What this is
What is a packaging material inspection?
What is a packaging material inspection?
A packaging material inspection is a receiving check that examines incoming packaging for physical damage, contamination, correct print against approved artwork, and food contact compliance, before the delivery is accepted into stock. It is built against BRCGS cl.3.5 and sits inside the Supplier Quality Assurance programme.
Why does packaging need its own food contact check, distinct from a standard goods-in check?
Packaging touches the product and carries the legal declaration that the material is safe for that contact, but it arrives looking like a delivery of cardboard and film rather than an ingredient. A general receiving check that only looks at quantity and outer condition misses that a food contact declaration can be missing, expired, or filed against the wrong material.
What is a food contact declaration of compliance?
It is a supplier's written statement that a specific packaging material, used in the way it will actually be used, meets the applicable food contact regulations. It is tied to the material and the use, not a general assurance about the supplier's business.
Scope
When is a packaging material inspection required?
This inspection is one step in a larger programme. Using it for work that belongs to a neighbouring template produces records that are hard to report on later.
Use this template when
- Packaging or packaging materials arrive at goods receipt from an approved supplier
- The inspector needs to record documentation, physical condition and specification checks before accepting or rejecting the delivery
- A quarantine decision needs recording before other checks on the batch can be closed out
- You are running the Supplier Quality Assurance programme and this is the specification gate on packaging goods
- A linked record needs this one to exist: links Supplier records, Goods receipt
Do not use it for
- Label Verification Record, which verifies that the label on the line matches the specification for that product, covering allergens, claims, dates and barcodes.
- Artwork Approval Record, which records approval of new or amended artwork before it is printed, with each checker named.
- Packaging Reconciliation Record, which reconciles packaging issued against packaging used and wasted at the line, not what arrived at goods receipt.
- Material Rejection Report, which is the formal non-conformance record raised once a delivery is rejected; this inspection stops at Rejected and hands off to it.
- Anything outside KnowQuality, which belongs in the workspace that owns that process
Compliance mapping
Which BRCGS cl.3.5 requirements does this satisfy?
BRCGS cl.3.5 covers the control of packaging specifications, from what's agreed with the supplier through to verification at receipt. The clauses below map onto the sections of this template.
| Clause | Requirement | Where it lands |
|---|---|---|
| BRCGS cl.3.5 | Packaging must be received against an agreed, current specification, identified by supplier and material type. | Header |
| BRCGS cl.3.5 | A declaration of compliance for food contact materials must be held and checked at receipt, not filed after the fact. | Documentation |
| BRCGS cl.3.5 | Batch or lot traceability must be captured on receipt so a contamination or migration issue can be traced back to the delivery. | Documentation |
| BRCGS cl.3.5 | Packaging must be inspected for damage, contamination and pest evidence before it is released to production. | Physical condition |
| BRCGS cl.3.5 | Printed material must be checked against the approved artwork, not against what was received last time. | Specification checks |
| BRCGS cl.3.5 | Dimensions and material weight or thickness must sit within specification tolerances, not just look right. | Specification checks |
| BRCGS cl.3.5 | A non-conforming delivery must be quarantined and a decision recorded, not accepted by default because production needs the line running. | Decision |
What it does not cover
- Signing off Accepted before Food Contact Declaration Provided is answered, which puts stock into production with an unverified legal declaration.
- Recording Print Correct Against Approved Artwork as Yes without an Artwork Approval ID, which leaves nothing on record to check it against.
- Leaving Migration Testing Evidence Held blank instead of Not applicable, which reads as an unanswered question rather than a considered exclusion.
- Closing the record with Action Required set to No while Quarantined Pending Check is still Yes, which closes an inspection that hasn't actually been resolved.
- Recording Result Band as Pass when Items Failed is greater than zero, which contradicts the template's own scoring logic and undermines the pass rate metric.
Global
Packaging Material Inspection requirements by country
BRCGS is the standard this template is built against, but the underlying obligation — packaging must be safe for food contact — runs through several frameworks depending on where the site sits and which scheme it is audited to.
BRCGS Global Standard for Food Safety, cl.3.5
The direct basis for this template; most UK and EU retailers require BRCGS-certified suppliers and receiving sites for packaging.
A missing declaration of compliance or an unchecked artwork match is a non-conformance against the certificate the site actually holds, not just good practice.
FDA food contact substance regulations, 21 CFR Parts 174–186
Independent of BRCGS, US sites carry their own federal obligation that materials in contact with food are cleared for that use.
Food Contact Declaration Provided is doing double duty — it evidences both the BRCGS clause and the underlying FDA compliance the declaration is meant to demonstrate.
FSSC 22000 or IFS Food
A site running this template under FSSC 22000 or IFS instead of BRCGS is meeting an equivalent packaging-control requirement under different clause numbering.
The clause references here should be read as the BRCGS mapping; a site audited elsewhere should treat cl.3.5 as a pointer to its own specification-control clause, not a literal citation for its auditor.
How to complete it
How to complete a packaging material inspection, step by step
Filling in every field is not the same as producing a defensible record. Four judgement calls decide whether this inspection would hold up if the decision were challenged later.
Food Contact Declaration Provided offers Yes, On file and No, scored 3, 2 and 0. On file scores lower than Yes for a reason — it means the declaration exists somewhere but wasn't checked against this specific delivery. Treating the two as equivalent in practice defeats the point of scoring them differently.
Outer Packaging Intact and the contamination and water damage fields all offer a middle option — minor damage, some, marginal — worth partial credit. Without a shared, written definition of what crosses from minor to reject, this becomes whichever inspector is on shift, and the pass rate stops being comparable across deliveries.
Accepted with concession scores above rejected but well below a clean accept. The field captures that a decision was made, not that the decision was right. Whether a concession needs sign-off from someone senior to the receiving inspector is a site policy question this template assumes is answered elsewhere.
The template records that a sample was kept, not where, for how long, or against what it would be checked if a complaint came in later. A retained sample with no linked storage or retention period is evidence of intent, not evidence of traceability.
What auditors find
Most common packaging material inspection findings
Patterns that show up repeatedly when this record is audited after the fact.
| Finding | Clause | What fixes it |
|---|---|---|
| Food Contact Declaration Provided is answered Yes with no document reference and no Certificate Of Conformance on file. | BRCGS cl.3.5 | Require a document reference before Yes can be selected; make On file the default until the declaration is actually sighted. |
| Migration Testing Evidence Held is left blank rather than set to Not applicable for materials that don't require it. | BRCGS cl.3.5 | Make the field required and force a choice between Yes, Not applicable and No so a blank never reads as compliant. |
| Print Correct Against Approved Artwork is marked Yes with no Artwork Approval ID entered in Related records. | BRCGS cl.3.5 | Link the field so a Yes cannot be saved without an artwork reference, closing the loop back to QUA-090. |
| Deliveries are marked Accepted with concession repeatedly for the same defect, with no Rejection Record ID and no CAPA raised. | BRCGS cl.3.5 | Trend Accepted with concession by supplier and defect type; route a repeat concession into a mandatory corrective action rather than another concession. |
| Score Percent reads high while Completeness Percent is low, because unanswered fields drop out of the denominator instead of counting against the score. | BRCGS cl.3.5 | Report the two figures together on every dashboard and flag any record where completeness falls under an agreed floor before the score is trusted. |
| Quarantined Pending Check is left Yes on records marked Complete. | BRCGS cl.3.5 | Block Status from moving to Complete or Closed while Quarantined Pending Check is Yes. |
Case in point
Case in point: a declaration on file, but not for this delivery
A site had a certificate of conformance and a food contact declaration on file for its film supplier, both current. The receiving inspector ticked Food Contact Declaration Provided as Yes on every delivery for eight months, referencing the same file each time.
The supplier changed the film's additive package for a cost saving and didn't reissue the declaration. Nothing in the inspection caught it, because the field was being answered against the supplier's file rather than the specific delivery's paperwork. The gap surfaced during a customer audit, not at goods receipt.
The template
The template, field by field
The form exactly as it installs. Every field, option, score and conditional rule is editable, and the links to other templates come with it.
7 sections
- Reference
- QUA-092
- Archetype
- Inspection
- Record ID
- INSP-2026-000
- Scoring
- Pass rate
- Direction
- High is good
- Singleton
- Yes
- Basis
- BRCGS cl.3.5
- Links
- Links Supplier records, Goods receipt
- Tags
- Packaging
- Sections
- 7
- Fields
- 47
- Follow up fields
- 3
- Repeating sections
- 0
- Links out
- 5
Header
12 fieldsInspection ID*
Auto sequence. Format PMI-2026-000.
The record's own ID. Other templates point at this value.
Status*
Drives who this goes to next.
- Planned2 pts
- In progress2 pts
- Complete3 pts
- Deferred0 pts
- Open0 pts
- Closed3 pts
- Overdue0 pts
Date and Time*
Completed By*
Site*
Site ID*
Format SITE-000.
Links to FDN-001 Site ID
Packaging Is A Food Contact Material
It touches the product, it carries the legal declaration and it usually arrives with less inspection than any ingredient. Treat a delivery of film like a delivery of meat.
Supplier*
Vendor ID*
Format VEN-0000.
Links to FDN-005 Vendor ID
Material Type*
Delivery Reference*
Quantity Received
Documentation
6 fieldsDelivery Note Matches Order*
- Yes3 pts
- Discrepancy0 pts
Specification Reference Correct*
- Yes3 pts
- No0 pts
Food Contact Declaration Provided*
A declaration of compliance is a legal requirement for food contact materials and is routinely missing.
- Yes3 pts
- On file2 pts
- No0 pts
Certificate Of Conformance Provided
- Yes3 pts
- No0 pts
Migration Testing Evidence Held
- Yes3 pts
- Not applicable3 pts
- No0 pts
Batch Or Lot Traceable*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Physical condition
6 fieldsOuter Packaging Intact*
- Yes3 pts
- Minor damage1 pt
- Damaged0 pts
No Contamination Or Foreign Material*
- Confirmed3 pts
- Some1 pt
- Significant0 pts
No Water Damage Or Staining*
- Confirmed3 pts
- Some1 pt
- Significant0 pts
No Pest Evidence*
- Confirmed3 pts
- Suspected0 pts
- Evidence found0 pts
Pallets Sound And Clean*
- Yes3 pts
- Marginal1 pt
- No0 pts
Vehicle Clean And Suitable*
- Yes3 pts
- Marginal1 pt
- No0 pts
Specification checks
6 fieldsPrint Correct Against Approved Artwork*
- Yes3 pts
- Minor variance1 pt
- No0 pts
Colour Within Tolerance
- Yes3 pts
- Marginal1 pt
- No0 pts
Dimensions Within Tolerance*
- Yes3 pts
- Marginal1 pt
- No0 pts
Material Thickness Or Weight Correct
- Yes3 pts
- Marginal1 pt
- No0 pts
Barcode Verified On Sample*
- Yes3 pts
- No0 pts
Sample Retained*
- Yes3 pts
- No0 pts
Decision
3 fieldsAccepted*
- Yes3 pts
- Accepted with concession1 pt
- Rejected0 pts
Rejection Record ID
Links to QUA-007 Case ID
Quarantined Pending Check
Related records
1 fieldArtwork Approval ID
The artwork version the printed material should match.
Links to QUA-090 Approval ID
Result
13 fieldsItems Assessed*
Excludes anything marked N/A.
Items Failed*
Score Percent*
Calculated on submission. High is good. N/A items leave the denominator.
Result Band*
- Pass3 pts
- Caution1 pt
- Fail0 pts
Completeness Percent*
How much of the template was actually answered. A high score on a half completed form is not a high score.
Action Required*
Raise the action record, then enter its reference here.
- No2 pts
- Yes0 pts
Priority
- High0 pts
- Medium1 pt
- Low3 pts
CAPA ID
Format CAPA-2026-00000.
Links to FDN-014 CAPA ID
Action Owner
Receiving Inspector*
Signature*
Quality*
Second Signature*
QUA-092 · record IDs look like INSP-2026-000 · Links Supplier records, Goods receipt
Open in KnowellaRun it with agents
From a document you fill in to a programme that runs itself
The form captures the decision. Keeping the declaration current, chasing the concession pattern and getting the CAPA raised before the next delivery is the part that needs a working memory across records, not just this one.
Holds the packaging specification and declaration files supplier by supplier, and flags when a Food Contact Declaration Provided answer isn't backed by a current document.
Tracks the delivery against the goods receipt record so a rejected or quarantined batch doesn't quietly get moved into stock before the decision is closed out.
Rolls concessions and near-miss specification checks up across suppliers, so a pattern invisible delivery by delivery gets flagged before it becomes a recall.
Coordinates the crew, rolls completion and exceptions into one view, and holds every write for your approval before it touches a record.
This template lives in KnowQuality — quality and food safety. HACCP, nonconformance, traceability, laboratory and customer complaints.
Meet KnowQuality→Glossary
Packaging Material Inspection definitions and key terms
- Declaration of compliance
- A supplier's written statement that a food contact material meets the relevant food contact regulations for its intended use, referencing the specific material and use conditions.
- Migration testing
- Testing that measures how much of a packaging material's chemical constituents transfer into food or a food simulant under defined conditions, used to demonstrate the material stays within legal limits.
- Concession
- A documented decision to accept material that doesn't fully meet specification, made deliberately and recorded, rather than a specification being quietly ignored.
- Quarantine
- Physical or system segregation of material pending a decision, so it can't be used or shipped by mistake while its status is unresolved.
- GFSI
- Global Food Safety Initiative. A benchmarking body that recognises multiple food safety certification schemes, including BRCGS, as meeting an equivalent baseline.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about packaging material inspection
Does this replace a full goods receipt inspection?+
No. It runs alongside routine receiving checks like delivery appointment and over, short and damaged reporting; this template is specifically the food-contact and specification gate for packaging materials, not a general receiving inspection.
What happens if packaging fails the inspection?+
Accepted is set to Rejected, quarantine is confirmed, and a Rejection Record ID links out to the formal non-conformance record. This template records the decision; the rejection record carries the supplier follow-up.
Why does the template separate document checks from physical checks?+
A supplier can have perfect paperwork and still send damaged film, or perfect film with a lapsed declaration. Splitting the sections stops one strong area masking a weak one in the overall score.
Who normally completes this inspection?+
The receiving inspector, at goods receipt, with a second signature from quality before the record is treated as closed.
Is a retained sample required for every delivery?+
Sample Retained is a required field, but the specification it's checked against, and how long the sample is held, is set by site policy rather than this template.
Can the scoring be changed?+
Yes. Every option and score is editable, and the concession logic can be tightened, for example requiring a CAPA before a second concession is allowed for the same supplier and defect.
Keep going
Related templates and programmes
Industries this is written for
Programmes this belongs to
Used together in Supplier Quality Assurance
Modern Slavery and Labour Standards Assessment
Assesses the site and its labour supply chain for forced labour, debt bondage, withheld documents and unlawful deductions
Transport Provider Assessment
Assesses a haulier for licensing, driver management, vehicle standards, temperature capability and load security
Supplier Environmental Assessment
Assesses a supplier's environmental performance and certifications
Vendor and Contractor Register
Holds every supplier, contractor and service provider you work with, including their status and approval level
Material Rejection Report
Rejects incoming material that fails inspection
Supplier Approval Record
Records the decision to approve a new supplier, with the evidence behind it
More in Packaging and Labelling
Label Verification Record
Verifies that the label on the line matches the specification for that product, covering allergens, claims, dates and barcodes
Artwork Approval Record
Records approval of new or amended artwork before it is printed, with each checker named
Date Coding Verification
Verifies date and batch coding is present, legible, correct and in the right position
Packaging Reconciliation Record
Reconciles packaging and label quantities issued, used and returned at the end of a run
Seal Integrity Test Record
Records seal strength, burst or dye testing on packs, with the result against specification
Pack Weight Control Record
Records average and individual pack weights against legal and specification limits
Written and reviewed by
Siddarth Singh
Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Knowella
Certified Safety Professional and industrial and systems engineer with more than a decade inside food supply chain, freight and manufacturing operations. This page was written against the current text of the standards it cites, not against secondary summaries of them.
- Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Board of Certified Safety Professionals
- MBA, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
- MS and BS, The Ohio State University, Industrial and Systems Engineering
- Six Sigma Black Belt
Sources and last review. Reviewed 16 August 2026 against:
- BRCGS Global Standard for Food Safety, cl.3.5 — Specifications
- FDA 21 CFR Parts 174–186 — Indirect food additives / food contact substances
- FSSC 22000 — Food Safety System Certification (GFSI-benchmarked alternative)
This page is general guidance, not legal advice. Confirm requirements with your jurisdiction’s regulator.