Written for supermarket category managers, private-label and controlled-brand managers, and QSR or foodservice buyers. Shiiv Imports Pty Ltd trades as Shiiv Imports. We are a sourcing agent, importer and private-label builder, not a manufacturer. The partner plant owns production records. We help assemble the commercial file buyers need beside the spec pack and the checks before you range. Public email sales@shiv-impex.com. The desks are in Sydney, Auckland, Singapore and Ahmedabad.
Why traceability sits on the ranging file
Imported ambient and frozen grocery crosses plants, freight forwarders, cold stores and distribution centres before it reaches a store or a kitchen. A ranging desk that cannot name the lot on the pack, the invoice line and the warehouse receipt will struggle when a complaint, a test result or a regulator question arrives. Traceability is not a slogan on a quality page. It is the ability to say, for a defined unit of sale, where the goods came from and where they went next.
Australian buyers usually expect one-up, one-down records: the immediate supplier and the immediate customer for each movement. For an import path that means the factory lot into the importer's consignment, then the importer's consignment into the buyer's warehouse or DC. Own-brand programs often go further and ask for a map that can support a full withdrawal or recall within a stated window. Put that expectation in the brief before artwork and the first purchase order, not after the pallet is on the dock.
What belongs on the pack and in the file
Lock these fields so the pack, the CoA and the warehouse system can agree:
- Product identity that matches the specification and the GTIN or buyer SKU where used.
- A lot or batch code that is readable on the retail or foodservice pack and on the outer carton.
- Date marks that meet the receipt rule for remaining shelf life.
- Quantity and pack configuration so a recall count can match cartons and units.
- The Certificate of Analysis and spec pack tied to the same lot language.
- Allergen and other label statements already checked against the Code.
A lot code that exists only on an export carton, or only in a plant ERP printout the buyer never sees, is not enough for an Australian ranging file. The same identifier should appear where the warehouse will scan or read it at receipt.
One-up, one-down in an import chain
At the plant, production lot records, packing lists and Certificates of Analysis should use the same lot language. At the importer, the commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading or airway bill, and any cold-chain handovers should keep that lot visible. At the buyer warehouse, the ASN or receipt record should capture the lot so stock can be held or released by lot, not only by SKU.
When two plants are approved for dual sourcing, each site needs its own lot discipline and its own certificate scope. Do not assume a second plant inherits the first plant's recall drill. See the dual-sourcing notes already on Insights if you are ranging a second path.
Recall readiness is a drill, not a PDF
A recall plan on letterhead does not prove the chain can act. Buyers should ask when the last mock recall or trace exercise ran, what unit was traced, how long it took to account for shipped stock, and who owns the communication template. For imported grocery, include the factory contact path, the importer's after-hours contact, and the buyer's quality and category owners.
Agree in writing: who decides a hold, who notifies the next party, how leftover shelf stock and DC stock are counted, and how corrected or replacement stock is authorised. Private-label and controlled-brand programs should treat artwork, lot coding and the recall contact sheet as one file. A retail pack and a foodservice pack that share a recipe can still need separate lot and carton rules if pack sizes differ.
Plant food-safety certificates belong to the factory and to the scope on the certificate. Shiiv Imports holds ISO 9001 for sourcing, supplier selection and the file. ISO 9001 is not a plant food-safety certificate. We work with factories that hold GFSI-benchmarked certifications where the program requires it. Where a partner factory holds HACCP, or a GFSI-benchmarked scheme, that certificate belongs to that site and scope. The quality page sets out how the file is held. We do not name major-chain private-label clients.
What to lock in the brief before the first PO
- Lot coding format and where it prints on unit and carton.
- One-up one-down record owners from plant to warehouse.
- Mock recall or trace exercise date and target completion time.
- Hold and release contacts for plant, importer and buyer.
- How dual-sourced sites keep separate lot and certificate files.
- How the CoA, label and warehouse receipt stay aligned on lot identity.
Send the product, pack, channel and the draft lot and recall contacts with a sourcing brief, or a private-label brief when the artwork is yours. We reply the same business day on how the file is shared under NDA.
Before you range
- Lot or batch code readable on unit and outer carton, matching the CoA language.
- One-up one-down path documented from plant to buyer warehouse.
- Date marks and remaining-shelf-life receipt rule agreed in writing.
- Mock recall or trace exercise completed within the period the buyer requires, with time-to-account recorded.
- After-hours contacts for plant, importer and buyer quality desk.
- Dual-source second plant, if any, has its own lot file and certificate scope.
- Spec pack, allergen line and country-of-origin statements already reconciled on the same SKU.
Questions buyers ask
What does one-up, one-down mean for an imported grocery line?
It means records that identify the immediate supplier and the immediate customer for each movement of a defined lot. For imports that usually runs plant to importer, then importer to the buyer's warehouse or distribution centre.
Who owns the production lot record on an own-brand pack?
The factory that makes the food owns the production lot record. Shiiv Imports Pty Ltd, trading as Shiiv Imports, is a sourcing agent and importer, not the manufacturer. We help keep the commercial file, the label check and the warehouse-facing lot language aligned with the buyer's brief.
Is a written recall plan enough before ranging?
A plan is the starting point. Buyers should also see evidence of a recent mock recall or trace exercise, including how long it took to account for shipped stock and who owns the communication steps.
Does Shiiv's ISO 9001 replace a plant food-safety certificate?
No. Shiiv holds ISO 9001 for sourcing and the file. Plant certificates such as HACCP or a GFSI-benchmarked scheme belong to the factory and the scope on that certificate.
Shiiv Imports Insights. Shiiv Imports Pty Ltd (ABN 15 158 243 442 / ACN 158 243 442). Trading name Shiiv Imports. Public email sales@shiv-impex.com. Cities: Sydney, Auckland, Singapore, Ahmedabad. General food recall and traceability expectations for Australian food businesses sit under the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code and state and territory food Acts; buyers should confirm the rules that apply to their channel.