Can the SQF practitioner sign off the SQF policies?
Can the SQF practitioner sign off the SQF policies? or does the highest member ( president) need to?
Great question! I work for a small company and wear many hats. I am the sole practitioner and PCQI here and sign off on all documents, policies, SOPs and create all training for the food safety system. I'm looking forward to a response on this for verification.
I've never had "management" sign off on anything except for the management commitment and the food safety plan (super high level, no real detail) and CCP portions
The company I work for has created a SQF team comprising of the company president, plant manager, SQF practitioner and HR manager along with our SQF consultant. When documents are created, I pass them by the SQF team for approval during our monthly meetings. At times it feels tedious to get the documentation approved, but it is a good practice for involving upper management in decisions made by the SQF Practitioner.
But that's just our practice and there are definitely more than one way of doing things.
SQF version 8 :
Part A 1.5 Designate an SQF Practitioner
Whether or not an SQF consultant is used, the SQF Food Safety Code for Manufacturing requires that every site has a suitably qualified SQF practitioner to oversee the development, implementation, review and maintenance of the SQF System, including the Good Manufacturing Practices and food safety plans. The requirements for an SQF practitioner are described in the system elements, 2.1.2.4 and 2.1.2.5. Some sites may choose to have more than one SQF practitioner to meet shift and operational requirements.
The way I interpret this, it is pretty much the responsibility of the SQF Practitioner to sign off policies about the GMP's and Food safety plans.
Plus there is Part B 2.1 Management Commitment that essentially boil down to: you either are management or management has to give you legitimacy and authority to ensure you do your job properly.
Most SQF Practitioners sign off on paperwork, sometimes however internal policy requires a an additional signature by president, owners, etc.
Remember with FSMA the Senior Person need to sign the Food Safety Plan. I am also the SQF Practitioner and the PCQI. The Food Safety Plan I have the President, Vice President, Production Manager and SQF Practitioner/PCQI sign off.