Direct answer
Verify the certificate, then the scope
SQF means Safe Quality Food. For a packaging plant, the relevant code is the one written for manufacture of food packaging. SQFI publishes that code as the Food Safety Code: Manufacture of Food Sector Packaging. Edition 10 is the edition on SQFI's code library as of this writing. The certificate in your hand names the edition, the site, and the scope. Read those, not a summary on a website.
Certification of the plant is not approval of your film, your art, or your shelf life. It is the food-safety system at that site. The food packaging supplier guide is the wider buying page. This page is the ten questions.
What the packaging code covers
The packaging code applies to manufacture of food packaging, including flexible films and pouches, at the site named on the certificate. It is not the same document as a code written for a food plant or a pet food plant. A customer who makes food and a supplier who makes the package can both be SQF certified under different codes.
PCI is SQF certified and GMI certified. GMI is print quality, not SQF. Ask for each certificate separately.
Certificate versus scope
SQF certified is not enough until you read what is certified. The certificate should name the company, the site address, the products or processes in scope, the dates, and the certification body. If your pouches, bags, or roll stock are outside the scope, the certificate does not cover the job.
Confirm the address. PCI describes its flexible packaging as made in the USA, in Middletown, NY. Match the address on the certificate to the plant that will run your order. An office address is not a plant address.
The 10 questions
Send these before the RFQ. Keep the written answers in the supplier file. The title of this page matches this list: ten questions, not a longer set.
- What certification level or code edition is on the certificate, and what product scope does it name?
- What are the audit and expiry dates, and when is the next audit due?
- Which certification body issued the certificate?
- Are corrective actions from the last audit open, and how are they closed?
- How are films, inks, adhesives, and coatings controlled for this food and these use conditions?
- How are allergens and ink components controlled and documented?
- How is a finished roll, bag, or pouch traced to materials and the production lot?
- What is the recall or withdrawal procedure, and when was it last practiced?
- How are your material suppliers approved and reviewed?
- How long are production, material, and certificate records kept?
Other programs, in one paragraph
SQF is one food-safety program recognized through the Global Food Safety Initiative benchmarking process. Your customer may require a named program. Ask which program, then read that certificate for site, scope, and dates. Do not treat two programs as interchangeable because both are third-party audits. PCI is SQF certified. Ask PCI for the SQF certificate, and ask any other claim to be answered with the document your customer named.
How to file the answers
Store the certificate PDF, the ten answers, the plant address, and the quoted structure in one folder per supplier. Date the folder. When a certificate is renewed, replace the PDF and reread the scope. A renewal can change dates without changing scope, or the reverse.
Red flags
A logo and no certificate. A certificate for a different address. A scope that does not mention packaging. A refusal to discuss corrective actions at all. Material documents that do not name the food or the storage conditions. Any of these is a reason to pause before the RFQ.
Request a quote with the checklist attached
How a supplier handles these ten questions is the first qualification signal. Attach them to the quote request.
Questions buyers ask
Does SQF apply to packaging manufacturers?
Yes. SQFI publishes a Food Safety Code for Manufacture of Food Sector Packaging. A packaging plant can be certified to that code for the site and scope on the certificate. PCI is SQF certified.
What should I ask to verify an SQF certificate?
Ask for the current certificate. Read the site address, the scope, the dates, the code or edition, and the certification body. Match the address to the plant that will make your packaging.
What SQF level should I ask about?
Ask for the level or edition named on the certificate, and confirm the scope includes the packaging you are buying. This page does not assign PCI a level beyond the fact that PCI is SQF certified. The certificate is the record.
How often are SQF audits?
Read the dates on the certificate and ask when the next audit is due. Do not assume a cycle from a general article. The dates on the document control.
Is SQF required to sell packaging to an SQF-certified food plant?
The food plant's customer and its own program decide what the packaging supplier must hold. Ask them. Then match the certificate to the requirement. Do not guess that every food plant requires the same document.
See something that needs correcting? Tell Matt.