Foreign Supplier Verification
Hi Everyone,
We have been an SQF audited facility for over 10 years now. For those 10 years, the only kind of business we have done is tolling where we do not own any of the product.
We are currently in the middle of construction where we will be adding a new product that we will buy and sell (not direct to consumer or "ready to eat" but more so as an ingredient to our customers).
We will have an audit coming up where I hope the construction will be done and the line will be running. Since we have never owned product before, there are some items we have never had to worry about, one being FSVP. I will say that the product we will be "buying" is from our parent company that owns us and they are located in Malaysia. So while we will be "buying" product now, it will only be coming from our parent company. Is anyone able to offer some insight on things we should now be doing or do we still not have to worry about these things because the material is coming from our parent company who is a trusted supplier?
Thank you,
Chris
Line will have to be running for an audit.
If the parent company is a supplier they will need to be subject to your supplier approval process.
Does the new item expand out your existing food sector categories, if so you need to contact your CB and discuss the addition.
General safeguards for the area under construction will need to be followed if still in process.
Used to work for a third party toller and there were a lot of SQF items we got to push off. Policy on disposal? We have to contact the owner of the product. Supplier approval? We approved the customer, they control their suppliers. All those items where you answer "it's not our choice, not our product", now it is your product and your SOP's have to be updated.
For FSVP concerns, you need to run someone through the formal training. I finished mine a few months back and I'm still super confused about some of it when you get into "further processing" of ingredients...
Our CB is already aware as I have notified them. So it sounds like even though our parent company is our supplier, we still need to go through all of the steps as if someone else was the supplier?
Are there certian sections of the code that you recommend that we take a closer look at now since we will own the product?
Thank you,
Chris
Hi Chris,
The main requirements for you to focus on are:
2.3.2.3 All raw materials, packaging, and ingredients, including those received from other sites under the same corporate ownership, shall comply with specifications and with the relevant legislation in the country of manufacture and country(ies) of destination if known.
2.3.4.5 Raw materials, ingredients, and packaging received from other sites under the same corporate ownership shall be subject to the same specification requirements (refer to 2.3.2), approved supplier requirements, and receiving inspections as all other material providers.
Kind regards,
Tony