SQF Practitioner in Winery - Vintage

Hello!

I am the nominated SQF Practitioner at a winery in the south west of Western Australia. We are a small operation and therefore I currently I work 2 days a week. We also have our bottling manager who is HACCP trained as a back up SQF practitioner for when I am not on site.  Talking to our audit provider this is sufficient under the code.

That said, each year during vintage (2-3 mths) we become a 24hr operation in the winery (not bottling).  Is there anyone here who also works in a winery who would be willing to share how they manage SQF practitioner coverage during vintage?

Thanks in advance !

Lisa,

I'm not entirely sure I understand the question..  An SQF Practitioner is not required to be on duty at all times that the plant is producing.  I would think you'd be verifying the paperwork generated when you're not there the next day so there should be no problems.  

agreed...........and don't let your boss insist you are there 24/7 during production..............there are shift supervisors etc that should all be trained and the program implemented....SQFP  is required for the implementation and maintenance of the program regardless of size of operations (I too am at a seasonal facility)

Thank you for your input.

This was my interpretation however some comments from our Auditor around having multiple SQF practitioners to cover shifts lead me to seek clarification.

Thanks again!

In any sop, if it states "must be completed by the QA manager/SQF practitioner" add the awesomely helpful language "or designee".

You can deputize anyone, the sqf practitioner just needs to be a full time employee.

Great tip FFF!  As to the 'multiple SQF practitioners' argument, I think it is a very good idea for the company to have 2 certified practitioners.  What if you get sick (extended time off) or find a new job?  What if you're on vacation the day the auditor shows up?  In a bigger company, it's not so bad but in a small company when you're the only one dealing with this on a day to day basis, it becomes increasingly difficult.