8 replies to this topic

[kristenconradi]

Hello!

 

I just recently started at a company that works under SQF. We recently changed our name and are now a different company. The other company still exists. We have a lot of old packaging to get rid of. With this said, do we need to deface all of the old packaging from a food safety standpoint? Or any standpoint? Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

[AltonBrownFanClub]

I would be worried about food fraud.

I remember reading about the destruction of packaging being a food defense precaution.

 

Ex:

Someone finds 100,000 bags with your brand name on it.

They take the bags, package food in them, then sell it using your brand name.

 

I would destroy it all, personally.

If it will take too much time/energy to do this yourself, a document shredding company may be able to help.

Edited by AltonBrownFanClub, 10 March 2025 - 06:22 PM.

[SQFconsultant]

I realize this was not the question, but if your company has changed names the SQF cert does not carry to the new company automatically and a reach out to the cb and sqfi should be made as what normally happens is that you are looking a completely new certification.

 

As to the package, destroy and buy new. 

[nwilson]

SQF prescribes that a procedure is needed for trademarked materials.  Deface internally to the point of where the material is unusable or utilize a service as @altonbrownfanclub stated.  

 

11.8.1.6 Where applicable, a documented procedure shall be in place for the controlled disposal of trademarked materials waste considered high-risk for handling or other reasons. Where a contracted disposal service is used, the disposal process shall be reviewed regularly to confirm compliance.

 

If the company name that would be printed on the packaging is changing then you need to destruct out and get new packaging.  If this is a corporate ownership change and the facility that is producing the product is intact then you can still utilize your current packaging.  

 

When you state: "We recently changed our name and are now a different company. The other company still exists." Do you mean that the other company is still producing the product?  Or is the other facility? 

[jfrey123]

I'm surprised the old company doesn't want the packaging (assuming if they still exist they probably have other sites).  Make sure it's currently on hold at your site and figure out if management wants it shipped to another site or destroyed, and if destroyed, make sure you document it well.

[kristenconradi]

I'm surprised the old company doesn't want the packaging (assuming if they still exist they probably have other sites).  Make sure it's currently on hold at your site and figure out if management wants it shipped to another site or destroyed, and if destroyed, make sure you document it well.

 

Thank you for your response. The company still exists, they just don't manufacture through us nor do they make the products the packaging is for. Can you point me in the right direction as to how to document this destruction of packaging correctly? I don't see this in our program. 

[AltonBrownFanClub]

Thank you for your response. The company still exists, they just don't manufacture through us nor do they make the products the packaging is for. Can you point me in the right direction as to how to document this destruction of packaging correctly? I don't see this in our program. 

Try to get an accurate count of how many are destroyed.

Lots of pictures before of the products before and after destruction.

 

Use all that to write up a quick report.

You and someone from another department should sign and date as witnesses to the destruction/removal.

[Lynx42]

You could also see if your local waste disposal company offers a certified dump.  We have a couple customers, we save up their damaged/expired product until it reaches a certain amount, then schedule disposal with the waste company. I don't know all the details, but I do know that "certified dump" is a thing we offer. 

[jfrey123]

Thank you for your response. The company still exists, they just don't manufacture through us nor do they make the products the packaging is for. Can you point me in the right direction as to how to document this destruction of packaging correctly? I don't see this in our program. 

 

Pretty much agree with @AltonBrownFanClub.  This activity can just be a typed out report that you and witnesses sign, with the photos that are worth a thousand words so to speak.  I would suggest:

• Document what and how many boxes there are (5,000 Type A Boxes, 4,500 Type B Boxes, 10 rolls of preprint Type C bags, etc)
• Write details of how you defaced them to prevent unauthorized reuse (box knife'd each one in half diagonally, cross cuts across printed logos, unroll preprinted bags and knife down the center of the whole roll, etc)
• Take some photographs of employees doing the cutting, then show the final cut up pile of trash in your dumpster
• Document who the involved employees were
• Document your signature plus at least one other manager stating you witnessed the destruction and certify the packages are not suitable for reuse

Most GFSI schemes require you to have a procedure for this.  If you're not seeing instructions on how to deface and dispose of packaging materials in your current SOP's, I'd write a CAPA identifying it and update the procedure.  You can refer to this event in your CAPA as how you've identified good practices for defacing the materials.

 

Afterthought as I typed all of this, the company no longer doing business with you might still "own" the packaging in question.  While they may not want to reuse it, having the destruction of it okay'd by them ahead of time might be a smart CYA move so they don't come back later and ask for it to be sent to them.  When you ask them to confirm the destruction, you might also ask if they have an SOP they want you to follow.  Thinking back to my 3PL days, we had some customers demand we remove the identifying logos from packaging and dispose of them separately from the original package (they feared a news article showing them 'wasting' thousands of lbs of plastic into a landfill).