Supplier approval and raw material control checklist

Approving the supplier

• Every supplier of raw materials, ingredients, packaging, services (pest control, laundry, laboratory, transport) and outsourced processes is on an approved supplier list, with a named owner.
• Each supplier is risk-rated on the hazard of the material, its history, its origin and its fraud vulnerability, and the rating sets how it is approved and how often it is reviewed (FSSC 22000 additional requirement 2.5.1; BRCGS section 3.5).
• High-risk suppliers are approved on evidence: a current GFSI-benchmarked certificate with the right scope, or an audit by a trained auditor, or a questionnaire plus test results where the risk allows.
• The supplier's certificate scope, site address and expiry date have been checked on the scheme's public directory, not only on the copy the supplier sent.
• Agents and brokers name the manufacturing site, and the site, not the broker, is the one that is approved.
• Emergency purchases have a written exception process that states who may approve them and what testing or inspection is done before use.

Specifications and documents

• Every raw material and packaging item has a signed specification covering composition, allergens, microbiological and chemical limits, physical criteria, shelf life, storage and transport conditions and the country of origin.
• Certificates of analysis are requested where the specification needs them, checked against the limits on receipt, and filed against the batch.
• Allergen information from each supplier is confirmed in writing, including cross-contact from the supplier's own lines, and feeds the site's allergen risk assessment.
• Food-contact packaging has a declaration of compliance for the intended use (food type, temperature, contact time).
• Specifications are reviewed at a set interval and whenever the supplier changes its process, site or formulation, and the supplier agreement requires notice of those changes.

Receiving and monitoring

• Receiving checks are written per material: vehicle condition and temperature, seals, labels against the order, allergen status, damage, pests, date codes and documents, with a record for each delivery.
• Non-conforming deliveries are held, labelled, recorded and reported to the supplier, and the decision to accept, reject or sort is made by a named person.
• Supplier performance is tracked (rejections, complaints, late documents, audit results) and reviewed at least annually, with suppliers removed or re-audited when performance falls.
• Traceability records link each incoming batch to the supplier, the delivery and the products it went into, so a supplier recall can be answered within hours.
• A test and inspection schedule verifies high-risk materials against the specification at a frequency set by risk and history, with results trended.