Boulart – Policies

Modified date

17 February 2025

Description of the Company

Boulart is an industrial bakery that makes artisan bread, baked and frozen, intended for the American and Canadian markets.

The Company has a plant located in Lachine, Québec, and employs about 200 people.

Location of the Plant

The Boulart plant is located in an industrial district, at 1355, 32^e avenue, Lachine, Québec H8T 3H2. The neighbouring plants do not release any foul odours and/or contaminants that could penetrate the plant and spread to the food.

Management Policy

Manufacturing healthy quality food products for human consumption is at the core of the Company’s objectives. All the necessary financial and human resources are committed to achieving this objective.

Quality Management Team

The Director, Quality Assurance, or her substitute, is responsible to deployment, management and continuous improvement of the Safe Quality Food (SQF) program, with the goal of complying with the SQF Code and the regulatory requirements.

SQF Certification

The Safe Quality Food Program satisfies Edition 9 of the SQF Code for Modules 2 and 11. The products manufactured in the plant are classified in Category 13 of the SQF Code. The SQF Code is a quality management program based on the principles and guidelines of the NACMCF (National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Food) and the CODEX Alimentarius (HACCP System).

The SQF Code is designed to govern the food industry all along the production chain to product distribution. SQF certification is recognized by GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative).

Products Covered by SQF Certification

All the products manufactured by the Company are covered by the SQF certification. The products have been included in the HACCP plan. To consult the list of finished products, see the HACCP plan, Formula 1 (QUA-RE-F-25).

Preparation and Implementation of the Program

To guarantee the safety of the food produced at Boulart, an HACCP system based on FSEP requirements was developed and deployed. The system was updated also to meet the requirements of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR). The maintenance, update and validation of this system is incumbent on the Director, Quality Assurance, or her substitute.

All the hazards (biological, chemical, physical) were identified at each processing step and a risk assessment was produced to determine the critical control points.

The HACCP system and the Safe Quality Food program were drafted by an external consultant in close collaboration with the Company’s management team. The programs were developed according to the government standards, the SQF standard and our customers’ standards. A multidisciplinary team is in place at the plant to ensure the execution and maintenance of procedures and controls relating to the programs.

Quality Assurance Program Management System

Management of the quality assurance programs is assured by quality management software called Paperless, by Datahex Systems.

The control forms, monitoring forms and internal audit grids are supplied in electronic form and fed by this computer system.

Moreover, the control, monitoring, validation, reassessment and internal audit tasks are planned in the Datahex system and assigned to the appropriate people, according to the established frequencies.

Products Covered by SQF Certification

All the procedures, policies and controls relating to the HACCP system and the Safe Quality Food program are covered by the SQF standard and concern all the production levels.

List of Programs

Prerequisite Program A – Premises
Prerequisite Program B – Receiving, Transportation and Warehousing
Prerequisite Program C – Equipment
Prerequisite Program D – Personnel
Prerequisite Program E – Sanitation and Pest Control
Prerequisite Program F – Recall (Traceability)
Prerequisite Program G – Operations (Allergens and Additives)
Allergen Control Program
Training Program
Sanitation Program
Parasite Management Program
Sampling Program
Calibration Program
Preventive Maintenance Program
HACCP Plan
SQF Manual
Internal Audit Program

Program Validation

The Director, Quality Assurance, or her substitute is responsible for validating the critical control points (CCP) and the prerequisite programs, once a year, in the context of the reassessment and whether changes (such as addition of products or addition of a step) make it necessary.

Validation shows that the critical control points can constantly allow the projected hazard control level to be reached.

According to the validated CCP, the documents or data on validation may include the following items:

Scientific, technical or regulatory support data that can prove that the critical limit chosen is effective to control the hazard.
Certificate of equipment validation by the manufacturer (e.g. metal detector).
Supporting data that can prove that the monitoring procedures are effective enough to allow detection of a loss of control of a CCP before the production facility loses control of the finished product.

Analysis of the effectiveness of the perquisite program is necessary to see to the effectiveness of the control procedures and the limits determined in order to ensure manufacturing of health, good quality products.

The effectiveness of each prerequisite program is assessed by controls, tests, in collaboration with eternal firms, and data analysis.

The effectiveness of the prerequisite programs is validated upon design of the programs, during internal audits, and when changes indicate the need for a new analysis (e.g. following an unsatisfactory recall exercise, a change of cleaning product, a modification of the interior of the premises, etc.).

Reassessment of the Programs

One a year and in the event of a change that could influence product quality or safety, a review of the HACCP system (prerequisite programs and HACCP plans) and the Safe Quality Food program (SQF Manual) is conducted by the Director, Quality Assurance, or her substitute.

Each program, procedure and policy must be assessed, reviewed and updated at least once a year.

The reassessment of the programs is spread over a 12-month period, integrated into the internal audit grids and programmed as tasks in the Paperless system.

Variance Management

All the variances raised during monitoring, verification and internal audit activities, or in case of production incidents, are recorded in the Variance Log of the Paperless system by means of electronic variance forms.

Three types of variances exist:

Unsatisfactory conditions that necessitate a corrective action, but that do not have an immediate or major effect on the quality and safety of food products.
HACCP variances that necessitate a risk assessment, a search for causes, a corrective action and a preventive action.
Product hold backs that occur following a production incident and necessitate a risk assessment, a search for causes, a corrective action and a preventive action.

The management steps of these three types of variances are detailed in each of the three variance forms in the Paperless software.

Verification Procedure

To ensure that the monitoring procedures are properly followed and effective, a verification procedure was developed. The HACCP Coordinator/SQF Practitioner is responsible for verification, according to the established frequencies.

The critical points, the prerequisite programs and the food quality and safety programs are verified according to the frequency established for each document. The verifications may be daily, weekly, monthly or annual. The details on the frequency of each verification, and the person in charge of such verification, appear in Procedure MSQF-22.

Approval of Programs

All the prerequisite programs, the HACCP plan and the documents relating to the Safe Quality Food (SQF) program are approved by the Director, Quality Assurance. The approval of any new document and any change to a document is saved in the Change Log QUA-RE-51.

Change Log

The continuous update of the HACCP system allows it to reflect the facility’s production activities accurately.

Each change or amendment made to the prerequisite programs, the Safe Quality Food (SQF) program and the HACCP plan is saved in the Change Log QUA-RE- 51.

Customer Requirements

The programs were developed according to the government standards, the SQF standard and our customers’ standards. The finished products are manufactured according to the requirements of each customer. These requirements are defined by the recipe cards and the specification sheets followed by the employees responsible for the appropriate manufacturing steps

Government Standards

Boulart is a plant under federal inspection since August 2012. Three CFIA inspections were conducted at our plant, on August 22, 2012, May 27, 2014 and August 19, 2015. The HACCP system and the products manufactured in the plant are inspected regularly by our customers. Moreover, we comply with the Canadian and American legislation in force.

Update of the Company’s Knowledge

We make sure to comply with the CFIA legislation and regulations in force. Moreover, the Director, Quality Assurance, consults the provisions of the Food and Drug Regulations (FDR), the Food and Drugs Act (FDA), the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act (CPLA), the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) and the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Regulations (CPLR) to ensure that the labelling information (nutritional, statement of allergens) of the finished products are compliant. To become aware of the new provisions or amendments or the legislation and regulations, the Director, Quality Assurance, consults the CFIA website (http://www.inspection.gc.ca).

Moreover, the persons responsible for each department within the Company keep their knowledge in their respective fields up to date by various means, notably by subscriptions to various relevant journals and newsletters (See MSQF-47). External refresher training is followed regular on site or in the form of webinars.

Management Reviews

Each month, during the Management Review (SQF/HACCP Quality Review), a meeting is held including at least the Vice-President– Operations, the Director– Quality Assurance, and the HACCP Coordinator/SQF Practitioner to discuss customer complaints, major or recurring non-compliance incidents, or any other situation that could harm the quality or safety of the foods produced. The subjects discussed at these meetings are recorded in a report.

Contact

For any questions or requests for information, we invite you to contact the person below, who will be happy to assist you.

Quality Assurance Director: Brigitte Gariépy