Sourced Magazine by the Anthony Marano Company | Issue No. 6 | July - October 22

Q&A with QA (Quality Assurance)

What is SQF?

The Safe Quality Food (SQF) program isa rigorous food safety and quality planthat is globally recognized and respected.It meets the needs of all suppliers inthe food industry through a certificationsystem that emphasizes the systematicapplication of HACCP (Hazard AnalysisCritical Control Point) and FSMA (FoodSafety Modernization Act) for control offood quality hazards and food safety.

What are some of the elements of the SQF program?

AuditingThis means we do what we say we’re going to do,and we check that we do it, and look at areas wherewe can improve.Risk AssessmentsWe look at specific areas and determine what couldpossibly go wrong. Then we create additional plansto mitigate customer and business risk.Corrective and Preventative ActionThis ensures that we correct something that needsto get fixed in a way that prevents it from happeningagain. The only way to check our corrections is toreview what we implemented.Food Safety CultureThis is very important at AMC and Market Cuts.Here, all employees individually know theirresponsibility to food safety and quality, andtogether, as a company, we understand the bigpicture.Root Cause AnalysisWhen a problem occurs, we investigate to find theroot cause and correct what may have happened tocause it.Approved Supplier ProgramThis is how we establish which suppliers we partnerwith based on how their product is farmed, stored,and distributed based on SQF standards.

Why is SQF important to the produce industry?

The SQF program was created to establishsolid food safety programs that canbe implemented within a facility. It’s atraining, monitoring, and review processthat ensures AMC and Market Cuts can betrusted to provide safe and quality produce.

Does AMC have SQF audits?

Yes, we’ve maintained scores that allow us yearly inspections. If a facility does not maintain high scores, that location needs to be inspected more often.

What AMC Employees are certified as SQF practitioners?

Norma CalderonSenior Director of Quality Assurance

AMC Family Member Since 2020

Jesus “Chuy” JimenezQuality Assurance Manager

AMC Family Member Since 2008

Imelda VillagomezQuality Assurance Technician

AMC Family Member Since 2004

How is SQF applied at AMC?

We train our teams and are committed to allocating time and financial resources to ensure that these aggressive reviews and checks are done regularly. Our program is a live system that is reviewed daily and we update our training as often as needed, at least once a year.