3 replies to this topic

[Estrellita3]

Dear all,

 

Can somebody help me. My process in lettuce has 7 days shelf life. How long do I need to keep my paperwork?

 

Thank you.

[Quality Is the Goal]

Hello,

 

It will depends if there is any government regulations in Your country for record keeping, also what company procedures say, what Your customers requiring? 

 

I get non-compliance on the SQF Audit for not describing the exact time for document retention.

 

I was not able to find any regulatory documentation about document retention, company accounting procedures did not cover production documentation, the customers did not request any specifics for document retention so i base my procedure on the shelf life of the product, the shelf life of my product is 7 years from the day of production, so i keep all the documentation for 7 years and then it will be destroyed. My respond was accepted by the auditor.

 

Look for regulatory requirements, check if there is any customer requirements and then You will be able to determine the document retention. If You can not find any support documentation then write the procedure, for example shelf life of the product is 7 days, so document retention will be 3 month from the day of packing. That how i would do, but im not an expert, just sharing my opinion.

 

Thank You,

 

Quality Is The Goal

[redfox]

 

 

3.3.2

 

 

 

Records shall be retained for a defined period with consideration given to:

 

• any legal or customer requirements
• the shelf life of the product.

 

This shall take into account, where it is specified on the label, the possibility that shelf life may be extended by the consumer (e.g. by freezing).

As a minimum, records shall be retained for the shelf life of the product plus 12 months.

 

 

Hello,

 

This is BRC7 clause 3.3.2.

 

regards,

redfox

[mgourley]

It all depends on any legal requirements and the requirements of the food safety standard you may be certificated to.

 

As Redfox says, BRC requires shelf life + 12 months.
For those subject to PCHF/FSMA, records are required to be maintained for two years.

 

Marshall