11 but some will add others.