Nutmeg from 2018 with No COA

Small food manufacturing company - We have nutmeg that was purchased in 2018.  The distributor no longer has a COA for this because it is so old.  

- What do we do if we can not obtain a COA for an ingredient?

- Will a spec sheet help?

Food Safety Wise - is this unsafe?  Some spices can stay good indefinitely if sealed well.  What are the food safety concerns, if any, if remained seal and dry?

What other option do we have other than obtaining a COA?

Thank you!

Dez

Is it worth the risk?  I would push for ordering a new batch.

Unless you're using 1000s of pounds of nutmeg, it doesn't seem worth it to me.

The cost of customer illness, recall, inspection violations, etc. will all be much more expensive.

Sounds like your supplier would agree since they cannot provide a COA.

You can send a sample for lab testing. Then you can ensure that there is no risk and do an in house sensory evaluation to make sure the spice is still good quality to use. I would do this and document both the lab and sensory test and then you should be able to use it. It will cost around $100 to do a basic micro panel depending on the lab, and if you need heavy metals it would be more. 

Perform in-house physical, chemical & microbiological testing if you have the competent lab. If not then opt for external lab testing. Issue a debt note for the supplier based on the cost of testing. If test report conform the standard then only use the ingredient.

Its an impossible question to answer.   If the product was properly processed and treated, its probably ok from a food safety standpoint.   The growth of microorganisms will be dependent upon what organisms were present and their ability to grow over time.   If you are going to use it,  i would test several samples like others have suggested.   

My guess is that is probably organolepticlly compromised.  I don't think it will have the near the flavor or aroma that it had 6 year ago.   If you are going to use it, i too would suggest (like victoriark) that you perform some type of sensory evaluation.   Ie - buy some fresh and compare diluted in a similar matrix.