SQF certification isn’t a side quest. It deals with the fundamentals of how your facility handles food safety, quality, documentation, training, suppliers, audits, and day-to-day production.
If you’re trying to get your SQF certification (or if you’re working towards your re-certification), HMS is here to assist. We won’t hand you a generic binder full of information you can take or leave. We’ll build a plan from scratch that’s suited for your people, your products, and your customer requirements.
As if you don’t have enough to manage already, working in one of the most intense fields out there (food manufacturing), you have to figure out some way to balance production schedules, staffing, sanitation, quality control, supply chain problems, and customer audits. SQF certification adds another layer, but there’s a trick to it. It takes a certain knack to build food safety management systems into the everyday workings of your facility so that your part in it is as seamless as possible.
Food manufacturers come in all shapes and sizes (processors, repackers, storage facilities, distribution centers, pet food manufacturers, beverage plants, preserved foods facilities, RTE operations, and other food manufacturing sites), and they all necessitate certifications of some sort.
Large facilities are always readying for their annual SQF audits, while small businesses might be facing it for the first time. No matter what, your operators need a robust food safety plan.
Some SQF certifications take a few months, some take a few weeks, some take up to six months. The planning window should revolve around factors such as if the facility is starting from scratch, or if it has a lot of documentation that needs to be cleaned up.
SQF consultants take the certification process turnaround time down a notch by providing the necessary authority and, with it, organization. Your site needs an SQF practitioner. It needs management commitment that you can trust. A consultant helps you understand the code requirements and get your ship in shape, so to speak.
Step one of any good process is getting a free consultation on the calendar. We’ll cover topics such as facility usage, product goals, certification targets, and your hopes for the market. Most importantly, we will discuss whether this is your first SQF audit or a recertification and how that information applies to you.
Gap assessments reveal the truth about your SQF documentation, food safety procedures, prerequisite programs, sanitation standard operating procedures, HACCP plan, training records, supplier approvals, certification audits, and anything else of relevance.
The SQF program is one of globally recognized food safety regulations, but it only functions if documentation and record-keeping are up to the standard. HMS will help you develop the right steps to keep everything in order. We can even help with your HACCP plan if it needs that.
Speaking of HACCP, it can’t be limited to functioning on paper only. Your team has to be up to date on monitoring (what to watch and how to watch it) and the solutions that are availabale ot them. We are able to help train staff – operators, QA, sanitation, supervisors, maintenance – on HACCP roles, recordkeeping, corrective actions, and food safety fundamentals so the stellar results become part of the ordinary.
What is meeting SQF certification requirements and having optimized food safety systems if you’re left out to dry once they’re in place? Getting SQF certified is not the termination of the partnership if the partnership is any good.
Internal audits, mock audits, supplier approvals, calibration logs, environmental monitoring records, document control, training updates, and corrective actions all have to stay in continuous motion, so there’s really no sense stepping away. Ongoing support is how we help you maintain an atmosphere of quality and corrective action when necessary.
The Global Food Safety Initiative recognizes SQF as a benchmarked food safety program, and the Safe Quality Food Institute sets requirements that many customers take seriously. If a buyer asks whether your site is SQF certified, they are asking whether your food safety and quality systems can be trusted.
A registered SQF consultant or experienced consultant can help translate those requirements into daily work. Gap assessments, mock audits, SQF training, HACCP support, documentation, audit support, and corrective actions all become easier when someone is helping you keep the project organized.
You still own the program. We just help you build it correctly.
If you are ready to start an SQF certification project, schedule a free consultation with HMS.
Bring your facility type, product list, current documentation, certification goals, customer requirements, and target timeline. If you already have an SQF practitioner, include them early. If you do not, we can talk through what that role needs to look like.
From there, we will review your readiness, outline the work, and help build a plan that moves your facility toward SQF certification without turning the whole operation upside down.
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