Appeals

Appeals from SQF certified sites shall first be directed to and addressed by the certification body contracted to the site.  The Certification Body shall document its procedure for handling and resolving appeals and disputes made by a SQF certified site.

Where a SQF certified site has cause to register an appeal or dispute a decision made by a Certification Body, including the activities and decisions of its auditors, the certification body shall investigate and resolve these matters without delay and keep a record of all appeals and disputes and their resolution.

Appeals regarding decisions on the suspension and/or withdrawal of the SQF Certification by a Certification Body shall not delay the decision to suspend or withdraw the Certification.

If the certification body is unable to satisfactorily resolve the appeal, the appeal shall be referred to the SQFI Compliance team. The SQF compliance manager or designee shall present the appeal to the SQFI technical team. If required, a meeting will be scheduled to resolve the appeal amicably. Where this cannot be achieved, the Senior Vice President of SQFI will determine the resolution that best upholds the values, policies and procures of SQFI.

 The final decision of the appeal shall be communicated in writing to the SQF certified site and the certification body and shall be recorded in the SQF Appeals log.