FSSC certification without a plant site: certifying a company using only co-packers
I’d like to know if anyone has experience certifying a company that doesnt have a plant site and all the process are made copackers.
Thank you in advance.
I've worked at a business that had a BRC certification for agents and brokers. We sold products that we imported from another continent and that were stored in an external warehouse. No manufacturing on our part.
However, not having a plant site doesn't mean there are no risks. The details will be different for FSSC, but the main lines are the same. You need to be able to show an auditor that you have robust procedures (including a supplier approval procedure that deals with the major risks, a monitoring plan to confirm your suppliers are managing these risks and a complaint procedure that involves you pushing your suppliers to deal with deviations.)
I would suggest starting by building a HACCP plan to see where the risks in your business are and then building any procedures that don't yet exist but are necessary to deal with the risks.
I have found the guidance at https://myhaccp.food...k/help/guidance to be particularly helpful in building HACCP plans.
Hi MMKlein,
I would discuss with your chosen certification body. Most likely to fall into Food Category FII Brokering/Trading/E-commerce - Buying and selling products on its own account without physical handling or as an agent for others of any item that enters the food chain.
Relevant Documents ISO 22000:2018 & FSSC 22000 Additional requirements
Kind regards,
Tony
I have no experience of it but one site I worked at they were looking to take the group teams through FSSC separately. I can imagine a completely branded but sub contracted manufacturer might be similar to that. Some aspects of the food safety management are kept within house and some aren't. Probably more than agents and brokers because the brand will still be "yours" and for agents and brokers it won't be. It feels like more than trading. It's more like outsourced processing, yet in a very big way. Agree to talk to the CB to ask.
At my latest job, I was in a department that focused on external manufacturing by third parties.
An important part of the approval process is regular audits by our own company on top of the CB audits.
When you are responsible for the product that is produced, you need to take a hands-on approach to each such supplier.