Quality Manual

I am currently in the process of putting together a Food Safety Manual for SQF Primary Plant Production Edition 9. Our old BRCGS Food Safety and Quality Manual was a mismatch of SOPs written into policies or just add to a section and quality controls outlined briefly throughout the manual.   

 

My question is GOPs are managed in Module 10, but do I have to write a Quality Manual if the quality is determined by another certification body and our exporter?

 

Outline

We are an Apple Packhouse that grows, harvests and packs our own fruit only and does not sell directly to the retail or wholesale market, all our fruit is sold through our Exporter.

 

The orchard and harvest procedures are audited and certified by GlobalGAP. Our fruit quality, disease, and pest management specifications come under the government agency - Ministry of Primary Industry Official Assurance Programme which is audited by an Independent Verification Agency and our Exporter carries out regular quality audits during the packing season.

 

The Packhouse Food Safety is under SQF and local legation National Programme 1 and audited annually by a Certification Body.

 

I would rather keep all the FS, GOPs and Quality requirements separate as the current manual is hard to follow all chucked in together.

 

 

 

Given the type/classification of process ypur company is involved in I don't actually understand the need for the Quality component (unless your customers are demanding it.)

Secondly, why not just go "all in" on one certification SQF, BRC or GGap instead of having all of them?

Even having 2 different ones seems a bit of overkill to me not to mention a lot of additional upkeep, audits and frankly great room for confusion.