17 replies to this topic

[SheenaQA&BRCGS]

I'm a quality assurance lead for a BRCGS certified company that deals with spices. We received a shipment of spice from one of our suppliers and one of the bags had a big piece of transparent tape covering up a hole in the bag where you can see the spice adhering to the tape. On top of the tape is an "inspected by" sticker with a date and initial. We put the 25kg bag on hold and contacted the supplier. My initial thought was to not use it, but when I advised the supplier, they said it was inspected by their quality department and wasn't damaged during transport. This I had already assumed.

Any thoughts that suggest this wouldn't be a form of contamination? The fact that spice did fall out of the hole and onto the tape even if it's sealed?

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[Charles.C]

Hi Sheena,

 

Welcome to the Forum !

 

Please avoid double posting as it can cause confusion.

[SheenaQA&BRCGS]

Oh ok no problem! Just wasn't sure which area to post it :)

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[SHQuality]

I have yet to come across transparent tape that is specifically made to be in contact with food.

The glue could have contaminants. They should be using stickers pr ta[e that is specifically designed to cover up holes caused by sampling or inspections.

 

Personally I wouldn't be keen on using this unless they can provide evidence the surface in question is food safe.

[SQFconsultant]

We have a policy to not accept any damaged items - I would dump it or return it.

Also I have not seen any food safe transparent tape. But that is besides the point. If you let them get away with it it will keep on happening along with lame excuses.

[EagleEye]

Hi Sheena,

 

Thats really unprofessionally they did it! Your discretion let you manage to use it this time. But try not to convey this as a message to your supplier to repeat it.

[SheenaQA&BRCGS]

I have yet to come across transparent tape that is specifically made to be in contact with food.
The glue could have contaminants. They should be using stickers pr ta[e that is specifically designed to cover up holes caused by sampling or inspections.

Personally I wouldn't be keen on using this unless they can provide evidence the surface in question is food safe.

I agree. Thank you for your input!

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[SheenaQA&BRCGS]

We have a policy to not accept any damaged items - I would dump it or return it.

Also I have not seen any food safe transparent tape. But that is besides the point. If you let them get away with it it will keep on happening along with lame excuses.

Agreed! Thanks

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[SHQuality]

We have a policy to not accept any damaged items - I would dump it or return it.

Also I have not seen any food safe transparent tape. But that is besides the point. If you let them get away with it it will keep on happening along with lame excuses.

 

That's just it. You also expect your supplier to test the goods. (and if the label is true, this bag was inspected.)

 

I've had a customer who literally expected us to open X% of the cartons in a container for sampling and laboratory testing but then started complaining when they received the bags that had been sampled and properly closed up again. It would be too expensive for us to throw out 19 kg from every sampled 20 kg carton in addition to the expensive laboratory testing and shipping costs. And testing on goods you're not accepting means the tests are not representative of the material they ARE actually accepting.

[SheenaQA&BRCGS]

That's just it. You also expect your supplier to test the goods. (and if the label is true, this bag was inspected.)

I've had a customer who literally expected us to open X% of the cartons in a container for sampling and laboratory testing but then started complaining when they received the bags that had been sampled and properly closed up again. It would be too expensive for us to throw out 19 kg from every sampled 20 kg carton in addition to the expensive laboratory testing and shipping costs. And testing on goods you're not accepting means the tests are not representative of the material they ARE actually accepting.

Yea that sounds a bit overkill. If you're properly sealing the bag back up again there shouldn't be an issue.

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[G M]

I find it hard to believe this was part of any intentional testing program.  If it was they should be able to provide documentation for the policy, procedure, and testing record very quickly. 

 

It seems more likely to be damaged product they didn't bother to repackage.

[SheenaQA&BRCGS]

I find it hard to believe this was part of any intentional testing program. If it was they should be able to provide documentation for the policy, procedure, and testing record very quickly.

It seems more likely to be damaged product they didn't bother to repackage.

They said their sampling process has been approved by CFIA and BRC auditors. But no documentation provided..

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[BGAQA]

We dump any opened or damaged product and request a credit from the vendor. We've had no pushback.

 

That has been 100% due to freight damage, I've never had a vendor as brazen as to put a sticker on it and send it damaged -- at least they go through the theatrics of re-packing it so we are none the wiser.

[Tony-C]

Hi SheenaQA&BRCGS,

 

 

Welcome to the IFSQN forums.

 

This used to happen with products going to EU intervention, for example butter bought by the EU and put into frozen storage to maintain a minimum value for milk products.

 

An example would have been butter, but the product going into intervention was in 20 tonnes lots of 25kg blocks. From memory the sample level was less than 1% so you would be somewhat unfortunate to receive a sampled product. Everyone purchasing from intervention would know that a 20 tonne lot would have a number of boxes that had been sampled.

 

In you case you are not ordering vast amounts, I would return it and inform your supplier that you require a fully sealed bag that hasn't been sampled. Depending on your usage, it may also be an idea to see if they can delivered in smaller units.

 

Kind regards,

 

Tony

 

[SHQuality]

 

 

 I've never had a vendor as brazen as to put a sticker on it and send it damaged

 

I'm not convinced that is what happened here. If something is damaged during transit to you, they don't have the chance to do so. If it was damaged in transit to your supplier, they could simply refuse it. There is no gain to be had here.

[jfrey123]

I started my QA career in a spice handling facility.  It was a 3PL, not owning any of the product we worked on, so had to follow their procedures for sampling.  In the beginning, just taping over a slice in a bag was common.  But the product owners were some of the biggest names in the industry, and eventually they wouldn't let taping the poly bags inside a box fly for sampling:  too much risk the tape could fly off in their unbagging processes, not to mention concerns about the tape itself or the tape falling off and exposing the inside of the bags to contamination while transporting.

 

Ended up that when we cut the bags for sampling, we would twist/fold them closed with a zip tie, and a QA sample noted on the box.  Eventually had to upgrade to metal detectable zip ties.  This was at their request, procedures developed at their direction to save their processes later down the line.

 

Regardless if this supplier has had their GFSI auditors approve this process, you don't have to accept it.  If you have a good working relationship, you can let them know and ask them not to send you materials that have been sampled in this manner.  You can also consider making it a formal complaint that they cannot ignore.

Edited by jfrey123, 07 March 2023 - 08:36 PM.

[SheenaQA&BRCGS]

I started my QA career in a spice handling facility. It was a 3PL, not owning any of the product we worked on, so had to follow their procedures for sampling. In the beginning, just taping over a slice in a bag was common. But the product owners were some of the biggest names in the industry, and eventually they wouldn't let taping the poly bags inside a box fly for sampling: too much risk the tape could fly off in their unbagging processes, not to mention concerns about the tape itself or the tape falling off and exposing the inside of the bags to contamination while transporting.

Ended up that when we cut the bags for sampling, we would twist/fold them closed with a zip tie, and a QA sample noted on the box. Eventually had to upgrade to metal detectable zip ties. This was at their request, procedures developed at their direction to save their processes later down the line.

Regardless if this supplier has had their GFSI auditors approve this process, you don't have to accept it. If you have a good working relationship, you can let them know and ask them not to send you materials that have been sampled in this manner. You can also consider making it a formal complaint that they cannot ignore.

Very good insight! Thank you. We also use zip ties for our spice bags

In the end, the supplier accepted to have the bag returned to them.

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[Bucks in 6]

We have a policy to not accept any damaged items - I would dump it or return it.

Also I have not seen any food safe transparent tape. But that is besides the point. If you let them get away with it it will keep on happening along with lame excuses.

It's out there, we used to use it where I work. Something similar to this:

Item # MBK 3204SC, FDA Direct Food Contact / Polyethylene Film Tape On MBK Tape Solutions (thomasnet-navigator.com)