Most buyers request a co-packer's certifications at the start of a conversation. Few ask the right follow-up questions. A cert on a PDF tells you what a factory achieved on one audit day. What it does not tell you is whether that factory maintains those standards between audits, how they handle allergens on a shared line, or what happens when a batch fails in-process testing. This guide covers the full audit process: cert hierarchy, documents to request, and an on-site checklist you can take into any factory visit.

The certification hierarchy for tea co-packing

Not all food safety certifications are equal. They sit in a rough hierarchy based on scope and retailer acceptance.

HACCP (Codex Alimentarius) is the legal minimum in most jurisdictions. It is a prerequisite analysis framework, not a full management system. Every food facility must have a documented HACCP plan. If a co-packer cannot show you a current HACCP plan with signed hazard analyses, stop the conversation.

ISO 22000:2018 is the international management system standard for food safety. It wraps a HACCP plan inside a documented quality management framework: documented procedures, management review, corrective action logs, supplier controls, internal audit schedules. ISO 22000 is the right floor for any co-packer you will trust with your brand.

IFS Food 8 is the German and French retail standard. REWE, EDEKA, ALDI, Lidl, and Carrefour require it from direct suppliers. If your product is going into European grocery retail, your co-packer needs IFS Food 8 (Higher or Intermediate level, depending on the retailer).

BRCGS Food Safety Issue 9 (formerly BRC) is the UK standard, now accepted widely across EU retail and US private label. Tesco, Waitrose, and Marks & Spencer require it. Increasingly accepted as equivalent to IFS in cross-border sourcing.

Halal / Kosher / BIO are overlay certifications for specific market segments. They sit on top of the food safety stack, not in place of it. A Halal-certified facility still needs ISO 22000 or IFS as its base.

At Balkan Tea, we are certified to ISO 22000 and HACCP, and currently working toward IFS Food 8. Our heritage from 36 years of exporting to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland means we know what German buyers require before they even ask.

Documents to request before the site visit

Request these in writing, before you travel. A factory that hesitates on any of these is telling you something.

A valid cert with a scope that does not include your product category is worthless. Example: a cert scoped to "fresh produce" does not cover tea bag manufacturing. Read the scope field.

On-site audit checklist

Line clearance protocol

Ask to see a live or recent line changeover. You are looking for: documented clearance form signed by a supervisor, physical sweep for foreign materials, allergen swab testing if the previous run contained an allergen. If the supervisor shrugs when you ask about line clearance documentation, that is a non-conformance.

Allergen separation

Ask which allergens are handled in the same building. Common allergens in a multi-product tea facility: celery (used in some herbal blends), tree nuts (in flavored teas), sesame. A co-packer should be able to show you a written allergen matrix covering all SKUs produced in the building, with documented cleaning validation between allergen and non-allergen runs.

Batch traceability

Request a live traceability exercise. Give them a finished-goods batch code and ask them to trace it back to incoming raw material lot within 10 minutes. EU law requires full traceability within 4 hours. Most IFS-certified facilities can do it in under 30 minutes. If they cannot demonstrate it in the office, they cannot do it in a recall.

Water testing

Tea bag production uses water for cleaning, steam for sanitization, and sometimes directly in blending. Ask for the last full water test result. You are looking for microbial counts (E. coli, total plate count), heavy metals (especially if they are near industrial zones), and pH. Annual testing is the minimum; quarterly is the standard for IFS-level facilities.

Metal detection

Every tea bag line should have an in-line or end-of-line metal detector. Ask for: calibration frequency, test piece sizes used (typically Fe 1.5mm, non-Fe 2.0mm, SS 2.5mm), and the procedure for rejected bags. Rejected bags should go into a locked container, not back into the line.

Complaint log review

Ask to see the customer complaint register from the last 12 months. You are not looking for zero complaints; every facility gets them. You are looking for: response time under 48 hours, documented root-cause analysis, corrective actions with closure dates, and repeat complaint types. A single complaint type appearing three or more times without a closed corrective action is a red flag.

Calibration records

Ask for the calibration log for fill-weight scales. Bags running underweight are a regulatory liability in retail. Calibration should be logged at minimum daily for scales in continuous use, with sign-off by a named individual. Check that the calibration standard is traceable to national standards.

Per-certification comparison

Buyer audit timeline

A structured audit process across a new co-packer relationship typically looks like this:

1. Week 1-2 - Document request package sent. Await cert copies, HACCP summary, and allergen matrix.
2. Week 3 - Desktop review of documents. If gaps exist, request clarifications before scheduling the site visit.
3. Week 4-5 - Site visit (half day minimum; full day preferred for larger facilities). Use the on-site checklist above.
4. Week 6 - Audit report written, non-conformances rated (critical / major / minor). Critical NCRs block onboarding.
5. Week 7-8 - Co-packer responds to corrective action plan. Minor NCRs: review and accept. Major NCRs: verify with evidence.
6. Week 9+ - Onboarding and first trial run.

A co-packer who pushes back on the timeline or refuses access to complaint logs or water test results is not ready for a professional buyer relationship.

Heritage and what it means for your audit

Luan Fazliu's family herb business has cultivated, dried, processed, and exported native Balkan herbs to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland since 1990. Same fields, same family standards, now extended into tea packaging under the Balkan Tea brand.

Thirty-six years of supplying German herb importers means our facility was built to the documentation standards those customers required before we ever applied for ISO 22000. The audit culture came first; the cert followed.

For buyers running a formal audit, that history is traceable. We can show you supplier relationships, export records, and the chain of traceability from our herb fields to the finished tea bag.

Internal links

If you are evaluating co-packing services alongside this audit framework, the cert and documentation requirements map directly to our onboarding process. For buyers considering full production, where we source and blend in addition to packing, the allergen and supplier approval sections of this checklist are especially relevant.

Our current certifications page shows the audit status and issuing body for each cert. For buyers in Germany who need to understand the regulatory context, our Germany market page covers what ALDI, REWE, and EDEKA require from non-EU suppliers.

For more on how certifications interact with EU labeling law, see our posts on EU tea labeling rules and pesticide MRL limits for EU tea.

On the certification standards themselves, the comparison between IFS and BRC explains which standard your specific retail channel requires and what the audit process looks like from the co-packer's side.

German buyers taught me documentation discipline. They do not buy from a supplier who cannot trace a batch in 20 minutes. That is the standard we built to, 20 years before we sought formal certification.