Getting Started With Sqf - The Sqf Practitioner And Consultant Relationship

GETTING STARTED WITH SQF THE SQF PRACTITIONER AND CONSULTANT RELATIONSHIP We make certification EASY! ASI, LLC – September 2022

HELLO & WELCOME! It’s great to have all of you here today! ANDREW WOOD Director of Business Development

ABOUT ASI Passionate in helping companies grow their businesses, keep up with current regulations, protect consumers, and improve their safety and quality programs. VISION MISSION Our vision is to become our clients’ Our mission is to provide innovative, trusted safety and quality partners and reliable and trusted safety and quality help them reach success by increasing solutions to help our customers minimize their consumers’ confidence in their risk, reduce recalls, eliminate foodborne products. illness, and protect their brand and the health and well-being of their customers. 3

OUR SERVICES AUDITING 2nd and 3rd party food safety, dietary supplement, and cannabis audits. CONSULTING Food and beverage, dietary supplement, and cannabis safety and quality consulting. TRAINING Online and onsite food and beverage, dietary supplement, and cannabis safety and quality training. STANDARD DEVELOPMENT Development of industry safety and quality standards. 4

OUR INDUSTRIES Agriculture & Aquaculture Cannabis Consumer Goods Dietary Supplements Food & Beverage Packaging Pet Food & Animal Feed Retail Storage & Distribution 5

WHAT IS SQF? ONE WORLD. ONE STANDARD. The Safe Quality Food (SQF) Program is a rigorous and credible food safety and quality program that is recognized by retailers, brand owners, and food service providers world-wide. Recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), the SQF family of food safety and quality codes are designed to meet industry, customer, and regulatory requirements for all sectors of the food supply chain – from the farm all the way to the retail stores. 6

GETTING STARTED WITH SQF SQF Fundamentals SQF Food Safety Code SQF Quality Code 7

FOOD SECTOR CATEGORIES (FSC) 1. Production, Capture, and Harvesting of Livestock and Game Animals, and Apiculture 2. Indoor Growing and Harvesting of Fresh Produce and Sprouted Seed Crops (NEW!) 3. Growing and Production of Fresh Produce and Nuts 4. Fresh Produce, Grain, and Nut Packhouse Operations 5. Extensive Broad Acre Agricultural Operations 6. Intensive Farming of Seafood 7. Slaughtering, Boning, and Butchery 8. Manufactured Meats and Poultry 9. Seafood Processing 10.Dairy Food Processing 11.Honey Processing 12.Egg Processing 13.Bakery and Snack Food Processing 14.Fruit, Vegetable, and Nut Processing, and Fruit Juices 15.Canning, UHT, and Aseptic Operations 16.Ice, Drink, and Beverage Processing 17.Confectionery Manufacturing 18.Preserved Foods Manufacturing 19.Food Ingredient Manufacturing 20.Recipe Meals Manufacturing 21.Oils, Fats, and the Manufacturing of Oil or Fat-based Spreads 22.Processing of Cereal Grains 23.Food Catering and Foodservice 24.Food Retailing 25.Repackaging of Product Not Manufactured On-site 26.Storage and Distribution 27.Manufacture of Food Packaging 28.Not in use 29.Not in use 30.Not in use 31.Dietary Supplements Manufacturing 32.Pet Food Manufacturing 33.Not in use 34.Animal Feed Manufacturing 8

RESOURCES SQF Guidance, Tip Sheets and Checklists 9

PROACTIVE VS. REACTIVE Benefits Improve Food Safety System Eliminate barriers for the sales team Competitive advantage Invited to SQF Unite Cheaper (sometimes) 10

GOAL AND TIMELINE While the audit will take a few days at most, prepping for SQF certification can take several months. In general, companies can expect to spend 8-12 months preparing for certification. 11

WHO IS THE SQF PRACTITIONER? Definition: An individual designated by a site to oversee the development, implementation, review and maintenance of the site’s SQF System. The SQF Practitioner qualification details are verified by the SQF food safety or quality auditor during the certification/re-certification audit as meeting the requirements of the SQF Food Safety and/or Quality Code. Requirements 1. Full-time employee 2. Knowledgeable of SQF Code 3. HACCP Certified 12

WHO ARE CONSULTANTS? SQF Consultants serve as the link between SQFI and SQF Certified Sites by helping them achieve SQF food safety or quality certification. Consultants must be registered by SQFI and are hired by sites to help develop, implement, verify, and maintain their SQF Programs. The role of the SQF Consultant is to provide guidance to sites seeking certification without managing the sites SQF Program. 13

TYPES OF CONSULTANT RELATIONSHIPS Train the Trainer Cheaper and Faster Gap Assessment (2-3 days on-site) Build Documents with Client (1-2 months) Implement and Train (2-3 days on-site) Vs. On-Demand Consultant More Expensive and Robust Works with your staff on an as-needed basis or at a set frequency. Develops, trains, and implements requirements section at a time. Timeline agreed on between consultant and facility. Can be considered a “part-time” employee Cannot be the SQF Practitioner 14

SELECTING A CONSULTANT Ensure that your consultant has the appropriate experience. Price agreed on by both parties. Avoid scope creep Make sure the consultant is unbiased Easy to work with. Communication skills Timing 15

POST CONSULTANT AND AUDIT PREPARATION Maintain and build records for the SQF Certification Audits Building records is crucial for an initial SQF Certification Consider having the consultant on-site during the audit 16

QUESTIONS 17

“WE WORK HARD TO MAKE YOUR CERTIFICATION PROCESS EASY”

TRAINING Online and onsite food and beverage, dietary supplement, and cannabis safety and quality . SQF Consultants serve as the link between SQFI and SQF Certified Sites by helping them achieve SQF food safety or quality certification. . PowerPoint Presentation Author: Tyler Williams Created Date: