Running goods-in at a food site: what to check, what to accept, what to turn away

At a glance

• Goods-in is the one point where a problem is still the supplier’s and not yet yours. Ten careful minutes here save days later.

• You don’t need the same checks on everything. Decide once, per material, what “acceptable” means, based on how risky that material is.

• A certificate of analysis is one way to accept a delivery. A visual check, a sample or a certificate of conformance are others. Use what the risk calls for.

• Write the lot code down at the door. Traceability starts here or it doesn’t start.

• “Accept”, “hold” and “reject” should each have a clear owner and a clear next step.

This guide is for the people who receive deliveries at a small food, drink or supplement site, and for the quality lead who sets the rules they work to. It covers raw materials and the packaging that touches or labels the product.

1. Decide the rules before the lorry arrives

The person at the door shouldn’t have to make judgement calls from scratch. Give them a short list, one line per material or group of materials:

• What it is and which approved suppliers it may come from.

• What to check on every delivery: for example condition of the vehicle and packaging, temperature where it matters, the label against the order, the date code, the allergen statement.

• What paperwork must come with it, if any: a certificate of analysis for this consignment, a certificate of conformance, or nothing beyond the delivery note.

• What gets sampled or tested, and how often.

• What makes it a reject.

How strict each line is should follow your risk assessment of that material. A sack of sugar from a long-standing certified supplier doesn’t need what a new botanical extract needs. If every material gets the maximum, the checks stop being read.

Review the list when a material, a supplier or a label changes, and tell goods-in the same day. A common failure is new printed packaging arriving while the old artwork is still the one staff expect.

2. The check at the door

A workable order:

1. Is it expected? Match the delivery note to the order: material, supplier, quantity.

2. Is the supplier approved for this material? The current approved list should be where goods-in can see it. If the supplier isn’t on it, stop and call quality. Don’t unload on a promise.

3. Is the vehicle fit? Clean, dry, no strong smells, no signs of pests, nothing carried alongside that shouldn’t be near food.

4. Is the packaging sound? No tears, crushed corners, wet patches, broken seals or missing labels.

5. Is it what the label says? Product name, grade, allergens, date code and lot code against your specification.

6. Is the temperature within your limit, for chilled and frozen goods? Use a probe you’ve checked.

7. Is the paperwork there, where your list asks for it, and does it match the lot in front of you?

Record the result against the supplier’s lot code and give the delivery your own reference. Note who checked it and when. If you printed a label, put it on now.

3. Accept, hold or reject

• Accept: everything on your list is met. The material can go to its storage place.

• Hold: something is missing or unclear, such as a certificate not yet sent or a result awaited. Label it plainly, put it where it can’t be picked by mistake, and name who will decide and by when. A hold with no owner becomes stock.

• Reject: it fails a line you marked as a reject. Keep it apart, photograph the fault, tell the supplier the same day, and record what happened to it.

When a material is accepted with something outstanding, say so on the record and say who agreed it. That is a decision by a named person, not an oversight.

4. When the usual rules don’t fit

Sometimes a customer tells you which supplier to use, or the supplier can’t give you the information you’d normally ask for. That isn’t a dead end. Agree what you’ll do instead, usually testing the material yourself, write it down, and tell the customer if the product carries their brand.

5. After the door

• Store by what the material needs: temperature, dryness, and allergens kept so they can’t spill onto anything else.

• Use the oldest suitable stock first unless a date code says otherwise.

• Count rejects, holds and late paperwork by supplier. That is your supplier performance review, already half written.

Checklist for the goods-in desk

• Current list of approved suppliers and materials

• One-line acceptance rule for each material

• A checked probe thermometer, if you take chilled or frozen goods

• Hold and reject labels, and a marked place for each

• A way to record the lot code, who checked and when

• A named person to call when something isn’t right

Common mistakes

• The same heavy check on every delivery. People stop looking.

• Unloading before checking. Once it’s on your racking, sending it back gets harder.

• Lot codes copied later from memory. They won’t match.

• A hold area that is just a corner. Held stock gets used.

• Certificates filed but not read. A certificate for a different lot proves nothing.

• Goods-in not told about changes. New artwork, new grade, new supplier.

Where this sits in the standards

BRCGS Food Safety Issue 9 covers acceptance of raw materials and packaging in 3.5.2, approved supplier lists in 3.5.1.4, exceptions in 3.5.1.7 and specifications in 3.6. Other standards ask for the same job in their own words.

Sources (checked 10 November 2026)

• BRCGS Global Standard Food Safety, Issue 9 (our own reading; no text reproduced). The standard itself is available from BRCGS: brcgs.com

• GOV.UK, Food traceability for businesses (identifying your immediate supplier and keeping delivery records): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/food-traceability-for-businesses/food-traceability-for-businesses

The order of checks, the checklist and the list of mistakes are general guidance based on common practice.

QAaval helps quality teams keep these records on the shop floor.