Compliance & quality
How a program is controlled before it ships: producing-site qualification, destination-market entry for the European Union and the United States, the documents that travel with each lot, and the controls behind them.
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Every producing site is qualified before it enters a program: HACCP as the baseline, a recognised food-safety certification - FSSC 22000, BRCGS, IFS Food, or ISO 22000 where a buyer accepts it - with the certificate, its scope and its expiry confirmed in writing for the selected product, and the registrations the destination market requires. What is verified, and what ships with each lot, is set out below.
Control points
Qualification happens once per producing site and product; release happens on every lot, against the same agreed specification.
What is verified
The site is audited before it enters a program. Current food-safety certification is mandatory, and the certificate, its scope and its expiry are confirmed in writing for the specific product. Sites shipping to the United States must also hold a current FDA food facility registration.
Products for the European Union are checked against the food-law framework for the product and origin concerned: labelling to Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, contaminant maximum levels under Regulation (EU) 2023/915, pesticide residue limits under Regulation (EC) No 396/2005, and the reinforced official import controls of Regulation (EU) 2019/1793 where they apply. Where a product is subject to border control, the pre-notification is arranged before arrival.
FSVP, FDA food facility registration, Prior Notice and, for low-acid and acidified foods, FCE and SID registration of the plant and the process. Set out on the US import compliance page.
Each shipment carries the commercial invoice, packing list and transport document, the certificate of origin - with preferential-origin documentation where the destination allows it - a batch-specific certificate of analysis against the agreed specification, and the health, phytosanitary or fumigation certificates the product and destination require.
Certified producing sites maintain lot traceability from raw-material reception through processing to dispatch, a documented withdrawal and recall procedure, and complaint and non-conformance handling with corrective action. ALPHATRADE confirms these procedures for the selected site before the first order and carries any buyer complaint through to closure.
Buyer or third-party audits of the producing site are arranged as part of program qualification. Ethical audit reports (SMETA or BSCI) and Halal certification are available from selected producing sites and confirmed for the program before order; organic certification is available for the herbs and botanicals range on request. Independent pre-shipment inspection (SGS or equivalent) is arranged on request at loading.
The working process
The producing site is audited and its certification, scope and expiry confirmed for the specific product.
Labelling, contaminant and residue requirements, registrations and controls are checked for the product and the destination before the program is quoted.
Lot analysis, certificates and shipping documents are assembled and reviewed against the destination requirements before the goods move.
Common questions
Yes. The producing-site qualification is the same for every destination. What differs is the destination review: EU labelling, contaminant and residue rules on one side; FSVP, FDA registration, Prior Notice and, where applicable, FCE and SID on the other. Both are checked before the program is quoted.
Yes. Buyer or third-party audits are arranged as part of program qualification, and certification documents, scope and expiry for the selected site are provided to qualified buyers before the first order.
Ethical audit reports (SMETA or BSCI) and Halal certification are available from selected producing sites and confirmed for the program before order. Organic certification is available for the herbs and botanicals range on request.
A lot that fails release against the agreed specification is not shipped; it is corrected or replaced before the goods move. A non-conformance found after delivery is recorded, investigated with the producing site and closed with corrective action, and the outcome is carried into subsequent orders.
Yes. Independent pre-shipment inspection (SGS or equivalent) is arranged on request at loading, and the inspection report travels with the shipping documents.
Commercial invoice, packing list and transport document; certificate of origin, with EUR.1 or an origin declaration where preferential origin applies; a batch certificate of analysis; and the health, phytosanitary or fumigation certificates required for the product. The exact set is fixed on the program specification.
Professional buyer enquiries
Your requirement does not need to be complete. Share what you know: product, quantity, destination, packaging requirements and timing. ALPHATRADE will review the scope and outline the next commercial step.
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