Requirements made of our scheme participants

Guidelines and requirements within the QS scheme are specified by the advisory boards. All participants in the supply chain are consulted in the development of criteria. The fundamental principle is always the safety of foodstuffs. QS, in conjunction with all scheme participants and in the course of committee work, has designed the entire scheme to be as practical as possible. Alongside the legal requirements, the actual risks of food production play a significant role. The requirements defined in the guidelines are coordinated with the actual working situations in all stages. Checklists help to implement the scheme practically. The documentation, legally required in many points, does not represent additional or even bureaucratic work.

Have you done everything properly? In an audit, all requirements are rated with points based on defined degress of fulfilment. If a company achieves the minimum number of points required to participate in the QS scheme, it is categorized into a QS status in accordance with its overall audit results. This status determines the period of time that will pass until the next audit. It will be shorter the worse the company performs.

Criteria that are particularly important with regard to food safety, animal welfare or the integrity of the QS scheme are defined as K.O. criteria. Non-fulfilment of these criteria will lead to a loss of eligibility to deliver into the QS scheme and to the initiation of a sanction procedure.

All criteria and requirements are clearly and transparently set out in the guidelines and checklists for independent inspection. Together they form the scheme manual. It is available here for public viewing and you are able to download all of the documents.