Direct Sourcing
Answer ‘yes’ in the Vulnerability Assessment Helper if this raw material or ingredient is purchased by your company directly from the manufacturer or grower. Answer ‘no’ if it is purchased from a distributor or importer, wholesaler or retailer.
Form of Ingredient
Answer ‘yes’ in the Vulnerability Assessment Helper if this raw material or ingredient is purchased by your company in individual pieces which can be visually identified as such. Examples include chickpeas, whole peppers, chicken wings, bananas, frozen berries, rolled oats, coffee beans, whole cloves. If this ingredient is purchased as a powder, liquid, mince, paste, pre-mix, slurry or blend then answer ‘no’.
Purchasing Specification
Answer ‘yes’ in the Vulnerability Assessment Helper if there is a formal specification for the raw material or ingredient. This should be separate from any supplier invoice, certificate of analysis or purchasing contract. Although it is common to base a purchasing specification on information provided by a supplier, a proper purchasing specification should be created ‘in-house’ and should work as a stand-alone description of the raw material or ingredient that could be used when purchasing it from any source. Click here to read more about purchasing specifications.
Inspection and testing
Inspection means: does a designated person formally receive the shipment of this raw material or ingredient into your facility by
- checking that it is in good condition, undamaged and complete,
- checking that it is accompanied by proper paperwork, such as a certificate of analysis and
- does that person record the details of the incoming material including the batch number and
- is there a documented process for what to do if the shipment does not meet expectations?
Testing means: does a designated person take a sample of the shipment when it is received and perform physical, chemical and/or sensory tests to check that it meets criteria defined in the raw material specification? If you do not have a raw material specification answer ‘no’ for testing.
Trading properties
Raw materials traded on specific properties are those for which the price paid for this raw material is based upon the content of water, dairy fat, nitrogen (protein), cocoa solids or some other key component. Answer ‘yes’ here if
- the price your business pays is dependent on a specific property of this raw material or
- if any of your suppliers’ suppliers price this material according to a specific property, even if your business pays a flat rate.
If you are unsure, speak to your purchasing officer.
Special criteria
Answer ‘yes’ here if there are special criteria for this raw material or ingredient such as halal, organic,non-GMO, grass-fed, free-range or if there is a specific country of origin or grade of produce required for this material.
Micro Ingredient
Answer ‘yes’ here if this ingredient is used in very small quantities and/or is present in the finished product at very small quantities. If the limit of 1% is not useful for your product type, then choose more appropriate limit and amend the column heading.
The answer you provide for “Micro Ingredient” does not affect the calculated likelihood of adulteration or substitution for an individual ingredient or raw material; any ingredient can be vulnerable, no matter how small the amount used in a food product. The answer to the Micro Ingredient question is used when combining the results from all ingredients to calculate the overall vulnerability of the finished product.