What Is SQF Bulk Bag? When Do You Need Them?

Today's consumers are more concerned about the quality of the food they eat than ever before. To ensure that these expectations are met, many people in the food supply chain industry require suppliers and suppliers to verify that they have been taking appropriate food safety and quality measures.

To help meet these needs, the food industry relies on many food safety management programs, such as SQF. In this article, we will help you better understand what this is and how the right bulk bags and containers can help you ensure compliance with these standards.

What is SQF?

SQF logo stands for safe and high-quality food and is one of the top food safety management systems recognized by retailers and food service providers worldwide.

SQF is managed by the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and is the only program headquartered outside of Europe and accredited by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). SQF is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, and provides North American food companies with easy access to GFSI-approved food safety management systems.

According to the Safe and Quality Food Institute (SQFI), SQF is unique in that it is the only program that focuses on quality in addition to food safety.

What is the difference between SQF certified bulk bags?

An important aspect of meeting SQF standards is the storage and transportation of food; this is where SQF certified bulk bags are required.

To meet these requirements, any bags used to transport and store food-grade products must not only be dedicated to food contact and food-related products, but must also be manufactured in SQF-certified facilities.

SQF-certified food-grade bulk bags are made of 100% virgin polypropylene resin and meet Food and Drug Administration (FDA) food-grade requirements. When necessary, food-grade bags can also be provided with LDPE/LLDPE lining approved by the pharmaceutical and food industries.

Technically speaking, SQF does not certify the bag itself, but rather the facility that manufactures the bag.

To obtain SQF certification, bulk bags must be manufactured in a clean room that has undergone rigorous inspections to ensure that they meet the standards in the following areas:

• Proper ventilation

• Pest control

• Metal detection

•  Lampstand inspection

• Appropriate personnel wardrobe and hygiene

• HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) plan

• Keeping records

When do you need SQF bulk bags?

As long as your packaging needs include storage and transportation of raw or processed food, SQF certified bulk bags are likely to be the right choice.

For food suppliers, this may be a crucial step in maintaining customers and expanding the scope of influence, as many large retailers and manufacturers only purchase products that are packaged in SQF certified facilities.

It should be noted that different SQF standards are applicable to all departments of the sup.