Approved Vendor Spec Sheets / MSDS's

Good afternoon,

  We are working toward SQF Cert. In our business, Flavors, we can have up to 3000-4000 different ingredients for the manufacturing of Flavors.

I have obtained all other required info from my suppliers. We store the Spec Sheets in our QC lab for checking incoming ingredients COA against.

And our MSDS files are located by the front door. This is the requirement by our local Fire Dept.

I have created spread sheets with all info required, Audit,HACCPs, Insurance etc.

My Question is, is leaving the MSDS and Spec Sheets in the areas I have them in now ok? We don't to have to print out and store up to 8000 docs for placement in the SQF book we are creating or an online system we purchased...

Any help if the storage of these will be ok by inspector?

Thank you for your time

Robert

You don't need to put them in your SQF book.  You do need to have them and a register, but they don't have to be in your SQF book.....unless you want them there.

I am also in the Flavor Industry and as I understand it you do not have to have a Register specifically for the MSDS's / SDS's.

For facilities that fall under Modules 2 and 11 these are the SQF Edition 7.2 Registers:

I have all mine electronic in an area (on the shared drive) that can be accessed by anyone on site.

The register has a hyperlink to the document referenced, so you don't have to search for the MSDS

Caz x

MSDS/SDS you need to have them...whether in a book or electronically, but that is a safety issue not an SQF issue. 

As long as they are easy to be retrieved and are available to all involved either in electronic format or hard copy you are fine for both food safety as well as occupational safety and health. Just make sure that you always keep the final versions of them. 

I'm currently in SQF and you do not need them in your SQF book. In fact you need them near where the chemicals are stored. I've had auditors who have randomly chosen a chemical and you have ~15min to find it in your MSDS book. I've also had some auditors say that we need one master MSDS book in a central location. I would imagine in your case it would be extremely difficult to have your ingredient MSDS now or soon SDS along with the ones from sanitation/maintenance/janitor in one location.

I agree with other posters, MSDS should be at right to know stations and Specs should be in there own little book but...

In a semi - related question -

How do you safely store flavors that are flammable? 

We have a number of flavors (probably from you!), some of which contain alcohol and/or are flammable.  Our policy has always been to have flammable materials in a flammable storage cabinet, but we have roughly 2 bays ( rack sections) full of these 1, 5 or 8 gallon flavor bottles....it if went up in flames, that'd be it for us & anyone standing near by...do you use special racks or cabinets for the flammable stuff?  Cal Osha visited and they said something to the effect of "Hmmmm, yes, quite a conundrum you have there".  Our other factory doesn't even keep the MSDS (   they have big red stickers all over them!), and told me that if it's an ingredient it can't be dangerous ( ) so not to worry.  But I'm pretty sure if it has a big warning diamond on it we need to take precautions, so I collected the MSDS.  I'm just not sure how to store such a huge quanitity of small flammable & combustible bottles yet maintain access & inventory control. 

"How do you safely store flavors that are flammable?"

Slightly further off topic, we had large amounts of very hazardous and flammable materials in many containers.  The storage area was built to local fire authority's specs and inspected during construction, after construction was complete, then once more after occupancy (special fire suppression systems, etc)