Pre-Shipment Inspection: A Practical Checklist for Food Buyers

Pre-shipment inspection is a check of goods against a defined brief before dispatch. A buyer may appoint an independent inspection provider for an order; a destination may also have a separate official inspection or conformity programme.

For packaged food, possible checks include:

• The ordered products, quantities and case assortment.
• Pack condition, seals and the approved label artwork.
• Lot and date references on the goods and documents.
• Conformity with the agreed product specification.
• Samples or tests explicitly included in the brief.

SGS’s food-inspection services describe commercial options. Confirm the provider’s scope for your actual product. A sampled inspection reports on its checks; it is not a guarantee that every unit is defect-free.

1. Agree the brief before booking.
Give the provider the purchase order, specification, approved pack artwork and relevant sample. Identify the lot, expected quantity, readiness date and accessible inspection location. Confirm which checks are included and how any product-specific laboratory work will be arranged.

2. Define the selection and acceptance plan.
Agree how samples will be selected, which characteristics will be checked and how findings will be reported. AQL or another attribute-sampling plan needs defined defects and acceptance criteria; it does not establish food safety by appearance alone.

• Products, quantities and assortment against the order.
• Retail packs, outer cases and shipping marks.
• The approved label and product/date/lot information.
• Product characteristics covered by the specification.
• Agreed documents, measurements or samples for tests.

3. Perform the agreed checks and tests.
Separate the observations made on site from laboratory results that will arrive later. The report should identify what was actually inspected and any inaccessible goods or missing information. Keep samples identifiable by product and lot.

4. Decide whether loading supervision is included.
Intertek describes production, final inspection and loading-supervision services as distinct options. If loading supervision is needed, agree the counting, handling and seal records rather than assuming it is part of the inspection booking.

5. Review the report before release.
Check the lot, quantity, photos, findings, test status and unresolved points. Record the buyer’s release or corrective-action decision. If goods are reworked, agree the evidence or reinspection needed before dispatch.

Official requirements.
Check the destination authority’s current rules for the commodity and origin to see whether an official inspection or conformity programme applies. Confirm the authorised provider and required document for that programme. Do not rely on an old list of countries or assume that a private quality-inspection report satisfies a border requirement.

Buyer-requested checks.
A first order, changed pack or unresolved quality concern can justify an agreed commercial inspection. The scope should follow the actual risk and specification, not a generic request for “full compliance”. For coffee sample approval, use the sample-review guide alongside the order brief.

Inspection is useful when it changes the release decision. It can identify an incorrect assortment, damaged packs, label discrepancies or characteristics outside the agreed specification while the goods are still accessible.

• Correction: the supplier can address the recorded finding before dispatch.
• Evidence: dated photos, lot references and results make the discussion more specific.
• Release: the buyer can see what remains outstanding before approving shipment.
• Receipt: the warehouse has a matching description of what was inspected and released.

Border controls and insurance claim requirements remain part of their own processes. Agree the documents required by those parties instead of assuming the inspection report guarantees customs release or claim payment.

Plan for the issues that make an inspection less useful:

• Late readiness: confirm when the actual order will be available and allow time for correction.
• Unclear specification: agree product characteristics, defect definitions and relevant acceptance criteria before the visit.
• Limited access: make sure the provider can select from and identify the goods covered by the brief.
• Missing evidence: record outstanding documents or laboratory results and who will supply them.

For dried fruit, the lot-acceptance guide helps formulate the evidence to request when visible defects are found.

Keep the purchase order, approved sample, final artwork, product specification and lot information together. Agree the inspection scope, reporting deadline and shipment-release decision with the supplier and provider before the freight booking is final.

For a proposed MR.VIET order, discuss the products, destination, quantity and required order documents with the wholesale team. Confirm which checks and records can be arranged for the actual shipment.