- Current, expiring soon, expired, missing: the four certificate states
The four states a supplier certificate can be in, current, expiring soon, expired or missing, what each means on an audit day and which to act on first.
- Third-party audit certificate
A third-party audit certificate shows an independent body audited a supplier's site. What it contains and how to read its expiry date.
- GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) and its recognised schemes
A GFSI recognised scheme is a certification programme benchmarked by the Global Food Safety Initiative. What recognition means for your certificates.
- Expired certificate on file
What an expired certificate on file means, why auditors raise it as a non-conformance, how it differs from a missing certificate, and closing it out.
- SQF supplier approval requirements
What SQF supplier approval requirements mean, what an approved supplier programme must evidence, and where certificate paperwork slips at audit.
- FSSC 22000 v6 supplier management requirements
What FSSC 22000 version 6 asks of supplier management, what changed in practice, and which supplier certificates an auditor will date-check.
- Audit-ready evidence pack
What an audit-ready evidence pack is in a food plant: the supplier certificates, dates and statuses an auditor asks for, what belongs in it, and its limits.
- Supplier approval questionnaire
A supplier approval questionnaire is the form a food plant sends a new supplier before first delivery.
- Corrective action (CAPA) and closing out a finding
A corrective action is the documented fix and evidence that closes out an audit non-conformance. How CAPA works, with a worked supplier certificate example.
- Document control
A plain definition of document control in food safety, how it applies to supplier certificates and expiry dates, and the related terms auditors use at audit.
- Non-conformance (major and minor)
A non-conformance is an auditor's finding that a clause of your food safety standard was not met.
- Unannounced audit
What an unannounced audit is, why schemes use them, and what auditors ask for first in a food plant.
- Approved supplier list: what belongs on it and how auditors sample it
An approved supplier list is the controlled record of suppliers cleared to supply your plant: what belongs in each row and how auditors sample it.
- Allergen declaration
An allergen declaration is a supplier's written statement of the allergens in a material and those handled on its site.
- Certificate of analysis (CoA)
A certificate of analysis is a supplier document reporting test results for one batch against spec. What a food plant CoA shows, and what it does not.