Certificate of Analysis - bakery co-packing finished cookies
I am needing some clarity in regards to COA requirements.
We are a bakery Co-packing finished cookies for another company.
The other company is now requiring us to provide COA's for every finished product lot they receive. (which im sure it's going to be costly)
below are some questions that I would appreciate some clarity and advice on.
1. Are there any method I can explain to them in order to not have to test every lot?
Maybe test one sample by Julian date and provide in process testing i.e ATP trend report?
2. Would it be up to them to list the analysis they need on the COA? Or can we follow our own finished product test policy?
3. Are there analysis that are required to be on the COA by regulatory body? Or link to COA guidance?
4. In general, what analysis is sufficient for cookie product?
Thank you in advance. Any guidance, advice and suggestions are appreciated.
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So basically, since they are your customer.......you either give them what you want (and build it into the cost) or you risk losing the business
However, perhaps the middle ground is that you do the COA of each lot until X # of lots test below maximum acceptable values at which time you reduce the frequency to once/week or once/ X # of batches
OR---you test a whole bunch of batches and then the COA is based on historical data when the product is produced under normal operating conditions.........
If they have specific requests, it is their product after all so you're going to have to test for what they want
In your position I'd ask if they want a CofA or a CofC, or if they actually care whether they receive one or the other - I've found with quite a few customers that they use the term "CofA" as a descriptor of "a piece of paper that shows the batch is in spec", and actually don't mind which type they receive.
Obviously you'll probably still need to be doing some testing to establish that you really are meeting the spec, in order to be able to substantiate the statement that a given batch conforms to spec.
Otherwise, as Scampi noted, they're the customer and customers are (apparently) always right. So it'll perhaps be a case of enquiring with them as to what parameters and test frequencies are required. If this has a cost, then let your colleagues in sales know - they may want to put the price up to cover the extra expense as otherwise it's basically coming out of their margins, and again this is something that can prompt a bit of thought from customers about whether they *really* need all of the analysis that they wanted when they thought you were going to pay for it ;)
Hi food safety team!
I am needing some clarity in regards to COA requirements.
We are a bakery Co-packing finished cookies for another company.
The other company is now requiring us to provide COA's for every finished product lot they receive. (which im sure it's going to be costly)
below are some questions that I would appreciate some clarity and advice on.
1. Are there any method I can explain to them in order to not have to test every lot?
Maybe test one sample by Julian date and provide in process testing i.e ATP trend report?
2. Would it be up to them to list the analysis they need on the COA? Or can we follow our own finished product test policy?
3. Are there analysis that are required to be on the COA by regulatory body? Or link to COA guidance?
4. In general, what analysis is sufficient for cookie product?
Thank you in advance. Any guidance, advice and suggestions are appreciated.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
IMEX (not baking) this is a not so unusual request..
As per Scampi, customers (unfortunately) have leverage. Often Companies have an internal Policy.
The cost obviously depends muchly on how many samples per lot and the number/specifics of required measurements. Some analyses are relatively cheap, some not.
IMEX this kind of contract tends to "promote" large batch sizes, eg 1day = 1 batch
I once had a supplier who implemented a 6-month batch size !