The SQF (Safe Quality Food) Code
In
early 1990s, the fresh produce markets had been insisting the growers of fruit
and vegetables to develop, implement and maintain an appropriate food
safety/quality system due to the raised concerns over food safety out breaks,
if they want to secure their place in the domestic market as a supplier, at a
time for many such businesses, the system solution let alone its development,
implementation and maintenance, is not so obvious. Thus, SQF initially born as a solution to
such deeds in Australia.
Hence,
SQF is a a privately owned, voluntary food safety and quality code, which was
specifically aimed at primary producers and small businesses involved in the
food industry to help them meet consumer demands for safe food of consistent
quality at the time of its debut in Australia in 1994. At the time, it was
based on a minimum requirements that were derived from ISO 9002 combined with
Codex Alimentarius Commission HACCP and required an external, third party
audit. Thus, SQF Code incorporates Codex HACCP, and it is also a quality system
designed to assist enterprises to meet customer requirements and improve
business performance and profitability.
Due
to its simple robust structure and available guidance documents with advisory
services, it gained quick popularity which was later acquired and currently SQF
program is owned and managed by the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) since 2003.
It was first recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) in 2004, as
a standard that meets its benchmark requirements, which gained its popularity
in the beginning with the major acceptance by the Walmart for their bench mark
as supplier registration in the food sector.
Thus,
SQF Codes can be described as; site-specific, process and product certification
standards with an emphasis on the systematic application of CODEX Alimentarius
Commission’s HACCP principles and guidelines for control of food safety and
food quality hazards embedded in to strong GMP practices which encompass all
the food safety requirements of any country’s food safety legislation,
including FDA, CFIA, EU, etc. Because SQF certification requirements provide a
rigorous system to manage food safety risks and provide safe products for use
by companies in the food industry. In
other words, SQF is a logical, practical and complementary extension of HACCP,
with an inherent synergy between the management of food safety risk and the
management of quality. Hence, SQF code is a Food Safety Management
Certification Scheme, managed by SQF Institute, intended to control food safety
risks. To be recognized as a certified site, organization’s food safety
management system implemented should undergo an audit and certified by a
third-party certification body recognized by SQFI.
Today,
SQF code is defined more broadly on the primary production, manufacture,
processing, transport, storage, food service, distribution or retailing of food
products and food-contact packaging. Nonetheless, the SQF certification is
divided into three levels, where level 1 is an entry for new and developing
businesses and it covers the basic food elements. Then in the level 2,
suppliers have to implement a HACCP system in addition to food safety basics
(GMPs), where level 2 complies with benchmark requirements of Global Food
Safety Initiative (GFSI). The level 3 suppliers have to satisfy more than the
GFSI benchmark requirements in addition to HACCP and food safety basics to
achieve SQF Quality Code.
The
companies interested in SQF certification, are required to register in the SQFI
assessment database in the SQFI website (www.sqfi.com) where registration is
annual, and there is a fee per site, payable at registration and renewal. As to
the standard, “the fee scale is dependent on the size of the site as determined
by gross annual sales revenue”, and they must be registered in SQFI database
prior to achieving certification and must remain registered at all times to
retain their certification. Hence, in case of failure to maintain registration,
the certificate is invalid until the site is properly registered in the SQFI
assessment database.
On
the other hand, looking at the SQF database, SQF code can be distinguished as a
USA dominant standard. The largest site base is USA (68.3%) and the next major
site bases are Australia (12.2%), Canada (8.6%), Japan (4.3%) and Mexico (2.5%).
The total number of certified site in the database are 1435, out of them 10
sites are SQF select sites who conducts continuous unannounced annual
recertification audits. Out of those 10 sites, 6 sites are US, 3 Mexican and 1
Canadian. Comparing its geographical distribution to other food safety
standards, it only dominate in North America, other than that Australia, China
and New Zealand has little penetration to their food industry. Nonetheless, by
the 04 December 2019, there were 162 sites have been or by themselves have
withdrawn the certificates, which might be a clue to its limited spread across
the world as well as in food industry, even though it is one of the pioneering
food safety standards. Thus, path to successful development and implementation
of SQF Code is not an easy task which one should not be taken too lightly.
Further, it is a straight forward and manageable standard and organizations can
take control of the system by themselves and achieve recognition of their
efforts through an external, third party certification process.
The
SQF Code 8.1
The
SQF Code 8.1 is the current food safety code for all sectors of the food supply
chain from primary production through to food retailing and the manufacture of
food packaging, which is now available in separate documents depending on the
industry sector. This version of the code, became effective January 1, 2018.
Companies are expected to begin their transition to the new edition with the
renewal of the next certification audit provided that there is an enough period
to amend the modified requirements of the standard. The next version of the standard
will be SQF Code 9, which is expected to release during 2020 – 2021.
The SQF
Food Safety Fundamentals (for small and developing businesses)
The
SQF Food Safety Code for Primary Production
The
SQF Food Safety Code for Storage and Distribution
The
SQF Food Safety Code for food Manufacturing
The
SQF Food Safety Code for Manufacture of Food Packaging
The
SQF Food Safety Code for Food Retail
The
SQF Food Safety Code for Food Service
The
SQF Quality Code
Getting
ready for a SQF registration involves building the SQF code based food safety
management system, documenting it and implementing throughout the organization,
which required an average of 8-12 months to prepare for certification. However
the time frame vary depending on the organization's specific circumstances. The
major two activities during this period involves:
Say
What You Do
Document
the SQF System – The food safety team must prepare policies, procedures, work
instructions and specifications that meet the system elements and GMP Modules
of the SQF Food Safety Code for Manufacturing or other relevant code based on
the industry requirement.
Do
What You Say
Implement
the SQF System – The senior management must take the leadership in
implementation of prepared policies, procedures, work instructions and
specifications, and keep records to demonstrate compliance to the relevant
modules of the SQF Food Safety Code for Manufacturing, primary production,
packaging, etc. SQFI recommends that a minimum of two months of records is
available before a site audit is conducted.
To
help the organizations developing their SQF based food safety systems, there
are guidance documents available for some SQF Code modules and food sector
categories from the SQFI website (sqfi.com). These documents are available to
help the site interpret the requirements of the SQF Code and assist with
documenting and implementing an SQF System, which are developed with the
assistance of food sector technical experts.
The
Site
SQF
certification is site specific, where the entire site, including all premises,
support buildings, silos, tanks, loading and unloading bays and external
grounds must be included in the scope of certification. However, if a site
seeks to exempt part of the premises, it must be communicated to the
certification body in writing prior to the certification audit, detailing
the reason for exemption. However, all parts of the premises and process that
are involved with the production, processing and storage of products included
in the scope cannot be exempted. Nonetheless, when activities are carried out
in different premises but are overseen by the same senior, operational, and
technical management, and are covered by the one SQF System, the site can be
expanded to include those premises.
The
Products
SQF
certification is also product specific, where food sector category/ies, and
products processed and handled on site must be identified and agreed in the
scope of certification. However, if a site plan to exempt any products
processed or handled on site, it must be communicated to the certification body
in writing prior to the certification audit, detailing
the reason for exemption. If approved by the certification body, product or
site exemptions shall be listed in the site description in the SQFI assessment
database and in audit reports.
References:
References:
The
SQF food safety Code, Edition 8.1
