Key points
- It must be versioned, dated and formally approved.
- The purchase order should reference the version, not just the product name.
- Both parties must hold the same version before shipment.
Structure
Identification and version, product description and intended use, nutrient parameters with limits and methods, contaminant and microbiological limits, physical and organoleptic requirements, packaging and marking, sampling and acceptance procedure, and shelf life with storage conditions.
Version control
Changes must be issued as a new version with an effective date and communicated to the supplier in writing. Unversioned specifications circulated by email create disputes about which limits applied to a given shipment.
Who approves it
Technical or quality approval for the limits and methods, procurement approval for the commercial and packaging terms. A specification approved by only one function usually fails on the other.
What to verify
- Version number and effective date present on every page
- Supplier's written acknowledgement of the current version
- Purchase order referencing the specification version
Risks to manage
- Supplier producing against a superseded version
- Two conflicting specification copies in circulation
- Specification silent on packaging or physical form
Common mistakes
- Using the supplier's datasheet as the specification
- Changing limits without issuing a new version
- Omitting sampling and acceptance rules from the document
Frequently asked questions
How often should a specification be reviewed?
On a defined cycle, and whenever formulation, regulation, origin or receiving data indicates that a limit or method should change.
Can suppliers propose specification changes?
Yes, and technically informed proposals are valuable. The change still has to pass your approval process and be issued as a controlled version.
Related reading
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