SQFI Asia Pacific

SQF Australian Roadshows

SQFI Asia Pacific conducted a series of roadshows around Australia through October and the first half of November. Bill McBride (SQFI) and Anita Pursehouse (Muddy Boots – Quickfire) visited Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Launceston to discuss stakeholder issues about the SQF Codes and the Quickfire application.

The matters discussed were consistent across all the workshops and can be summarised as follows:

• Quickfire related questions
• CB related questions
• SQF 1000 ed5 or SQF 2000 ed6
• SQF standards and audit reports
• Communications with SQFI

The following lists the SQFI and Muddy Boots responses to the general questions asked. SQF suppliers who have more specific questions can address them to SQF Asia Pacific on 612 9638 0098 or email info@sqfi.com.au.

Quickfire related questions

ALL SQF certified suppliers should now be registered on Quickfire. Quickfire allows you to check and edit your site details, pay your SQF registration, select your Certification Body and change CBs if required, manage the status of your audit reports and close out your non-conformances on-line. Under the latest editions of SQF 1000 and SQF 2000, all audit reporting is now on-line through Quickfire.

Registering with Quickfire is easy. Simply go to the SQF web-site www.sqfi.com, and click on “how do I?”, then “register as a supplier?” This will take you to the Quickfire registration page. Complete the required contact details and you will receive a Username and Login for Quickfire. Once you log in, you will be able to register your site and pay your registration fee. Your registration fee is based on the total site revenue. (If you don’t receive your login details for Quickfire immediately, check that it’s not held up by your spam filter).

The PAFs for SQF 1000 document review and facility audit are now available on-line and are in use.

If you are still having problems navigating around Quickfire, a free webinar has been scheduled for 10.00am (AEDT) on 15 December 2009. You can register on line at www.sqfi.com and click on events. There will be further training sessions available early next year through webinars and regional workshops. For further details click on the Events tab.

A further modification (SP5) to Quickfire in March 2010 will enable block responses on the PAF, which will reduce the reporting time for non-applicable sections. Guidance documents will be available for auditors on which sections to block out. There will be no need for commodity-specific PAFs.

Just a word of caution. Make sure there is more than one person in the business aware of the user ID and password in case the primary contact leaves.

CB related issues

Suppliers are reminded that they must remain contracted to a licenced Certification Body (CB) at all times. The CB is the first point of contact on any matters related to the scheduling or conduct of an SQF audit or SQF registered auditor.

If there is a concern, appeal or dispute, it must first be taken up with the CB who will do their best to resolve it through their internal disputes procedure. SQFI cannot intercede on the selection of non-conformances or the certification decision.

Suppliers can elect to change CBs as long as all outstanding non-conformances are closed, and the certification is not under suspension or threat of suspension. This can be done by de-selecting and selecting a CB on Quickfire.

If a CB loses it’s accreditation or SQF licence, suppliers will be directed to transfer to another CB.

Concerns have been raised by a number of suppliers about the amount of time taken by CBs to issue certificates following audit completion. CBs have a 45 day limit on making certification decision (from the date of audit, or 14 days from the certification decision) to issue the certificate. Any deviation from this should be raised initially with the CB. SQFI will be monitoring this through Quickfire.

Quickfire webinars, specifically for CBs, are being planned for Q1, 2010. The first one is scheduled for 11.00am AEDT on 4 February 2010. CBs will also be offered face-to-face Quickfire training for internal auditor training sessions.

SQFI reserves the right to verify compliance to the processes as defined by SQFI of the CB performance. This includes on-site verification of auditor performance.

SQF 1000 ed5 or SQF 2000 ed6?

Check which code and version number you should be on. The only applicable version of SQF 2000 is edition 6. This applies to food manufacturers, distributors, and brokers. It is not suitable for primary production and does not include primary production food sectors. Edition 6 has been in place since August 2008 and fully applicable since February 2009.

The current version of SQF 1000 is edition 5. It was issued in August 2009 and is applicable from March 2010. It applies to primary production across all primary sectors.

Sector 4, Fresh Produce Pack House Operations, is the only food sector category that is in both SQF 1000 and SQF 2000. If you are a grower/packer packing substantially your own product, you should be SQF 1000. If you are a commercial packer packing substantially product from other farms, the packing shed should be SQF 2000.

Coles has indicated that grower/packers that pack greater than 50% by volume of other grower’s product require SQF 1000 level 3 (or equivalent) on farm and SQF 2000 level 3 (or equivalent) in the packing shed.

Growers who are currently on SQF 2000 need to move to SQF 1000 at their next audit. Sites moving from 2000 to 1000 do not have to do anything in Quickfire. As the CB creates a new certification record, the change in scope will be reflected.

Growers who use the SQF 2000 certified trademark on their packaging or stationery and are changing to SQF 1000 have 90 days from the issue of the new certificate to change to the SQF 1000 certified trademark.

Sites moving from SQF 2000 to SQF 1000 will retain the same certification number as long as there is no other certification with the same number.

SQF standards and audit reports

Some discussion centred on the fact that the SQF codes have grown and developed over time, and become more complex than they were initially. SQF 2000 and SQF 1000 are global food safety and quality certification standards that must meet the needs of many global stakeholders with many different perspectives. SQF certificates now exist in 24 countries and the two codes are accepted as globally recognised (GFSI) standards by many international retailers and food service organisations including (in Australia) Coles, Aldi, Costco and McDonalds.

A draft guidance document on audit duration has been sent to the CBs for comment. Audit duration will vary depending on the size and complexity of the facility. Auditors must spend 80% of time in the facility, focus on interviews of key personnel, GMPs, implementation of programs reviewed, validations and records.

If non-conformances are not closed out to the satisfaction of the CB within the required timeframe, the CB can suspend or withdraw certification. The suspended supplier is then placed on 3 monthly review, then 6 monthly audits for two audit periods before returning to 12 monthly audits if an appropriate audit result is achieved.

A guideline document for brokers/agents/virtual brokers is in development and will be available on the website in the new year.

Some comments related to repetition and duplication in the standard. This is recognised by SQFI and the PAF documents will be reviewed in Q1, 2010. However this should not lead to auditors “double dipping”, ie raising multiple non-conformances about the same issue. If there is a single issue, the auditor should raise one NC, not a variety based on the same observation. If there are multiple NCs raised by the auditor, the auditor’s comments should verify the difference in the NCs in their comments.

Communications with SQFI

SQFI is aware of the need to improve customer service, particularly with suppliers. We take servicing our customers very seriously and are taking steps to address support to our customers in a variety of measures including webinars, more frequent communications, regional representative, Quickfire support strategy and internal resources dedicated to customer support.

The regional office is now available, based in Sydney, to field enquiries from Australian and Asian suppliers, please click here for details.

The next SQFI Conference will be held in Melbourne on 26 August 2010. Details will available shortly.


	Globally Trusted Food Safety and Quality Certification

		Welcome to the SQFI Asia Pacific
		Contact Details for Asia Pacific Office: T 61 2 9638 0098 \| F 61 2 9638 0258 \| E info@sqfi.com.au HOME \| ABOUT US \| AUSTRALIAN WORKSHOPS \| EVENTS \| NEWSLETTER \| CONTACT US SQF Australian Roadshows SQFI Asia Pacific conducted a series of roadshows around Australia through October and the first half of November. Bill McBride (SQFI) and Anita Pursehouse (Muddy Boots – Quickfire) visited Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Launceston to discuss stakeholder issues about the SQF Codes and the Quickfire application. The matters discussed were consistent across all the workshops and can be summarised as follows: • Quickfire related questions • CB related questions • SQF 1000 ed5 or SQF 2000 ed6 • SQF standards and audit reports • Communications with SQFI The following lists the SQFI and Muddy Boots responses to the general questions asked. SQF suppliers who have more specific questions can address them to SQF Asia Pacific on 612 9638 0098 or email info@sqfi.com.au. Quickfire related questions ALL SQF certified suppliers should now be registered on Quickfire. Quickfire allows you to check and edit your site details, pay your SQF registration, select your Certification Body and change CBs if required, manage the status of your audit reports and close out your non-conformances on-line. Under the latest editions of SQF 1000 and SQF 2000, all audit reporting is now on-line through Quickfire. Registering with Quickfire is easy. Simply go to the SQF web-site www.sqfi.com, and click on “how do I?”, then “register as a supplier?” This will take you to the Quickfire registration page. Complete the required contact details and you will receive a Username and Login for Quickfire. Once you log in, you will be able to register your site and pay your registration fee. Your registration fee is based on the total site revenue. (If you don’t receive your login details for Quickfire immediately, check that it’s not held up by your spam filter). The PAFs for SQF 1000 document review and facility audit are now available on-line and are in use. If you are still having problems navigating around Quickfire, a free webinar has been scheduled for 10.00am (AEDT) on 15 December 2009. You can register on line at www.sqfi.com and click on events. There will be further training sessions available early next year through webinars and regional workshops. For further details click on the Events tab. A further modification (SP5) to Quickfire in March 2010 will enable block responses on the PAF, which will reduce the reporting time for non-applicable sections. Guidance documents will be available for auditors on which sections to block out. There will be no need for commodity-specific PAFs. Just a word of caution. Make sure there is more than one person in the business aware of the user ID and password in case the primary contact leaves. CB related issues Suppliers are reminded that they must remain contracted to a licenced Certification Body (CB) at all times. The CB is the first point of contact on any matters related to the scheduling or conduct of an SQF audit or SQF registered auditor. If there is a concern, appeal or dispute, it must first be taken up with the CB who will do their best to resolve it through their internal disputes procedure. SQFI cannot intercede on the selection of non-conformances or the certification decision. Suppliers can elect to change CBs as long as all outstanding non-conformances are closed, and the certification is not under suspension or threat of suspension. This can be done by de-selecting and selecting a CB on Quickfire. If a CB loses it’s accreditation or SQF licence, suppliers will be directed to transfer to another CB. Concerns have been raised by a number of suppliers about the amount of time taken by CBs to issue certificates following audit completion. CBs have a 45 day limit on making certification decision (from the date of audit, or 14 days from the certification decision) to issue the certificate. Any deviation from this should be raised initially with the CB. SQFI will be monitoring this through Quickfire. Quickfire webinars, specifically for CBs, are being planned for Q1, 2010. The first one is scheduled for 11.00am AEDT on 4 February 2010. CBs will also be offered face-to-face Quickfire training for internal auditor training sessions. SQFI reserves the right to verify compliance to the processes as defined by SQFI of the CB performance. This includes on-site verification of auditor performance. SQF 1000 ed5 or SQF 2000 ed6? Check which code and version number you should be on. The only applicable version of SQF 2000 is edition 6. This applies to food manufacturers, distributors, and brokers. It is not suitable for primary production and does not include primary production food sectors. Edition 6 has been in place since August 2008 and fully applicable since February 2009. The current version of SQF 1000 is edition 5. It was issued in August 2009 and is applicable from March 2010. It applies to primary production across all primary sectors. Sector 4, Fresh Produce Pack House Operations, is the only food sector category that is in both SQF 1000 and SQF 2000. If you are a grower/packer packing substantially your own product, you should be SQF 1000. If you are a commercial packer packing substantially product from other farms, the packing shed should be SQF 2000. Coles has indicated that grower/packers that pack greater than 50% by volume of other grower’s product require SQF 1000 level 3 (or equivalent) on farm and SQF 2000 level 3 (or equivalent) in the packing shed. Growers who are currently on SQF 2000 need to move to SQF 1000 at their next audit. Sites moving from 2000 to 1000 do not have to do anything in Quickfire. As the CB creates a new certification record, the change in scope will be reflected. Growers who use the SQF 2000 certified trademark on their packaging or stationery and are changing to SQF 1000 have 90 days from the issue of the new certificate to change to the SQF 1000 certified trademark. Sites moving from SQF 2000 to SQF 1000 will retain the same certification number as long as there is no other certification with the same number. SQF standards and audit reports Some discussion centred on the fact that the SQF codes have grown and developed over time, and become more complex than they were initially. SQF 2000 and SQF 1000 are global food safety and quality certification standards that must meet the needs of many global stakeholders with many different perspectives. SQF certificates now exist in 24 countries and the two codes are accepted as globally recognised (GFSI) standards by many international retailers and food service organisations including (in Australia) Coles, Aldi, Costco and McDonalds. A draft guidance document on audit duration has been sent to the CBs for comment. Audit duration will vary depending on the size and complexity of the facility. Auditors must spend 80% of time in the facility, focus on interviews of key personnel, GMPs, implementation of programs reviewed, validations and records. If non-conformances are not closed out to the satisfaction of the CB within the required timeframe, the CB can suspend or withdraw certification. The suspended supplier is then placed on 3 monthly review, then 6 monthly audits for two audit periods before returning to 12 monthly audits if an appropriate audit result is achieved. A guideline document for brokers/agents/virtual brokers is in development and will be available on the website in the new year. Some comments related to repetition and duplication in the standard. This is recognised by SQFI and the PAF documents will be reviewed in Q1, 2010. However this should not lead to auditors “double dipping”, ie raising multiple non-conformances about the same issue. If there is a single issue, the auditor should raise one NC, not a variety based on the same observation. If there are multiple NCs raised by the auditor, the auditor’s comments should verify the difference in the NCs in their comments. Communications with SQFI SQFI is aware of the need to improve customer service, particularly with suppliers. We take servicing our customers very seriously and are taking steps to address support to our customers in a variety of measures including webinars, more frequent communications, regional representative, Quickfire support strategy and internal resources dedicated to customer support. The regional office is now available, based in Sydney, to field enquiries from Australian and Asian suppliers, please click here for details. The next SQFI Conference will be held in Melbourne on 26 August 2010. Details will available shortly.

Welcome to the SQFI

Asia Pacific