I share Glenn's view to an extent - seem to encounter more "hiding things from prying eyes" style exclusions than legitimate ones.
Not entirely obvious what "despatch" actually means.
It could imply exclusion of clause 4.16. ??
And could have Traceability ramifications. ?? (eg 9.5.2)
I'd be fascinated to know how it works with regard to 4.16. Irrespective of the actual impact I think the exclusion is worded very poorly, and the auditor (and the review team back at the cert body) should have picked up on how fantastically ambiguous it is!
9.5.2 is only applicable for traded goods - 3.9.3 would be the equivalent clause in the main part of the standard. It's worded slightly differently, but the IG is clear that this should be audited via a test exercise to include dispatch. I'd find it odd if they could exclude any part of this, as really it's just a detailed way of covering what are largely formal legal obligations for any food business in the EU, as per Article 18 of Regulation (EU) 178/2002.
Overall I'd say the author of that exclusion deserves 1/10. The words are legible and form a sentence of sorts, but the meaning is surely too vague to actually be useful!
Edited by pHruit, 14 March 2020 - 04:14 PM.