Date:

Revised Date:

PRODUCTION HOLD PROCEDURE

Delegated Powers

  • The Director of Operations, Plant Manager, and Supervisor have the authority to retain raw materials and products that do not meet the required specifications and/or may be involved in food safety incidents.
  • Product “ON HOLD” may only be released by the Plant Manager or the Director of Operations.
  • Product that is placed “ON HOLD” cannot be shipped or used.

Reasons for “HOLDING” Product

Product will be placed “ON HOLD” for the following reasons:

  • It does not comply with the minimum quality or safety standards.
  • It is not clearly identified.
  • If a foreign object like metal, glass, rubber band, plastic container, etc is found in the product and broken into smaller pieces.

The following exception applies:

If the contaminant e.g. hair, rubber band, plastic, paper, cardboard, foil is found on the surface of the product, the contaminant must be removed and discarded. The “Foreign Object Form” and not the “HOLD” form must be used in this case and the judgment call can be made by the respective Director of Operations or the Plant Manager.

  • The proper receiving or shipping procedures have not been followed e.g. the temperatures have not been recorded.
  • Any other reason determined by the Plant Manager and or the designate.

HOLD Procedure

  1. The Plant Manager, Director of Operations or Supervisor will immediately

isolate the product and wrap the skid or container with shrink wrap and place a “HOLD” sign.

  1. The Plant Manager will examine the quarantined product and request, if necessary, that

a sample is sent to the outside lab. for the analysis.

  1. The “ON HOLD” product will be quickly transported to the cooler by the production personnel according to instructions from the Director of Operations, Plant Manager or Supervisor. The Plant Manager and or the designate will post a sign “ON HOLD” on the respective skid.
  1. The employee responsible will generate a “HOLD and RELEASE” form.
  1. The disposition of the product will be determined by the President and or the Director of Operations. The employee will complete all details on the “HOLD and RELEASE” form and this will be verified by the Food Safety Coordinator.
  1. If the lab result is acceptable, the Food Safety Coordinator and or designate will immediately inform the President and or Director of Operations of the release.
  1. The Food Safety Coordinator and or designate will then inform the Plant Manager or Supervisor to remove the “HOLD” sign and to release the product. It is the responsibility of the Plant Manager or Supervisor to ensure that the “ON HOLD” product is shipped out accordingly.
  1. The release will be recorded on the corrective action form by the Plant Manager or Supervisor and a copy of the completed “HOLD and RELEASE” form will be sent to the Warehouse Supervisor by the production personnel.
  1. The Food Safety Coordinator will inform the Plant Manager and the Director of Operations of the release and the President or the Director of Operations will make a decision on applying a discount on the product depending on its available shelf life.
  1. In the event of an unacceptable lab result, the Food Safety Coordinator will make a decision to scrap the product and will inform the Plant Manager, Director of Operations, and the President.

Corrective Action

The Food Safety Coordinator and Plant Manager will determine the corrective action depending on the nature of the food safety incident.

Preventative Action

  • All personnel will be trained on the “HOLD Procedure” by the Plant Manager.
  • The preventative action is formalized and enforced.
  • The personnel are made aware of the deficiencies and retrained, if necessary.

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Hold Procedures.doc