International Standards

How to meet the requirements described in SQF level 3

2020/05/27

One of the international quality management systems, SQF requires quality control in addition to safety control, especially for SQF level 3 which focus on the quality of the final product in addition to the process control. They require SPC-statistical process control in SQF level 3 system is the key. To set up sensory specifications and quantification of consumer tests will be the steps to set up CQP as we mentioned here. In other words, you should set up a sensory quality control system in addition to chemical/physical quality control system.

According to the codes of SQF level 3, you will need to prove that the specifications of your final product can be documented, recorded, recognized by customer, delivered to customer, communicated among departments, can be measured after sampling, can be controlled via SPC, and meet customer’s requirements. The specifications of final product include sensory quality which is not just employing “proper color” (not quantified) or “good flavor” (not quantified) as the specifications. Sensory specification should be like the Oolong tea flavor is less than 2 (by comparing with the reference sample which is equal to 2). Therefore, scientific sensory analysis meets the requirements by SQF level 3 system and can be employed well in the system.