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Pesticides - do I test for them?

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DavidAR

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Posted 21 August 2014 - 10:43 AM

Our in house system of micro sampling is very poor, since starting with the company i have started working on this and have come across a point where by a hazard for colour dye was identified as having a risk of pesticide in it due to its fabrication. 

 

The supplier questionnaire returned states that 1 they are a GMO free site but 2 they use pesticides following regulations and eu guidlines and so forth.

 

So my question is:

with this declaration about pesticides should we be frequently testing the raw materials sent to us for pesticides. if so what tests can be carried out on raw materials for this. would this test be done for pesticides in general (which i would expect to find of the regulated kind) or test for specific pesticides deemed not allowed to be used etc... 

 

Like with GMO free policy they have declared something and are themselves accredited to a BRC standard and what ever standards they have which would mean this would be acceptable for due diligence?  

 

Regards

DavidAR 



cazyncymru

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Posted 21 August 2014 - 02:32 PM

DavidAR

 

I would ask the supplier for a copy of their pesticide results and keep that on file.

If they don't have any, get them to test it.

 

Caz x



DavidAR

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Posted 23 August 2014 - 07:13 PM

DavidAR

 

I would ask the supplier for a copy of their pesticide results and keep that on file.

If they don't have any, get them to test it.

 

Caz x

Thank you for reply. to go a little deeper for BRC and due diligence would they expect that from there pesticide results that we confirm they are telling the truth by testing that fact on a frequent basis based on a risk assessment? If so what tests would i be doing? 

Not being  a chemist i wouldnt know if we would test for non regulatory pesticides or if we would simply verify that the level of pesticides present were of a level they declare and are within some kind of regulatory limit....



Charles.C

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Posted 24 August 2014 - 04:46 PM

Dear David,

 

Input food ingredients are required to be declared by an Approved Supplier as Food Grade with respect to BCP properties. This should be reflected in yr (mutually agreed) Product Specifications. I agree with Caz that you are fully entitled to request evidence from the supplier if you have grounds to suspect a particular contamination. Whether you will get it may depend on the specific situation.

i suspect the number of regulated pesticides is considerable.  Unless you wish to become a major donor to a private lab it is preferable to define one's analytical requirements when submitting samples. You obviously also have the right to source elsewhere for raw materials etc if dissatisfied with current supplier.

 

If you do a little searching for “due diligence” (DD) here you will find several recent threads on this subject. Based on those posts,  the general UK situation IMO might be described as a “minefield” and only a legal beagle can probably give an accurate answer to yr query. One option for self-protection involves insurance. AFAIK, official  reps in UK such as EHOs are also consultable for certain “technical” problems ?.

 

One frequently mentioned route for a manufacturer to fulfill many aspects related to DD is to obtain certification to a FSMS Standard, eg one of the GFSI recognized schemes.

 

Rgds / Charles.C


Kind Regards,

 

Charles.C




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