6 replies to this topic

[Chippy]

I have been asked by a customer to be RSPO Supply Chain Certified. I read the RSPO.org and contacted all my vendors for their certifications. But beyond that I am not sure how to go about writing up a policy or what really I am looking at in regards to making it work.
I asked a consultant we work with and he didn't think he had enough expertise to help with RSPOs, but was going to ask his associates if anyone was able to help.
The customer sent a proposal from a CB (the same cost as our CB quoted) and also said they thought that it would take approximately 28 hours per week to maintain.
Does anyone have any input on how to set this up?
We are a small wholesale bakery, but sell throughout the US. (if that helps)

[SQFconsultant]

I have been asked by a customer to be RSPO Supply Chain Certified. I read the RSPO.org and contacted all my vendors for their certifications. But beyond that I am not sure how to go about writing up a policy or what really I am looking at in regards to making it work.
I asked a consultant we work with and he didn't think he had enough expertise to help with RSPOs, but was going to ask his associates if anyone was able to help.
The customer sent a proposal from a CB (the same cost as our CB quoted)and also said they thought that it would take approximately 28 hours per week to maintain.
Does anyone have any input on how to set this up?
We are a small wholesale bakery, but sell throughout the US. (if that helps)

 

We've been involved with RSPO in Costa Rica while we were there and provide assistance on it.

 

If I understand correctly, your company is NOT a processor but use this as an ingredient - I am not sure why your customer wants your company to get certified (edit... I think I found why.)

 

So, you contacted all of your suppliers and got what kind of certifications? Were you asking for RSPO certs or something else?

 

28 hours of admin a week? No way.

Edited by SQFconsultant, 11 September 2020 - 07:46 PM.

[yeong99]

I have been asked by a customer to be RSPO Supply Chain Certified. I read the RSPO.org and contacted all my vendors for their certifications. But beyond that I am not sure how to go about writing up a policy or what really I am looking at in regards to making it work.
I asked a consultant we work with and he didn't think he had enough expertise to help with RSPOs, but was going to ask his associates if anyone was able to help.
The customer sent a proposal from a CB (the same cost as our CB quoted) and also said they thought that it would take approximately 28 hours per week to maintain.
Does anyone have any input on how to set this up?
We are a small wholesale bakery, but sell throughout the US. (if that helps)

 

by referring the below quote:

RSPO members who are retailers or food service companies can apply for an RSPO Trademark license for use in business to consumer communications, provided they can demonstrate the validity of these claims to an RSPO-accredited certification body (CB). This will be undertaken via a remote audit, prior to the trademark use, during which the retailer or food service company will need to demonstrate that the use of the trademark is in compliance with the rules contained within this document and that the claim itself can be supported through a certified supply chain. Any other palm oil claims, including those highlighting the absence of palm oil, must be highlighted to the CB during the audit to ensure that all claims comply with the requirements of these rules. The CB will confirm the outcome of these audits, to be conducted annually, to RSPO who may continue to grant a trademark license or withdraw permission based upon the audit findings. This is in keeping with the rules applying to RSPO supply chain certified members. The guidance document for audits is available on www.rspo.org.

 

you may refer to the following attachment for details:

http://tinyurl.com/y42pwpkt

Edited by yeongkh, 14 September 2020 - 04:27 AM.

[WowQC]

We were also asked to get RSPO certified by a customer. You need to sign up for RSPO membership, then select a Certification Body that can audit you to the RSPO Supply Chain standard. The standard is available on the RSPO website. You then need to make sure you have policies and procedures in place to meet the standard. Then it is like any other certification - an annual audit.

 

Depending on your facility and product, it should not take much extra time to maintain. You need to track all the RSPO palm oil from supplier to finished production, do an annual internal audit of the program, and make sure you have proper documentation (e.g. shipping and receiving). We did not find it added much to our system demands, but we only make one product, and the RPSO palm product is in all products produced. That makes it easier.

[Chippy]

I requested their RSPO certifications. We are the end manufacturer.  I have read much from the RSPO website, but I am still a little unclear how to write a policy.

[pHruit]

I requested their RSPO certifications. We are the end manufacturer.  I have read much from the RSPO website, but I am still a little unclear how to write a policy.

Have you ever worked with organic products? If so, a similar approach should work - broadly the aim is to maintain the chain of custody for the material that is subject to the "claim" (i.e. the RSPO status). It's slightly different in that RSPO has the different supply chain models, but broadly your position in the supply chain is still likely to generally be one of accounting for what is coming in and what is going out, being able to trace to prove they match, and being able to show that your sources are all certified within the scheme.

 

Have you started the dialogue with a certification body yet? I've just started organic certification at my new site and it's the first time I've had to start this from fresh in well over a decade - I'd forgotten how much guidance they give you on what they're actually expecting to see, as its unlike the food safety standards in that they want to help you get into the scheme, rather than wanting to find out what your standards are like in isolation. I'd start by speaking to one of the cert bodies and seeing if they can provide some specific advice on what they want to see at audit.

[Chippy]

pHruit,

 

I have never worked with organic products. The Certification Body I contacted won't provide any guidance because they don't want to make it a conflict of interest by  guiding me and then auditing our plant.

I have found a consultant and have an initial meeting with her this week. Hopefully it goes well!